Find out why our scribe is expecting a bit more bite from Los Pumas this time around, and why he’s backing the hosts on the plus handicap despite them disappointing this past weekend.
Argentina v New Zealand | Saturday 23 August | Estadio José Amalfitani
To Win (80 Mins)
Argentina | Draw | New Zealand
Handicap
Argentina | New Zealand
Los Pumas were something of a let down in their opener. A number of their big players who missed their two defeats to England during the July series returned but couldn’t provide that much impact as they went down 24-41 to the Kiwis in their Rugby Championship opener.
Lax defending and poor game management would kill them in the first half with Will Jordan ghosting past a number of defenders before setting up Cortez Ratima for a canter to the tryline, while they allowed the Kiwis to move down the field with the game in first half injury time before Sevu Reece went in for his second of the half.
10-31 down at half-time and the writing was well and truly on the wall and despite a spirited comeback, that saw Los Pumas close the gap to 24-31, the Kiwis always seemed to have them at arm’s length with substitute hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho going over from two rolling mauls inside the final 12-minutes to hand the Kiwis a 17 point win.
So where to for Los Pumas? Well, if their Rugby Championship history is anything to go by, they’ll put in a shift this weekend as they usually bounce back from losses with improved showings. They’ve got the playing personnel to give the Kiwis a run as well, they just need to turn up on Saturday.
While the Pumas are looking for an improved showing, the Kiwis will be wanting more of the same. Their set piece purred last weekend with a number of tries coming from rolling mauls, while their backs look really threatening with ball-in-hand, especially Will Jordan who did some real damage from the back.
Looking at the team news for this one and the visitors will be without Patrick Tuipulotu and Anton Lienert-Brown who both picked up injuries in the opener with Timoci Tavatavanawai and Quinn Tupaea in the running to replace Lienert-Brown, while Josh Lord is likely to take Tuipotu’s spot on the bench. For the hosts, flanker Marcos Kremer is a doubt after he picked up an ankle injury in the first-half of the first Test.
Verdict: Argentina (+)
They really struggled with their discipline last weekend and if they can sharpen up their conduct and cut out the silly handling errors, then they may well give this All Blacks outfit a real run for their money.
