Napier, New Zealand - Winger Julian Savea scored two tries as New Zealand again struggled to put Argentina away before they eventually ground out a 28-9 win in their tightly contested Rugby Championship clash at McLean Park in Napier on Saturday.
Liam Messam and Aaron Smith also scored tries for the All Blacks to secure a vital four-try bonus point, while Beauden Barrett kicked a penalty but missed four other kicks, before he was replaced by Colin Slade, who kicked a penalty and a conversion.
Flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez slotted three penalties for the Pumas, who were unlucky to have a try to Leonardo Senatore inexplicably ruled out by referee Pascal Gauzere, who said the number eight's charge down of a clearing kick was a knock on.
“Once you get four tries in conditions like this you're going to be happy,” All Blacks' captain Richie McCaw said. “It was always going to be scrappy and there were patches there where we didn't look after the ball but they stuck at it.
“We had an Argentina side who certainly came to play and they put real pressure on us at the contact area, but we expected that.
“There was a wee patch in the second half where we didn't get much luck at scrum time but I'm proud of the ways the guys came back and won a couple of big scrums that resulted in tries and that was satisfying.”
The All Blacks have struggled to put Argentina away in recent games in New Zealand and the pattern continued on Saturday as the heavy rain that had threatened to influence the game duly arrived in the late afternoon and dropped balls and a tough forward battle were the predominant features of the match.
Barrett and Sanchez traded penalties midway through the first half before the All Blacks managed to break down the Pumas' defensive line with clever tactical kicking that Savea pounced upon to score the first try.
Sanchez reduced the scoreline to 8-6 with his second penalty before the All Blacks secured a tighthead from the Pumas' scrum after the halftime hooter had sounded. Barrett stepped inside and beat the cover defenders and fed to Messam to extend the advantage to 13-6 at the break.
Barrett then created Savea's second try shortly after the break when he took the ball to the defensive line and popped a no-look pass to his Wellington Hurricanes' team mate to storm onto the ball and cross.
Senatore then charged down Ma'a Nonu's kick and raced away for a try, only for Gauzere to call him back, to the surprise of many in the near sell-out crowd of 21,329.
The All Blacks then put the game beyond the Pumas when Slade kicked a penalty and number eight Kieran Read broke from an attacking scrum to feed scrumhalf Smith for the bonus point try under the posts. – Reuters