Waisake Naholo to make All Blacks Test debut against Pumas

New Zealand stepped up their World Cup preparations to secure a bonus-point 39-18 victory over Argentina in their Rugby Championship opener in Christchurch on Friday.

The New Zealand All Blacks are set to begin their World Championship campaign with a match against Argentina.

Carter won the world player of the year award when his peerless running game helped the All Blacks trounce the British and Irish Lions 3-1 in their 2005 Test series.

The likes of Ma’a Nonu, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino, Brodie Retallick are certainties in the All Blacks starting side, and TJ Perenara who gets the start this week is firmly entrenched in the backup halfback role, but from there things get a little murky.

Financially, neither Union will miss out because a fourth round of games – not counting towards the Championship – have been organised and in those the All Blacks will host Australia and Argentina will entertain South Africa. Another bout of injuries saw Carter, 33, start just one Test in 2014 and with Aaron Cruden on the side-lines with a ruptured ACL.

The All Blacks proved on Friday that there is no other team in the world more clinical when it comes to point-scoring around whistle, those most crucial junctures at which matches are decided.

Argentina briefly rallied with a brace of identical tries from skipper Agustin Creevy to reduce the gap to 32-18, but New Zealand were never seriously threatened and they added a fifth score late on through debutant Codie Taylor.

Israel Dagg has been retained at fullback despite being one of the many players who looked rusty last week in stifling conditions in Samoa, where the All Blacks needed flyhalf Dan Carter’s place-kicking to get them home 25-16. The try came, significantly, from a tighthead, as the All Blacks wrecked Argentina’s scrum close to the goalline.

As much as the next four tests will be about the All Blacks bedding in combinations and building form, Conrad Smith says they will also be about finding the desperation to make history at the World Cup.

“He may even force his way into the 31 we take to the World Cup, but it was too good an opportunity to miss to not give him an education”.

Being physically right in England by September is only half the battle in the All Blacks’ quest to become the first team to defend the title.

Several players under pressure to produce strong performances, produced them.

The Pumas and coach Daniel Hourcade have been in camp for several weeks working on fitness, skills and tactics to take through this championship into the World Cup.

“He was always a very talented child but he worked very hard”, said Chris McMillan, manager of Carter’s first club, in rural Southbridge.