All Blacks unleash linebreakers against Pumas

Argentina have named three players new to the Rugby Championship for their tournament opener against the All Blacks in Christchurch.

Argentina are building towards the World Cup and will play the All Blacks in their pool.

Carter and captain Richie McCaw will be playing their final tests in front of their home Canterbury crowd, although there will be precious little sentiment if the All Blacks manage to lose their first game to the Pumas in their 20th encounter.

Taylor got on the scoresheet as well, scoring after the All Blacks had dominated a defensive Argentine scrum.

The Pumas, who claimed their maiden Rugby Championship win in their final game of last season’s competition, got their first try in the 55th minute when Creevy crashed over after a lineout, and the hooker repeated the feat soon after with a copycat score.

Things got worse for Argentina who tried to run the ball out of their own 22 only for Read to rip the ball from Horacio Agulla and race over for their fourth try which was converted by Carter.

“I don’t want to get caught up too much in it”, McCaw said.

It is a shame that no more than a week after Samoa’s historic first Test match against New Zealand that the British & Irish Lions have turned down an invitation to play a warm-up fixture for their 2017 tour against Fiji.

Even some of the less physically imposing guys like Israel Dagg and Dan Carter look like they’ve been created in a lab by an evil scientist, while Sonny Bill Williams, Richie McCaw and Ma’a Nonu seem like their muscles may explode at any second.

Friday’s test against a World Cup pool rival will be a much greater measure of New Zealand’s progress toward the Cup as a form benchmark and selection guideline.

The All Blacks have made six changes to the team for the opening match of the Rugby Championship, which also includes South Africa and Australia.

“That gives us a chance to give some younger players a run-out before the World Cup”. His experimentation continues in the backline from which several leading players are still absent. The All Blacks and Argentina will meet in the first round of pool matches at Wembley on September 20.

The same can not be said for some of the All Blacks forward pack however: the old guard of Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu don’t call Christchurch home, but they will still need to put a good performance together.

Juan Martin Hernandez, Tomas Lavanini, Pablo Matera, Leonardo Senatore, Felipe Ezcurra, Santiago Iglesias Valdez and Tomás Lezana are all absent but coach Daniel Hourcade still has a seasoned squad.

“In terms of us as a team and the challenge [of the World Cup] that is something we have talked about”, says Smith.