Round Three of the 2020 Tri-Nations Rugby Championship between New Zealand and Argentina will be the first time the teams have played each other in Australia.
The only previous Test between these teams on neutral ground, was at the 2015 Rugby World Cup when the All Blacks triumphed 26-16 at Wembley Stadium, London.
- New Zealand is undefeated in their 29 Tests against Argentina (W28, D1), it is the second-most games of any Tier 1 nation against another to have never lost, and the fourth most of any rugby-playing nations overall.
- The All Blacks have won their last seven Tests down under against teams other than the Wallabies by an average margin of 45 points per game.
- The Kiwis will be out to avoid back-to-back Test defeats for the first time since August 2011 after succumbing to a 24-22 defeat to Australia in their last match in Brisbane.
- Argentina has won two of their last three Tests (L1) and will be hunting for back-to-back Test wins for the first time since June 2016 after a 47-17 win over the USA in their last match.
- New Zealand has beaten 35+ defenders in four of their last five Tests against Los Pumas after having managed to do so only once in their 11 meetings prior.
- Codie Taylor has made 16 tackles across the opening two games of the 2020 Tri-Nations, the most of any player who is yet to miss a single attempt in this campaign.
- No player won more lineouts in the 2019 edition of The Rugby Championship than Argentina’s Guido Petti Pagadizaval (13, incl. 2 steals).
- Rieko Ioane has crossed for a try in each of his last two Test matches and scored two tries in his last Test against Argentina.
- Nicolas Sanchez has scored two tries and made two try assists in his last five Tests against New Zealand, scoring 50 points in that span.
Match detail
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In the meantime, why not have a look at the match preview.
1.00: PEEEP! We are underway in Parramatta, Sydney.
3.00: Argentina wins the first penalty, kick to the Kiwis’ 22, and set-up a driving maul. After a couple of phases, Nicolás Sánchez attempts an early drop-goal, but the kick sails wide.
5.00: Patrick Tuipulotu is caught offside. A scuffle breaks out, started by Shannon Frizell on Pablo Matera. The ref calls Matera, Sam Whitelock, and Frizell over for a chat. Sanchez calls for the tee.
6.00: PENALTY! Sanchez, from 50 metres out, puts the Pumas on the board. 0-3
8.00: Santiago Carreras throws the ball into touch after New Zealand went eight phases in attack before Beauden Barrett put up a bomb. Good attacking lineout inside the Pumas’ 22.
9.00: A forward pass stops play, but the Kiwis had a penalty advantage because of a deliberate knock-down by the South Americans.
11.00: No advantage again, this time it’s Matías Orlando who gets pinged. Whitelock, this time, decides to take the points.
12.00: PENALTY! Richie Mo’unga levels from in front. 3-3
14.00: Tomás Cubelli takes Mo’unga’s bomb and clears his lines. A penalty to the Kiwis is kicked to the Pumas’ 22.
16.00: Superb defending by the Pumas. Beauden Barrett carried to the goal line but got isolated. Julián Montoya won the penalty as Barrett did not release.
18.00: Tyrel Lomax and Ardie Savea both go off their feet at the breakdown. Sanchez kicks for touch this time in between the 10m and 22m of the All Blacks.
19.00: TRY! Sensational risk and reward for the South Americans. They went 16 phases then Sanchez’s little chip-kick is toed forward by Rodrigo Bruni. The flyhalf, in support, picked up the bouncing ball to score under the posts. 3-8
20.00: CONVERSION! The halfback converts his try. 3-10
23.00: Dane Coles slaps Rodrigo Bruni in the face in front of Angus Gardner, who reverses an All Blacks penalty and awards it to Argentina. Matera points at the posts.
25.00: MISS! Sanchez, whose career kicking percentage is 79%, shaves the right-hand upright, but the kick is no good. 3-10
26.00: Jordie Barrett collides with Santiago Carreras trying to charge down the fullback’s kick. Barrett’s head hit Carreras’ head, and Gardner awards a penalty for no arms in the tackle.
27.00: PENALTY! Sanchez makes no mistake this time. 3-13
29.00: A kicking duel ensues after a Matera turnover won possession for the Pumas. Eventually, the Kiwis win a lineout; however, Argentina wins a penalty at the next ruck. Several Pumas players are being patched up because of blood. It’s a war zone out there!
30.00: Sanchez’s penalty does not find touch, Jordie Barrett keeps the ball in play before a break sees Argentina go close.
32.00: NO TRY! Superb defending by the All Blacks. Mo’unga holds up Matera over the line. Argentina should have scored but their option-taking was poor. Juan Imhoff really should have scored, but Aaron Smith’s cover defending and tackle was immense. Argentina will pay for that.
33.00: Argentina wins a penalty from the first scrum of the match. Joe Moody collapses the scrum. Sanchez will take the three.
33.00: PENALTY! Sanchez increases the lead to 13 points. 3-16
35.00: Argentina has the second scrum of the game, which is reset.
36.00: Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro is being watched by the ref for collapsing.
37.00: A good kick by Sanchez pins the Kiwis inside their 22. Barrett clears to the Pumas’ 10m with a big kick. All Blacks challenge the Pumas’ lineout and win their first scrum after a knock-on.
39.00: Penalty to New Zealand after Marcos Kremer and Francisco Gómez Kodela’s infringements at the scrum. Mo’unga kicks the ball over the in-goal area. Oh, dear! That was poor from the first-five. Argentina opts for a scrum from where Mo’unga took the kick.
41.00: The hooter goes before the set-piece. It’s a solid scrum by the South Americans, Tomás Cubelli clears.
The halftime score was New Zealand 3 Argentina 16
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway down under for this enthralling contest.
43.00: Jordie Barrett knocks-on inside the opposition’s 22, killing a good attacking opportunity from the lineout.
45.00: The scrum goes down. Referee Gardner decides that Tyrel Lomax is the guilty party. but it could have easily gone the way of New Zealand.
47.00: Argentina’s driving maul pushes the All Blacks back into their half. The Pumas walk the Kiwis 12 metres before winning a penalty for collapsing. Jack Goodhue was also caught offside after the advantage for the first penalty.
49.00: PENALTY! Sanchez makes it a two-score game. 3-19
50.00: Codie Taylor comes on for the ineffective Dane Coles and proceeds to lose his first lineout throw.
51.00: Good work by Whitelock, who made the tackle before Argentina gave away the penalty. Mo’unga boots the ball outside the 22.
52.00: Marcos Kremer’s side entry into the driving maul allows Mo’unga to kick to the corner.
53.00: TRY! Sam Cane flops over the whitewash after a quick lineout throw to the front to set up the driving maul. Here we go! It is the skippers 15th Test try. 8-19
54.00: CONVERSION! Mo’unga slots the touchline conversion. 10-19
56.00: Cane concedes a penalty, Sanchez will take a shot from in front.
58.00: PENALTY! The standoff will not miss that. 10-22
62.00: Argentina controlling the pace and tempo, they look good.
65.00: More mistakes by the Kiwis kill a good attacking opportunity for Barrett. Argentian doing enough to keep the All Blacks out.
68.00: Time is running out for the three-time World Champions. They need some inspiration from their big-game players.
70.00: Mo’unga kicks another penalty to the corner. What does New Zealand have left in the tank?
72.00: Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro is offsides. Cane asks for a yellow card but is rebuked by the ref for asking. Cane wants a scrum.
73.00: Hoskins Sotutu breaks off the scrum, goes blind but throws the ball into touch. Oh, dear!
75.00: The All Blacks take the penalty quickly instead of taking a set-piece. Matera wins the penalty at the ruck. What is going on!
76.00: Sanchez boots his team to safety; it’s about milking the clock now. Argentina wins the penalty; Sanchez can put an end to the Test right now.
77.00: PENALTY! Sanchez opens up a three-score unassailable lead. WOW! 10-25
79.00: All Blacks speed things up, but the game is over. Los Pumas win the turnover and look to counter from deep.
80.00: TRY! Caleb Clark scores but the game is over. 15-25
81.00: MISS! Mo’unga missed from wide. 15-25
FULL TIME
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The final score is New Zealand 15 (3) Argentina 25 (16)
Scorers
New Zealand
Tries – Cane, Clarke
Pen – Mo’unga
Con – Mo’unga
Drop –
Cards –
Argentina
Tries – Sanchez
Pen – Sanchez (6)
Con – Sanchez
Drop –
Cards –
Match Officials
Referee: Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant Ref 1: Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Ref 2: Paul Williams (NZR)
TMO: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Teams
New Zealand
15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Jordie Barrett, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jack Goodhue, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Alex Hodgman, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Hoskins Sotutu, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Rieko Ioane, 23 Damian McKenzie
Argentina
15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (captain), 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements: 16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Santiago Cordero