Argentina Shapes The Rugby Championship Scene By Upsetting All Blacks

In Wellington, Pumas secure a historic 38-30 victory over New Zealand, their third win ever against the hosts

Argentina’s amazing squad celebrating the victory over the All Blacks /

By Mohamed Bahaa

With a remarkable 38-30 triumph in Wellington, only their third victory against the All Blacks, Argentina stunned New Zealand. In a fierce Rugby Championship game, the Pumas beat their hosts with four tries to New Zealand's three in an exciting game with several changes in the lead.

Playing with a bold and relentless attitude, the Argentinians exploited an unusually error-prone All Blacks team to create a performance that sharply contrasted with New Zealand's dominant 44-6 triumph over Argentina in their last meeting at the World Cup semi-final in Paris.

Lucio Cinti, Mateo Carreras, Franco Molina, and the 39-year-old veteran Agustin Creevy crossed the line for Argentina; Santiago Carreras added 18 vital points with his boot with four penalties and three conversions. With this triumph, New Zealand marks their sixth loss in the past seven games at Sky Stadium, therefore highlighting the recent challenges of the All Blacks.

Damian McKenzie added three penalties and three conversions while Sam Darry, Anton Lienert-Brown, and Mark Tele'a tried for New Zealand. A classic All Blacks effort, the opening try of the match came in the 15th minute as McKenzie completed a brilliantly placed chip-and-chase before joining up with Beauden Barrett, whose kick set Darry for the score.

Using a maul turnover, Argentina answered with a try of their own eight minutes later. The pass from Captain Pablo Matera to Santiago Chocobares let Cinti complete the maneuver. Lienert-Brown scored following a lineout drive, but Argentina swiftly responded in the other direction. Mateo Carreras grabbed on Sevu Reece's tap back to race over for Argentina's second try, so bringing the halftime score to 20-15.

Early in the second half, the Pumas led with Molina scoring from a well-executed lineout move and Carreras converting to edge Argentina ahead. With Tele'a's attempt under the 52nd minute under the posts, New Zealand momentarily restored the lead but their mistakes quickly proved expensive.

Two bad passes by Asafo Aumua and McKenzie made Rieko Ioane ground the ball behind his own line. Argentina set up Creevy for a vital touchdown from the next five-meter scrum, putting the Pumas ahead 35-30 with barely ten minutes left.


After an All Blacks infraction slowed down play, Argentina clinched the game with a late penalty by Carreras. Ardie Savea, the captain of New Zealand, bemoaned the lost chance: ”Hugely disappointing, we prepped all week to come here and get the win. Full credit to Argentina, they stayed in the fight and kept us under pressure.”