New Zealand All Blacks Beat Argentina to Begin Title Defence

The New Zealand All Blacks have begun their title defence with a 26-16 victory against Argentina in front of 89,019 – the biggest ever crowd at a Rugby World Cup match.

“New Zealand dominated possession and territory and looked dangerous with its offloads – particularly second-half replacement Sonny Bill Williams, but the Pumas’ defence usually read the danger and held fast for nearly an hour”, as reported on ABC.com.au.

At the end of the first half Argentina lead the All Blacks 13 to 12, but the New Zealand team was able to seal their victory thanks to late tries from Aaron Smith and Sam Cane.

“It’s been a while since our last game and we’ve been over here for 10 days or so, so we were itching to get out there and get started. We’ll have to make a few improvements but that’s the nature of rugby,” said Richie McCaw, All Blacks captain.

“There was also lots of apprehension,” said Steve Hansen, as reported in The Australian.

“I’ve watched most of the games this weekend, and everyone’s been half a step off the pace. That’s what comes with the World Cup, especially the first round. You’re desperate to get started, desperate to get points on the board.”

New Zealand captain McCaw and centre Conrad Smith were both yellow-carded in the first half of the game for uncharacteristic errors.

Article Source: ABC.com.au, September 21, 2015.

Image Source: Twitter – Rugby World Cup