OPINION: The All Blacks suffered a 30-38 defeat to Argentina in Wellington in the opening game of the 2024 Rugby Championship.

After leading the entire way, but with Argentina close in pursuit, a bad final quarter saw Los Pumas take the lead through hooker Agustin Creevy.

The All Blacks bench really failed to fire with the set-piece coming apart in the final quarter.

Here’s how the All Blacks rated:

1. Ethan de Groot – 6

A scrum-less first half was a surprise, but De Groot got through a ton of tackles finishing with 12. Off at 58.

2. Codie Taylor – 6

A solid line-out tonight with 14/14 with Taylor on the park. Added five tackles. Conceded two penalties.

3. Tyrel Lomax – 5

No scrums for Lomax. Defended well but was penalised once for an ineffective clean-out.

4. Tupou Vaa’i – 7

Added punch in defence with some hard hitting with his 15 tackles. Was a reliable line-out option.

5. Sam Darry – 8

Impressive performance on his maiden start. Nailed the line-out with safe hands as the lead jumper. Bagged a try to boot. Added eight carries.

6. Ethan Blackadder – 5

A mixed bag for Blackadder at No.6. Pinged for not rolling in the first half. Had trouble clearing out Matera and co. Penalised for a high shot in the second half leading to three points for Argentina. High workrate with 19 tackles but three penalties were costly.

7. Dalton Papali’i – 7

Strong showing from Papali’i. Won a big turnover in the first half.

8. Ardie Savea – 7

A big night with ball in hand with 13 carries from Savea with 10 tackles. Came up with a big turnover late that gave the All Blacks a chance down by five but line-out troubles left it squandered.

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9. TJ Perenara – 6.5

A couple of kicks charged down and the exits at times didn’t make much metres. But he played a steady hand and produced a key assist for Mark Tele’a in the second half.

10. Damian McKenzie – 7

Once again the life of the All Blacks attack. One try assist in the first half and sparked the other with a chip and regather. Had a game-changing pass that forced a five-metre scrum for Argentina. From there, the Pumas hit the lead.

11. Mark Tele’a – 6

Was kept under wraps by the Pumas. Pressured heavily on kick-offs, Tele’a failed to get the tackle busts he usually does but still finished with six. Scored a nice try in the second half.

12. Jordie Barrett – 6

Toiled hard all night but didn’t have a game-changing performance.

13. Anton Lienert-Brown – 7

Produced a good performance in his first start since Uruguay. Had two line breaks, one a try, in the first half. Got caught out on defence on Cinti’s try. Added a turnover won and seven tackles.

14. Sevu Reece – 5

Seven carries with two line breaks. A nice injection but off early at 49.

15. Beauden Barrett – 6

Had some big plays in the first half including a stellar assist for Sam Darry. Tried to influence the game but didn’t get much space in the second half.

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Replacements:

16. Asafo Aumua – 2 – Really struggled at line-out time with his throwing which really cost the All Blacks.

17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi – 4 – A nice cameo with six tackles.

18. Fletcher Newell – 3 – Had a costly scrum penalty in an attacking zone.

19. Josh Lord – 5 – One of the best off the bench but still couldn’t stabilise the line-out.

20. Wallace Sititi – N/A – Tried to impact the game but ended up conceding a penalty at the end for the last three points.

21. Cortez Ratima – 5 – Added tempo and looked good running the attack.

22. Rieko Ioane – N/A – A couple of touches for Ioane but not enough time to influence the game.

23. Will Jordan – 4 – Had one line break called back from a forward pass. Jordan was partly guilty for front-running a little bit.

@RugbyPass

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