All Blacks seek perfection as Argentina limp to finish

The All Blacks will look to cement their claim as top dogs in the southern hemisphere when they close the Rugby Championship against South Africa on Saturday after Argentina seek a face-saving win over Australia at the end of a wretched campaign.

Sevu Reece is on the wing for the final Rugby Championship test.
Photo: Photosport / Jeremy Ward

The undefeated All Blacks have already snatched the Springboks’ world number one ranking and sealed the title last week with victory over the world champions in Townsville in the 100th test between the sides.

But coach Ian Foster wants no slip-ups on the Gold Coast before they head to the northern hemisphere for the first time in two seasons.

“We were delighted with the result last week, but weren’t as delighted with the performance,” Foster said.

“We want to take the things we learned and apply them.”

Lack-lustre performances in last weekend’s test against South Africa have cost wings George Bridge and Will Jordan their spots in the All Blacks side for the Rugby Championship finale.

Both players struggled under the Springboks’ high ball bombardment as a disjointed New Zealand side won 19-17 in Townsville.

The pair have been replaced by Sevu Reece and Rieko Ioane for Saturday’s test and Ian Foster said the changes were necessary.

“It clearly was an area we felt we needed to improve from last week and they’ve got a real focus for that,” said Foster from the Gold Coast of his back-three reshuffle.

“Sevu has played really well, I think Rieko has gone well too [on the wing], and our back three perhaps weren’t at the level we needed them to be last week. So clearly a message has been sent.”

South Africa, after successive defeats to Australia, were much closer to their best in the Townsville thriller but still fell short as it came down to a kicking duel.

The ground has shifted beneath their feet against the trans-Tasman teams, and another defeat to New Zealand will place coach Jacques Nienaber under further pressure as their World Cup triumph in Japan shrinks further in the rearview mirror.

COVID BREACH

For Argentina, a tough tournament took a farcical turn on Thursday when six of their players and two staff members were banned from the final clash against the Wallabies for breaching COVID-19 rules.

Back row enforcer Pablo Matera, stripped of the captaincy during last year’s Tri-Nations amid a racism storm, was among the offenders who took an unauthorised day trip to a New South Wales resort and were then barred from returning to the Gold Coast by police at a state border.

The four Rugby Championship teams have been restricted to their hotels and training as Queensland authorities scramble to stamp out a small outbreak of COVID-19, having been largely free of the novel coronavirus for months.

Queensland’s border is effectively closed to New South Wales, which has been dealing with a larger outbreak centred in Sydney.

All Blacks coach Foster said the COVID rules were “clear and obvious” to his team.

“It’s very transparent to us that there’s a border between Queensland and New South Wales.”

After five straight defeats in the tournament, Argentina will head into their final match short of personnel but Australia coach Dave Rennie said they could not be taken lightly.

“There’s plenty of motivating factors for them,” said Rennie.

Argentina’s recent trips to Australia have been plagued by controversy.

After the high of beating the All Blacks for the first time in last year’s Tri-Nations, the UAR stripped Matera of the captaincy and sanctioned Socino and team mate Guido Petti after revelations the trio had posted racist comments on social media between 2011-13.

In this year’s Rugby Championship, coach Mario Ledesma complained his team had been “disrespected” after being left out of a captains’ photo-shoot and said no one cared about the welfare of his players, who have been unable to play a test at home in two years due to COVID-19.

Ledesma’s Pumas, who have lost all five of their games so far, face a Wallabies side enjoying a rare rush of confidence after upsetting South Africa twice and notching a comfortable 27-8 win over Argentina.

Australia coach Dave Rennie has granted leave to winger Marika Koroibete and prop Allan Alaalatoa, whose departure paves the way for 38-year-old tighthead Greg Holmes to become the oldest player to represent the Wallabies in a test since World War Two.

It will be a case of ‘back to the future’ in the back row too, with Sean McMahon set for his first test in four years if sprung from the bench.

After opening the tournament with heavy defeats to the All Blacks, Australia have been transformed by the return of seasoned campaigners, bringing hope to fans two years out from the 2023 World Cup in France.

“We’re certainly a very fit side now and we’ve got genuine competition for places,” Rennie said.

“But respect is earned daily … We’ve got to front again.”

–Reuters/RNZ