Rugby World Cup: New Zealand sweep Argentina aside with ease to reach their fifth-ever final
New Zealand’s 44-6 semi-final victory over Argentina was enough to book their place in the World Cup Final. On Saturday, October 28, they will face either England or South Africa.
Mark Telea’s team-mates, who were very much in the spotlight on Friday evening, had no trouble disposing of the Argentinians in the Rugby World Cup semi-final at the Stade de France on October 20, 2023.
When you think of New Zealand, two main clichés come to mind: flocks of sheep in a picture-postcard landscape, and a dominant black-clad rugby team. While goats are becoming increasingly rare on the island of the long white cloud − there are now just five per capita, a figure at its lowest since the mid-19th century − its rugby team, on the other hand, continues to occupy the heights of rugby.
The proof: on Saturday, October 28, at the Stade de France, the All Blacks will be playing in the World Cup final for the fifth time in its history. On Friday, they effortlessly overcame the final hurdle, beating Argentina 44-6 in the semi-final.
The day before, Argentina’s assistant coach Felipe Contepomi stated an implacable truth of rugby: whoever your opponent is, the match always starts with a score of zero to zero. A way of saying that the Pumas had a chance against the New Zealand favorites and, at the very least, that they would start their match on the same footing.
The problem with the All Blacks, especially since the start of the competition, is that this assumption doesn’t hold up for very long. Unfortunately for the Argentinians, their experience at the Stade de France was a bitter one. They were overwhelmed by the players from the Pacific, unable to mount a competitive challenge.
The fearsomely efficient All Blacks
They opened the scoring after a fine sequence of play in the early stages but only led for six minutes. The New Zealanders then went on to score seven tries, keeping the South Americans at bay. Every time the men in black got close to the Argentine goal line, they hit the target. “Against a team like New Zealand, the slightest mistake is fatal. They are so efficient. They converted all our mistakes into points” lamented Argentina’s Australian coach Michael Cheika after the match.
Among the men in black’s attacking arrows, winger Will Jordan is undoubtedly the sharpest: by scoring three tries, he took his total in the competition to eight, overtaking France’s Damian Penaud (six tries). If the New Zealander returns behind the opposition line in the final, he will be the sole holder of the record for the number of tries scored in a World Cup, overtaking South Africa’s Bryan Habana and his compatriots Julian Savea and Jonah Lomu.
A series of tries sealed the fate of the match just after half-time. Although the Pumas, trailing 20-6 at the break, could still have hoped for a miraculous comeback in the second half, a solo try from scrum-half Aaron Smith in the 42nd minute gave his team an unassailable lead and killed off any remaining suspense.
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