Argentina got a key 38-30 win against New Zealand on Saturday to kick off its participation in the 2024 Rugby Championship. The game played at Sky Stadium in Wellington is only the third time Los Pumas have beaten the mighty All Blacks, after wins in 2020 and 2022 in the same tournament.
The lead changed several times before Argentina prevailed in an exciting encounter that was in stark contrast to New Zealand’s one-sided 44-6 win over the Pumas when they last met in the World Cup semifinal in Paris last October.
The men’s national rugby team arrived at this match with a few question marks, most notably how would head coach Felipe Contepomi fare in his major tournament leading the team. With only two test matches against France under his belt so far (one win and one loss), the Rugby Championship debut, which also includes Australia and South Africa, was his introduction to rugby’s biggest stage.
Los Pumas started the game by pressing the All Blacks up high and almost scored a try had it not been for a failed last pass by wing Matías Moroni. However, New Zealand ended up taking the lead courtesy of a penalty kick and a converted try to make it 10-0. Argentina managed to score through tries by wing Lucio Cinti and center Mateo Carreras, as well as a penalty kick by flyhalf Santiago Carreras, but its mistakes kept giving their opponent chances and they ended the first half down 20-15.
The second half saw a much tighter Argentina team, committing fewer mistakes and playing with much more discipline to avoid giving New Zealand chances to score. Lock Franco Molina got to the ingoal to score for Los Pumas just 2 minutes into playing time, opening the window for a barrage of points. Another try from Agustín Creevy, subbed in for hooked Ignacio Ruiz, and 3 more penalty kicks from Santiago Carreras carved out the final 38-30 scoreboard.
Argentina and New Zealand are set to play again next Saturday at the mythical Eden Park in Auckland. While the All Blacks are the most successful team in Rugby Championship history and a prime candidate to win it again this year, this early defeat puts them in a tricky spot as South Africa beat Australia 33-7 in the other opening match.
For Los Pumas, Saturday’s victory was not only its third victory in 38 test matches against New Zealand but it was also the win in which it scored the most points while also outscoring its rival in tries made (four to three), a key statistic for determining final standings. The final scores in the other two Argentina victories against the All Blacks were 25-21 (2020) and 25-18 (2022).