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Full match report: Barrett, Read inspire All Blacks in Buenos Aires
By Sacha Pisani
New Zealand were a class above as they eased past Argentina 36-10 to cap a second successive Rugby Championship crown.
The All Blacks were already assured of the 2017 title thanks to Saturday's draw between South Africa and Australia.
But the world champions did not take their foot of the pedal in Buenos Aires, claiming a fifth consecutive win in this year's one-sided competition.
Star playmaker Beauden Barrett dazzled in the Argentine capital, while All Blacks captain Kieran Read scored two first-half tries as the New Zealanders made it 26 victories over the Pumas without reply.
The All Blacks dominated from the outset, forcing Argentina well back into their own territory and converting an early three-pointer thanks to Barrett's successful penalty, though the hosts replied immediately off the boot of Nicolas Sanchez.
New Zealand then broke through for the first try of the match in the seventh minute, Read capping a fine team move to put the visitors 8-3 ahead.
Barrett – who was due to be rested by head coach Steve Hansen until Lima Sopoaga was forced to miss the trip due to the birth of his first child – pulled the strings in an impressive opening 40 minutes and helped the All Blacks cross over for quick-fire tries.
Damian McKenzie took a quick tap and caught the Pumas defence napping and Barrett converted for a 15-3 lead.
Some more Barrett magic helped extend the lead after he shook off two tackles before offloading to Naholo in the 20th minute.
Barrett added the extras and a pass through the legs to team-mate McKenzie, who set up Read for his double, put the All Blacks up 29-3 before the 30-minute mark. The score remained the same at half-time and the New Zealanders did not add to their score until the siren sounded at the end of the match.
Naholo crossed over in the second half but it was ruled out for a forward pass after Argentina closed the gap thanks to Juan Manuel Leguizamon.
Argentina continued to thwart New Zealand as their error count grew but the All Blacks had the final say after David Havili scored on his Test debut.
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Latest Comments
I've not watched any of the Top 14, but am I right that he was very very good for the first couple of weeks, and then has been pretty ineffective since?
Go to commentsVery good point. I think the CO2 cost of international sport is a big taboo today (and it doesn't look like it'll change anytime soon unfortunately for all humans).
Regarding your second point, I fully agree as well. We have seen this very one-eyed backlash of the French policy on the July tour, most people refuse to see that the best SA players are suffering from the exact same problem : accumulated fatigue from playing too much without significant breaks. The Boks and the Argentinians played the world cup, the URC/Top14/Premiership, the July series, the Championship, etc, etc, with almost no compulsary resting period. This has to change, for the sake of the players, and in fine for the sake of the sport !
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