All Blacks player ratings v Argentina
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New Zealand delivered a blistering response to last week's shock reverse against Argentina as they ran rampant with a 53-3 win in the Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks delivered an emphatic performance to keep their hopes of a competition triumph alive, here is how we rated Ian Foster's men in victory.
1. Ethan de Groot - 7.5
He ran an excellent line to finish the opening try while he got the upper hand in the scrums. He conceded a penalty for a no-arms tackle but was otherwise strong.
2. Samisoni Taukei'aho - 8
Big ball carries, accurate set-pieces, and solid defence. He ticked all the box in a sound 60-minute performance.
3. Tyrel Lomax - 7
Lomax got the upper hand in the scrums, made his tackles, cleaned well at the breakdown and made some good carries.
4. Sam Whitelock - 7.5
Whitelock ran a tidy shift at the lineout, won a turnover, was aggressive in defence and made good decisions throughout the game. Lucky to get away with a forearm to the face but otherwise, a good game.
5. Scott Barrett - 7
One of the quieter forwards on the day, but Barrett did what was required of him and did it well.
6. Shannon Frizell - 6.5
Like Barrett, it was a less prominent performance from Frizell. He got through a ton of work and was a good option at the lineout.
7. Sam Cane - 8.5
He stepped up and produced the kind of performance we are used to seeing from the All Blacks captain. He had a hand in two of his side's tries, landed a monster hit on Marcos Kremer and made 14 tackles in total before leaving the pitch after assisting a try for Jordie Barrett.
8. Ardie Savea - 8
Savea continues to produce for the All Blacks. Brutally effective on both sides of the ball, scored a try and hardly put a foot wrong all game.
9. Aaron Smith - 7.5
The veteran halfback played just 52 minutes, but his swift services, sharp kicking and excellent game management put the All Blacks on the front foot. He assisted their first try with another lovely pass.
10. Richie Mo'unga - 7
Mo'unga combined nicely with Smith in the first half and got the All Blacks out of a few sticky situations in his own 22.
He scored 14 points from the tee, made his tackles and shifted the ball well when needed.
11. Caleb Clarke - 8
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An aggressive outing from the abrasive winger as he swatted Tomas Cubelli out of the way and went on to score his side's second try.
He was a threat each time he touched the ball and was solid under the high ball and on defence.
12. David Havili - 8
Havili put in a more assured performance in the inside centre role with a well-rounded game as he provided them with a triple threat on the attack - run, kick, pass.
He slipped a few tackles but was otherwise excellent.
13. Rieko Ioane - 8.5
Made an incredible break to set up a try for Jordie Barrett and sent Caleb Clarke tearing down the flank for his side's second try.
Another outstanding performance all around from Ioane.
14. Will Jordan - 7
Some nice touches outwide from the winger who also chased kicks well.
15. Jordie Barrett - 7.5
Some hard running lines as he thundered into the Pumas' defence on multiple occasions.
He rounded off a superb long-range try, kicked well out of hand and was sound under the high ball.
Reserves:
16. Dane Coles - 6
He produced a nice offload to Savea for the no.8 to score. He got stuck into the nitty-gritty of the game.
17. George Bower - 6.5
Some good carries and came close to scoring. Scrums were solid.
18. Fletcher Newell - 6
Spent 10 minutes in the bin but otherwise his impact was positive on both sides of the ball.
19. Brodie Retallick - 7
Trademark from Retallick. Scored a try after an abrasive injection from the bench.
20. Dalton Papali'i - 6
Picked up where Cane left off with the result secure.
21. Finlay Christie - 6.5
Kept the tempo that Smith set and ran a perfect support line to score.
22. Beauden Barrett - 7
A full bag of tricks that the Pumas just couldn't handle. Scored the last try after putting in some testing kicks and ran the attack well.
23. Quinn Tupaea - 6
Didn't put a foot wrong in his 11-minute shift.
