The Rugby Championships - Round 2
New Zealand come back into form and South Africa? Well, South Africa plays and stays as Number 1 in the world.
After last weekend’s loss in Wellington, the All Blacks hosted a fired-up Argentina in the impregnable fortress of Eden Park in Auckland. Would the 30 year, 49 test unbroken record celebrated by New Zealand at this park be broken? No. In miserable conditions (pouring rain and gusty winds) the All Blacks returned to form and gave Los Pumas a serious lesson in attacking rugby in the first 40 minutes. Scoring 5 converted tries (the first in the 5th minute), returning backs Will Jordan (2) and Caleb Clarke (1) plus Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett put on a sparkling show, against a single penalty from the visitors. In the second half each tea scored a try with Argentina fighting hard to the end, but to no avail. Final score 42-10; the All Blacks gaining a bonus point. Notes: New faces in the second row for New Zealand did well, with Retallick and Whitelock (who played together 64 times) no longer in the squad. Sam Cane, back to fitness, earned his 94th cap coming in off the bench.
Similar torrential rain welcomed the Springboks to Optus Stadium in Perth, W. Australia for the 2nd of their ties against the Wallabies and while the Aussies put in a much tougher performance, the Boks were too deep and too powerful, despite making 10 changes to the starting line-up. A tight H1 saw the hosts down 9-11 at the break but a try early in H2 by the visitors and their suffocating defense left Australia with only a penalty to show for their effort, with a final score of 12-30. South Africa earned a bonus point giving them 10 points in the Championship and the lead. Note: injuries to Australia’s front row contingent led to uncontested scrums in the second half. But Australia can take heart from their better performance - losing to this South African squad is no disgrace - they are that good.
So, after 2 Rounds, the Table is South Africa 10 pts; New Zealand 5 pts; Argentina 4 pts; Australia 0. Next matches will be played on August 31: the Springboks at home to the All Blacks; and Los Pumas at home to the Wallabies.