My ingrained awe vanished as I saw worst minute of All Blacks rugby in 50 years

Fifty years ago an 11-year-old rugby fanatic was given a Wednesday afternoon off school to make the trip to Cardiff to watch the legendary All Blacks. Wales were a wonderful team in 1974 but hopes were dashed, as they always were against their nemesis. Fifty years on that schoolboy was stunned to see New Zealand lose to Argentina in Wellington. He was even more shocked to witness the worst few seconds of rugby he has ever seen from the men in black through half a century.
My deeply ingrained awe gave way to a different sort of wonder in the 67th minute of the Rugby Championship encounter: wondering how New Zealand could lose all of 50 metres with two of the most terrible passes imaginable. To compound the cock-up, it started with them stealing a lineout. Agustín Creevy, the 39-year-old Puma who was to play such a pivotal role for Argentina from the bench, was picked off by the Kiwi set piece.
The stolen possession was safely snuggled behind the New Zealand lines. The replacement scrum half, Cortez Ratima, was in position to take control. Instead, Asafo Aumua, the Hurricanes hooker — on his home turf — ignored the half back and slung a pass in the general direction of nobody. Damian McKenzie, the All Blacks fly half, compounded the dreadful error by throwing another pass neither here nor there. In panicked retreat the All Blacks touched down in goal. From a stolen lineout they had conceded 50 metres while holding the narrowest of leads at 30-28.
There had not been a scrum for an hour. New Zealand pressured the Pumas into a mistake with the first scrum but Argentina quickly corrected their problems. From their gifted five-metre scrum they hammered away at the opposing tryline until Creevy crossed for his sixth try in 109 internationals. Four of the hooker’s tries have now been against the All Blacks.
As New Zealand and their bench lost all control and the vastly experienced South American pack grew in confidence. By the time New Zealand conceded a penalty to give Argentina a 38-30 lead, the control of the one side was in stark contrast with the calamitous state of the other team. New Zealand cannot win in Wellington but the rematch next week is in Auckland — where they never lose. All the pressure is on the one side.
As for Argentina, there was a massive amount to admire as they won their third match against New Zealand. The back row was bruising and brilliant. Juan Martín González, the Saracens No8, was superb but that was nothing compared with the granite presence of Marcos Kremer alongside him at open-side. And he will be a historical footnote next to the utterly inspiring captain, Pablo Matera.
Matera is a fearsome competitor but it was his subtle lateral running line from a turnover that pulled the New Zealand midfield out of position for the first Puma try. The outside centre Anton Lienert-Brown rushed nine metres ahead of Dalton Papali’i, the flanker, and Mark Telea, the wing. The skipper waited for Santiago Chocobares, the Toulouse No 12, to cut the angle and carve open the home defence with Lucio Cinti sprinting in for a crucial score. New Zealand had lead 10-0 courtesy of a fine counterattacking try from the starting debutant lock, Sam Darry.
Argentina played some positive rugby but it was their ability to keep New Zealand pinned in corners under pressure that impressed. This basic skill was summed up by the restarts of Santiago Carreras. TJ Perenara, the No 9, was never comfortable, perpetually boxed into corners.
Lienert-Brown did score a 34th-minute try to give the hosts a 12-point lead but — again — unable to clear from their own half, a high Kiwi cross-kick was knocked back by Sevu Reece, only for Mateo Carreras to dazzle his way over for a try that importantly kept the Pumas within five points at half-time.
It was quick wits which enabled Argentina to take the lead for the first time, with a perfect Santiago Carreras penalty kick to the corner turned into a try with Franco Molina, the supposed lifter, taking the ball at the lineout and being driven over. New Zealand, caught cold, briefly regained the lead but Argentina had the momentum in the final quarter, despite a typical Telea try. They were the smarter team, the side that looked like they knew what Test match rugby was all about. The 50-metre two-pass fiasco was the craziest, clumsiest passage of rugby I have ever seen from this destabilised New Zealand side.
What does this result tell us about the state of international rugby in the northern hemisphere? Well, two narrow defeats for England in New Zealand still don’t read badly. But they no longer read well after Saturday’s result. The exclamation marks after the performances against Ireland and France in the Six Nations are replaced with question marks. The jury remains out.
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As for France, their elusive quest for a first World Cup has made a much better beginning than many would have thought after their 1-1 series in South America. Yes, Argentina always improve every time this spread of global talent comes together but even so, France sent something short of a 2nd XV to Argentina. The next generation of Test match talent is loaded up and on the conveyor belt. Next to South Africa, they should be the second favourites for Australia 2027.
That’s for the future. This rugby weekend belongs to men like Creevy and Tomás Lavanini, who are too old for the next World Cup but ready for a crack at history in Eden Park next Saturday.