Los Pumas fell short in front of 55,724 in attendance at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba on Saturday. New Zealand tamed Argentina, scoring six tries to three and winning 41-24. The match was the second fixture of the 2025 Rugby Championship. It followed Australia upsetting South Africa in Johannesburg. Both fixtures will be repeated in round two on Saturday, August 23.
| MATCH REPORT |
Both teams played well at times but neither side will be convinced that they put in an 80 minute performance. The early minutes of play saw both Beauden Barrett and Tomás Albornoz having kicks at goal. The All Black was on target while the Puma had his kick rebound off the posts.
The All Blacks’ 3-0 lead quickly became 10-0. The forwards threatened from a lineout to maul move before providing just enough space for Fijian Sevu Reece outwide. The winger scored after an impressive assist from fullback Will Jordan.
Argentina’s response came after hard work from the pack. Waves of attacks up the middle has Los Pumas meters out from the All Blacks’ try zone. Eventually, the ball went to the backs with Santiago Chocobares combining with Rodrigo Isgro to send the winger over for a try.
Parity was temporary as Argentina lost Mayco Vivas for a cynical foul. New Zealand was able to use the 10 minute period to their advantage; a Will Jordan break from inside their own half culminated in Cortez Ratima scoring. Only time will tell whether Vivas’ ill-discipline will cost him future opportunities.
Argentina scored next with Albornoz landing a penalty after Rieko Ioane tackled his opposite, Bautista Delguy without the ball. Felipe Contepomi’s players would probably have been happy with the 17-10 scoreline however, New Zealand hit-back with two tries to close out the half.
First, N8 Ardie Savea scored following a rampaging lineout to maul move. Then, Reece fended-off Delguy to score his second try. Beauden Barrett was on-target with both conversions to give New Zealand a 31-10 half-time lead.
Los Pumas responded after the break as they put in an impressive third quarter. First, Los Tucumanos combined with Gonzalo García putting Tomás Albornoz into a small gap. The fly half got past an attempted tackle from Jordie Barrett and ran past three others to score under the posts.
While Albornoz’s try was beautiful, the next was brute-force. Pablo Matera ran to within range of the try zone before being stopped. New Zealand then had Billy Proctor yellow carded for slowing the ball down. Argentina attacked before N8 Joaquín Oviedo scored under the posts. Albonoz converted both his own and Oviedo’s try to make it 31-24.
Momentum swung again with New Zealand dominating the final quarter. Replacement hooker Samison Taukei’aho scored two tries. The Tongan scored both tries from lineout to maul moves. They had New Zealand sealing victory but not before a sour end as Anton Lienert-Brown was yellow carded for head contact on Santiago Chocobares.
| MATCH STATISTICS |
- Argentina committed 12 penalties; one more than New Zealand.
- Argentina had 338 running meters compared to New Zealand’s 307.
- Argentina made 126 carries; New Zealand made 97.
- Argentina defeated 25 defenders; New Zealand defeated 15 defenders.
- New Zealand made 153 tackles; Argentina made 136.
- New Zealand was 100% successful at lineouts. Los Pumas lost their three final lineouts to finish with an 82.4% success rate.
| MATCH NOTES |
- The match set a new attendance record of 55,724 for a Rugby Championship match in Argentina.
- Justo Piccardo and Simón Benítez Cruz made their Rugby Championship debuts for Argentina.
- Fabian Holland, from the Netherlands, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Ollie Norris and Billy Proctor all made their Rugby Championship debuts for New Zealand.
- Pablo Matera earned his 113th cap for Argentina. He is the most capped Puma in history.
- New Zealand hooker Codie Taylor earned his 99th cap for the All Blacks.
- Beauden Barrett has a New Zealand record of 22 caps against Los Pumas.
- The match was the first test match between Argentina and New Zealand in Córdoba.
- Santiago Carreras, Juan Cruz Mallía, Franco Molina and Joaquín Oviedo were playing in their home town.
- Córdoba became the 9th Argentine city to host Los Pumas in a Rugby Championship test match. It follows Buenos Aires, La Plata, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, San Juan, Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero.
| SCORING |
ARGENTINA (24)
TRY – R Isgró (14′); T Albornoz (49′); J Oviedo (61′)
CON -T Albornoz (15′, 50′, 62′)
PEN – T Albornoz (29′)
YC – M Vivas (17′)
NEW ZEALAND (41)
TRY – S Reece 2 (7′, 40′); R Ratima (22′); A Savea (35′); S Taukei’aho 2 (67, 73′)
CON – B Barrett (8′, 23′, 36′, 40′)
PEN – B Barrett (3′)
YC – B Proctor (58′, A Lienert-Brown (77′)
| LINEUPS |
ARGENTINA
1 Mayco Vivas, 2 Julián Montoya (capt.), 3 Pedro Delgado, 4 Franco Molina, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Joaquín Oviedo, 9 Gonzalo García, 10 Tomás Albornoz, 11 Bautista Delguy, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Rodrigo Isgró, 15 Juan Cruz Mallía
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Juan Martín González, 21 Simón Benítez Cruz, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo
NEW ZEALAND
1 Ethan de Groot, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Fletcher Newell, 4 Scott Barrett (capt.), 5 Fabian Holland, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 8 Ardie Savea, 9 Cortez Ratima, 10 Beauden Barrett, 11 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 13 Billy Proctor, 14 Sevu Reece, 15 Will Jordan
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie
| MATCH HIGHLIGHTS |
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia); Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
FPRO: Damon Murphy (Australia)
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