Argentina beat defending champions New Zealand in round one of The Rugby Championship; Lucio Cinti, Mateo Carreras, Franco Molina and Agustin Creevy with the tries as Pumas secure third victory over All Blacks in last four years – watch The Rugby Championship live on Sky Sports
Last Updated: 10/08/24 10:52am
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Highlights from The Rugby Championship as Argentina beat New Zealand for the third time in four years with a 38-30 victory in Wellington
Highlights from The Rugby Championship as Argentina beat New Zealand for the third time in four years with a 38-30 victory in Wellington
Argentina stunned New Zealand 38-30 in the sides’ Rugby Championship opener in Wellington as they claimed their third win over the All Blacks in four years.
The Pumas were routed 44-6 by New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, while they were also beaten 41-12 in last year’s Rugby Championship.
However, Argentina came out on top in Saturday’s pulsating meeting, outscoring the All Blacks four tries to three as Lucio Cinti, Mateo Carreras, Franco Molina and Agustin Creevy went over.
Argentina celebrate their win over New Zealand in The Rugby Championship
Sam Darry, Anton Lienert-Brown and Mark Tele’a touched down for New Zealand in a seesaw encounter – Darry’s score was the first of the game in the 15th minute and helped his side on their way to leads of 10-0 and 13-5.
But the reigning champions were punished for an error-strewn display as they conceded the most points ever in a home fixture.
Santiago Carerras kicked 18 points for the visitors with four penalties and three conversions, while Damian McKenzie booted 15 points for the hosts.
Argentina – who also beat New Zealand in the 2022 Rugby Championship and 2020 Tri Nations Series having failed to win any of the teams’ first 29 encounters – face the All Blacks again next Saturday, this time in Auckland.
‘Argentina dominated and deserved to win’
Creevy said: “It was amazing, it was a really good performance. We spoke in the week about hitting first and we did. We dominated the whole game. We deserved the result.”
New Zealand No 8 Ardie Savea said: “It’s hugely disappointing. That’s not All Blacks standard and that’s something we will take on the chin and get right for next week.
“This will hurt but we’ll bottle it up and it will hopefully help us next weekend.”
In the opening game of this year’s tournament, South Africa thumped Australia 33-7 in Brisbane.
Watch New Zealand vs Argentina live on Sky Sports Action from 7.55am (8.05am kick-off) on Saturday August 17.
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