All Blacks make a late statement
New Zealand left it late, but two tries in the final 15 minutes saw them ease to a 33-10 win over Argentina in their World Cup quarterfinal in Auckland on Sunday.
As Puma captain Felipe Contepomi said, for 60 minutes the visitors were competitive only for the Kiwis to put their magic on display in the final quarter.
Tries by Kieran Read and Brad Thorn, to go with seven Piri Weepu penalties and an Aaron Cruden conversion proved too much for the willing Pumas.
Weepu was entrusted with the kicking duties in the absence of Dan Carter.
However, the sour note of the day is another All Black flyhalf injury, with Colin Slade limping off early in the second half after suffering an undisclosed leg injury early in the match.
Argentina's sound defence restricted New Zealand to just two tries, both in the final quarter of the game, while the Pumas crossed the line once to briefly, and against all predictions, lead in the first half.
The last of the four quarterfinals was the only one to produce the winner forecast by the bookmakers as Weepu finished with a match haul of 21 points.
The win pits New Zealand against Australia in one semifinal after their trans-Tasman rivals knocked defending champions South Africa out of the tournament with an 11-9 win in their quarterfinal earlier Sunday.
The second semifinal between France and Wales was decided Saturday after their victories over England and Ireland respectively.
The All Blacks were in control from the opening exchanges against Argentina, and while they were unable to score a try until the 67th minute, they were able to quickly master the reputed strength of the Argentina pack.
Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu and Brad Thorn ensured the black forwards drove into the breakdown and over the ball providing a flow of front-foot possession.
But while the All Blacks backs retained the ball for long periods, mixing cut-out passes and wrap around movements to shift Argentina's heavy pack around Eden Park, they could not penetrate the South Americans' staunch defence.
It was left to Weepu to accumulate the points starting with a 38-metre penalty in the 13th minute and doubling the score soon after when Argentina conceded a scrum penalty as their main weapon began to misfire early.
But even though they were forced on the back foot for most of the game, Argentina's defence remained rock solid and, in a rare foray into the All Blacks half, the Pumas scored the only try of the opening 40 minutes.
Leonardo Senatore came off the back of a scrum, beat the tackle of New Zealand captain Richie McCaw and took play deep into All Blacks territory before off-loading for a try to flank Julio Farias Cabello, converted from the sideline by Felipe Contepomi to leave the Pumas up 7-6 up.
Weepu regained the lead with two more penalties to have New Zealand 12-7 ahead at half-time.
Argentina's long-range marksman Marcelo Bosch narrowed the gap to 12-10 with a successful penalty from halfway and near the left touchline soon after the restart before the All Blacks regained momentum.
Another two Weepu penalties had the All Blacks in front at 18-10, before No.8 Kieran Read finally pierced the Pumas' defence for New Zealand's first try of the match 13 minutes from time following a series of forward rushes.
The All Blacks closed out the game with another Weepu penalty and a rare try to lock Thorn - who galloped 25 metres to score after replacement flyhalf Aaron Cruden and wing Cory Jane had opened up Argentina down the right flank.
Cruden, who converted the try, was required for duty early in the match and had a sound game steering the backline after Carter's understudy Colin Slade left the field with a leg injury.
Man of the Match: You would be tempted to give it to the all-action All Black No.8 Kieran Read, but for his influence on the final outcome our award goes to All Black scrumhalf Piri Weepu - seven penalties and directed play like a true general.
Moment of the Match: There was a moment in the first half when Kieran Read thought he was over, only for the TMO to rule that a desperate Puma hand managed to force his foot into touch. Also crucial was Read's try with just over 10 minutes to go, but our award goes to Brad Thorn's try five minutes from time - it put the seal on a good win.
Villain of the Match: Nobody here.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries: Read, Thorn
Cons: Cruden
Pens: Weepu 7
For Argentina:
Try: Cabello
Con: Contepomi
Pens: Bosch
Yellow card(s): Nicolas Vergallo (Argentina, 60 - repeated breakdown offences)
The teams:
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sonny Bill Williams, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Isaia Toeava.
Argentina: 15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Felipe Contepomi (captain), 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Martin Scelzo, 18 Marcos Ayerza, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 22 Juan Jose Imhoff.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
AFP & rugby365.com