All Blacks to go 'old school'

The additional noise that accompany matches in Argentina may result in New Zealand returning to a more traditional way of making on-field calls.

Veteran No.8 Kieran Read said the All Blacks are preparing for a noisy crowd when they take on the Pumas in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

The atmosphere at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata,  poses a challenge that Read is confident the All Blacks are ready to combat.

"Line-out calls and calling in general on the field, it's pretty tough to communicate," said Read.

"A few different hand signals and things will probably come out of our back pocket this week," he said of a practice that went out the window along with the amateur status of the game back in the mid-1990s.

Read added that the All Blacks know what to expect from a passionate Argentina side.

"You know what you're going to get in terms of heart they put into the game, especially at home where they play with a lot of emotion early.

"We expect that on Saturday and hopefully we can give it back."

* Meanwhile the All Blacks have moved on from Aaron Cruden's expulsion from the team.

It was a popular refrain, even as two of the All Blacks' most senior players considered the expulsion of a teammate.

"We dealt with it coming over," says Conrad Smith.

"Obviously it was a bit strange because it happened as we were getting on the plane, but we've had time to digest it now and start moving forward."

"We were all pretty disappointed and it's probably a little out of character, especially for Cruds," says Keven Mealamu.

Legendary Puma flyhalf Hugo Porta doubts Cruden's absence will matter much.

"Well it's a big loss but we all know the depth of the team and the quality of the players. I don't think that that will affect the team a lot."

Source: 3 News