Sydney: Argentina shook off more than 13 months of inactivity to post their first-ever win over New Zealand on Saturday, beating the All Blacks 25-15 in a Tri-Nations Test on neutral ground in Sydney.
Fly-half Nicolas Sanchez scored all of Argentina’s points from a first-half try, six penalties and a conversion, steering them to an insurmountable 16-3 lead at half-time.
New Zealand, coming off a loss to Australia last weekend, expected an easier time against an Argentina team playing their first Test since the World Cup in Japan last October.
Instead, the Pumas took control of the match early on and refused to relinquish it, posting their first win in 30 Tests against New Zealand since their first in 1985.
“This is a big day for Argentina rugby,” said Pumas captain Pablo Matera, who had an massive influence on his team’s performance.
“This is a great day for our country and our people. It was very hard to come here and prepare for this tournament and we just wanted to show our people who have been through a lot that with a lot of determination you can get things done.”
New Zealand’s try-scorer Sam Cane said: “They had a lot more intensity, more line speed and their defence was excellent tonight.”