New Zealand will not take the field just to punch a ticket for the Rugby World Cup showpiece when they face Argentina in the first semi-final at the Stade de France on Friday, they will be out to deliver a performance to be remembered.
The All Blacks, who started with defeat by hosts France, put on a scintillating display against top-ranked Ireland in the quarter-finals, a mix of efficiency and steely defence that left them on course for a record-extending fourth world title.
Argentina fought their way through the soft side of the draw with gusto, but that will not be enough against a New Zealand team who are not showing any signs of complacency.
“We know these games are do-or-die. We know we have to improve our performance,” New Zealand coach Ian Foster said – a statement that sounds like an ominous warning for the Pumas.
“You’ve never heard us say we’re favourites. The stage gets bigger at this time in the tournament and you’ve got to grow your game. That’s our strong focus. The best team on the night win. Argentina have done that to us.”
Argentina beat New Zealand 25-18 last year in the Rugby Championship, but the All Blacks won their last two meetings, in the same competition, 53-3 in 2022 and 41-12 this year.
Foster has recalled winger Mark Telea after he was left out of the team last weekend for disciplinary reasons while Sam Whitelock is back in the second row.
LEARNING CURVE
Argentina will not just bring the takeaways from their victory against the All Blacks into the contest, but also what they have learned from their defeats against the three-time champions.
“In the game in 2020 there are things you pinpoint; you can’t say that one game means we can do it because there are other games where we haven’t, and lots of them,” Argentina coach Michael Cheika said.
“It’s about understanding what it takes, what we have to do. That is how you grow from taking those experiences and running with them – it can’t be from that win, it has to be part of it, what we have done since then, all the success and failures you have had along the way.”
Cheika has made one change to the team who beat Wales 29-17 in the quarter-finals, with scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou returning to the side in place of Tomas Cubelli.
Argentina will bring their physicality into the game but New Zealand will be prepared, as they showed in their 28-24 victory against top-ranked Ireland last weekend.
“We know how physical they (Argentina) are, especially among the forwards. How they run so hard, they scrum hard, drive hard. Everything is about physicality and winning those battles,” said New Zealand fullback Beauden Barrett.
Teams:
New Zealand: 15-Beauden Barrett, 14-Will Jordan, 13-Rieko Ioane, 12-Jordie Barrett, 11-Mark Tele’a, 10-Richie Mo’unga, 9-Aaron Smith, 8-Ardie Savea, 7-Sam Cane (capt.), 6-Shannon Frizell, 5-Scott Barrett, 4-Sam Whitelock, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 2-Codie Taylor, 1-Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16-Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17-Tamaiti Williams, 18-Fletcher Newell, 19-Brodie Retallick, 20-Dalton Papalii, 21-Finlay Christie, 22-Damian McKenzie, 23-Anton Lienert-Brown.
Argentina: 15-Juan Cruz Mallia, 14-Emiliano Boffelli, 13-Lucio Cinti, 12-Santiago Chocobares, 11-Mateo Carreras, 10-Santiago Carreras, 9-Gonzalo Bertranou, 8-Facundo Isa, 7-Marcos Kremer, 6-Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5-Tomas Lavanini, 4-Guido Petti, 3-Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2-Julian Montoya (capt.), 1-Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16-Agustin Creevy, 17-Joel Sclavi, 18-Eduardo Bello, 19-Matias Alemanno, 20-Rodrigo Bruni, 21-Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22-Nicolas Sanchez, 23-Matias Moroni.
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