The All Blacks scored seven tries thrashing Argentina 44-6 to book their spot in the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup at Stade de France today.
The Los Pumas broke the deadlock in the fifth minute with a penalty from flyhalf Emiliano Boffelli but New Zealand gave in a harsh response scoring two back-to-back tries.
It was a heavy contest by the All Blacks which saw Will Jordan collect a cut-out pass from Ardie Savea and ease his way over the try line.
Richie Mo’unga converted to give New Zealand a 7-3 lead in the 12th minute.
Set 15 meter out with an advantage expired, Mo’unga ran the back door, firing the ball wide to Jordie Barrett on the right edge and he bundled through the corner to score.
Argentina managed to secure their second penalty in the 34th minute and Boffelli booted to give his side 6 points.
Minutes before the break, Mo’unga kicked a penalty for the All Blacks before he took the onus and recycled the ball out from the Argentinian break and crossed it to an unmarked Shannon Frizell to walk over for their third try for a 20-6 lead at the break.
New Zealand dominated the entire second half while a helpless Argentina failed to score any points in the remaining 40 minutes.
Just two minutes into the second stanza, an individual effort from Aaron Smith saw him dummy his way over to the try line to score and Mo’unga converted.
After holding the top rivals close to six minutes, Argentina gave up on their defence which saw New Zealand being given an advantage play as Frizell dived to plant the ball on the line, scoring his second try in the match while Mo’unga converted.
Congested in the midfield, Mark Telea stole the ball away from the Argentinian tackle and recycled it over to Jordan as he barged over in the left corner to score but Mo’unga failed to convert.
New Zealand was reduced to 14 players when Scott Barrett was sin-binned for a clinical foul but Argentina failed to take advantage of the situation while the Kiwis scored through Jordan to seal the win.
New Zealand will play the winner of the second semifinal between South Africa and England in the final next week.
The teams:
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia; Emiliano Boffelli, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras; Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Bertranou; Facundo Isa, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez; Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti; Francisco Gomez Kodela, Julian Montoya (capt), Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: Agustin Creevy, Joel Sclavi, Eduardo Bello, Matias Alemanno, Rodrigo Bruni, Lautaro Bazan Velez, Nicolas Sanchez, Matias Moroni.
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett; Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Telea; Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane (capt), Shannon Frizell; Scott Barrett, Sam Whitelock; Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell, Brodie Retallick, Dalton Papali’i, Finlay Christie, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown.
