Without Dan Carter, who is out of the tournament with a groin injury, the All Blacks appeared nervous and took a 12-7 half-time lead courtesy of four Piri Weepu penalties, with Argentina responding with Julio Farias’ converted try.
Argentina disrupted their rhythm throughout and they must find a outhalf to orchestrate the back line in Carter’s absence and hand the likes of Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams ball. The fact Weepu’s boot was decisive will be a concern for All Blacks head coach Graham Henry, while injuries are also beginning to take their toll.
The All Blacks — and Carter’s deputy Colin Slade, in particular — appeared somewhat over-awed by the occasion in a nervous opening which saw numerous errors and Argentina go close as Santiago Fernandez scuffed a drop-goal attempt.
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Dan Carter
Carter: an entire country obsessed with one man's groin
A little email exchange last night between BP staff and the PM, our transplanted Kiwi:
BP: Any chance you Kiwis could still come out on top even with current medical issues? I mean, the second-string ABs must be as good as most of the rest’s first-string squad, no?
PM: Bookies think so – our odds have lengthened a bit, but we’re still favourites. It has just opened up a bit.
They’re not a one-man team, though – Carter was probably not going to win it on his own either. There was this one game against the Lions in, I think, 2005, but usually he is just a big cog in a well-oiled machine. But other teams are definitely more confident – they can focus on other players, like the halfbacks, Ma’a Nonu, etc. Carter kept them guessing because his game is so complete but mostly because when it is going well he just pulls the strings like a magician. You never know if he’s going to run, pass, kick, where and to whom.
Slade is vulnerable to the catastrophic error, but mostly it is about momentum – DC puts us on the front foot and the opposition on the back foot before the game kicks off.
We are starting to close ranks a bit in New Zealand (and the diaspora) – maybe this is what the team needs: a bit of adversity to overcome.
And then the entire country breaks down in a quivering heap.
The last line alludes to another of the PM’s savvy predictions – that if the All Blacks fail to win the World Cup, “New Zealand will drown in a flood of despair.”
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Dan Carter
