The All Blacks are welcoming the challenge a fairly 'unknown' Pumas side will bring this weekend.
The scene of 31,000 Kiwis screaming without masks on during Sunday's thrilling Bledisloe Cup Test draw is dividing the internet.
While the rugby world has reacted to the enthralling 16-16 draw with renewed admiration for the Wallabies under new coach Dave Rennie, Australia's feat of breaking New Zealand's 19-year run of victories on home soil against the Wallabies was overlooked in the United States.
The stadium itself and the images of an almost-capacity Wellington Stadium crowd reminding the rest of the world what sporting events were like before the Covid-19 pandemic was the major talking point in many pockets of cyberspace.
The entertaining encounter lifted rugby out of its seven-month Test hiatus in front of a large crowd of mask-free spectators with New Zealand having largely contained the virus.
That's why it appears to be such a point of division in the United States, where sporting events are currently playing out behind closed doors in the majority of cases.
The NBA Playoffs have been staged in the league-established Florida bubble without any live spectators, while the NFL season has seen some smaller crowds in reduced-capacity stadiums with the league allowing individual teams to make up their own rules on crowd numbers.
Even with some NFL stadiums squeezing in 15,000 fans this month - the sight of 31,000 Kiwis crammed in without masks was too much for some jealous US Americans to swallow.
It also led to uncomfortable questions about New Zealand's aggressive national lockdown measures to wipe out active coronavirus cases in the community - and it's overwhelming success compared to the United States' national Covid-19 crisis of more than 214,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
The image posted on Reddit of New Zealand fans enjoying sport without the need for masks or social distancing clearly hit a sore spot in the US.
The image from Wellington that stunned Reddit users around the world. Photo / Reddit
Former NBA star and social media influencer Rex Chapman appeared to make a sly dig at the country's disastrous response to Covid-19 when sharing the Bledisloe Cup image with his 986,000 followers on Twitter.
"While we Americans are sitting at home watching the NFL today keep in mind this happened in New Zealand today," he posted.
"(FWIW — They had an organised national response to Coronavirus.)"
Fellow US American Prescott Rossi said: "Australia and New Zealand playing rugby right now. Pretty full crowd in Wellington. Must be nice."
Irish rugby writer Cian Tracey tweeted: "Amazing to see such a large crowd in New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup. Hard to believe we're living in the same world."
South African rugby fan Stevie J added: "Amazing to see a full crowd at sport again in New Zealand for the Bledisloe Cup. What a game of rugby they were treated to!"
Watching New Zealand v Australia rugby in Wellington, fans in the stands, local announcer mentions this is the first international test match "post-COVID pandemic". As an American... pic.twitter.com/KvlaZL5scO
For the All Blacks and Wallabies it was almost a year since they last played at the World Cup in Japan, and it was exactly 400 days since the last Test match in New Zealand.
In addition to the Covid distraction, the Test build-up was also rocked by disputes between New Zealand and Australia over Super Rugby and the Rugby Championship, and when it came to the on-field contest there were signs of rust.
But there was also a keen edge, and the draw leaves the four-match Bledisloe series wide open as Australia push to end an 18-year drought.
The Bledisloe Cup continues at Eden Park on Sunday before the series moves to Australia later this month where the Wallabies will hope to end New Zealand's 18-year streak.
