There is another sporting upset looming at Buenos Aires next weekend. Photo / Photosport
There is another sporting upset looming at Buenos Aires next weekend. Photo / Photosport
COMMENT:
As former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson nearly said: Sport, eh? Bloody hell.
There's nothing quite like it for kicking apparently foregone conclusions in the pants.
The New Zealand cricket team has again displayed what for them is becoming a regular World Cup talent for surprising and delightingone nation while simultaneously crushing the hopes and dreams of another, in the latest case millions if not billions of Indian supporters, and, to quickly change sports and continents, the Pumas should take note because there is another sporting upset looming at Buenos Aires next weekend.
They have got very close (a draw in 1985), but Argentina have never beaten the All Blacks.
Here's why they have a very good chance at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani a week on Sunday: The Bledisloe Cup, the World Cup, and what should be sky-high self-belief within the Pumas squad that has sprung from the dramatics of the Jaguares in making the Super Rugby grand final for the first time after beating three Kiwi sides in New Zealand this season.
Tears were shed by many of the Jaguares players after that 19-3 final defeat to the Crusaders on a recent cruel mid-winter's night in Christchurch. Rest assured, the All Blacks will be expecting a response in Buenos Aires from a side effectively the Jaguares in disguise, but they have a plan and at the top of that plan will be leaving many of their best players at home.
For the All Blacks, the Rugby Championship comes third after the World Cup and Bledisloe Cup as a priority this year, and so they will name a vastly different team for this test.
Rieko Ioane from All Blacks is tackled by Jerónimo de la Fuente from Argentina in last year's test. Photo / Photosport
There will be few Crusaders involved, apart from perhaps Braydon Ennor, George Bridge or Sevu Reece, which means there will be no Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Owen Franks or Richie Mo'unga.
That's a lot of leadership and talent sitting at home watching the match on TV, but for coach Steve Hansen there's no other way because to play them after they won their third title in a row would put both big cup campaigns at serious risk.
For the Pumas, there is no Bledisloe Cup to worry about. Their time is now and such is their recent development thanks to the Jaguares that key World Cup pool opponents England and France could be casting a nervous look in their direction, especially if they perform next weekend.
Hello, or hola, then, to Josh Ioane, the new All Black who turned 24 today and will almost certainly be named in the match day squad against Argentina. Hansen and company are unlikely to start Ioane ahead of Beauden Barrett (even despite Barrett's recent minor illness), but it's a possibility, especially if they really want to see what the young Highlander is all about ahead of the World Cup.
Should Barrett and Mo'unga remain fit then Ioane probably won't travel to Japan, but this is his opportunity to gain the experience of playing in a high-pressure and hostile environment in case he should be required.
The risk in starting Ioane is that he could find it all a little overwhelming and take a long time to recover his confidence. The reward is he could play a blinder like former Highlanders No 10 Lima Sopoaga did on his debut against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2015.
For teammate Ben Smith, the normally quiet Ioane has found his voice to go with his undoubted running game. "In Super Rugby you saw him start to boss people around and get people in the right spots to make sure his game is the best it can be," he said.
Either way, Ioane will get his chance against the Pumas in what should be one of the most highly anticipated tests between the two nations outside of World Cups. This one could go either way and the All Blacks will know it.
