All Blacks won’t take the Pumas lightly

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster knows the danger of underestimating Argentina all too well and insists that the proper respect will be paid to their Rugby World Cup semi-final opponents.

The All Blacks take on the Pumas on Friday evening from 21:00.

The All Blacks prepared for Pumas to claw and scratch

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Foster said they expect another very challenging matchup.

“We are massively respectful of Argentina,” Foster told reporters in Paris.

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“If you go into a World Cup semi-final with any expectation that the past is going to happen again, you have got problems,” the 58-year-old outgoing coach went on to add. 

The Pumas and All Blacks both lost their first matches at the Cup before really hitting their straps.

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Foster believes that Argentina won’t give an inch at the Stade De France.

“I’ve been really impressed with Argentina, how they’ve carried their campaign,” Foster said.

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“It was a great victory against Wales where they showed their tenacity.

“We know they’ve got that as we play them regularly and they’ve been difficult opponents. So there will be no surprises.”

Foster identified Argentina No 8 Facundo Isa as the dangerman for his All Blacks to bring down.

“He is a good player. He looks fit, powerful,” Foster said.

“They have got a lot of damaging ball carriers and he is probably at the top of the tree.”

Argentina beat the All Blacks in Christchurch in 2022 in their most recent triumph in the rivalry.

Teams

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 (captain), 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.

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 (captain), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel 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 Papali’i, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown.

Date: Friday, October 20

Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Kick-off: 21.00 (19.00 GMT, 16.00 ART, 08.00 Saturday, October 21 NZDT)

Expected: Periods of rain with a temperature of around 12°C around kick-off time. It will also be breezy.

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Karl Dickson (England)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)