Bonus point victory over the Pumas

Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com

This morning the All Blacks, squeezed there way past the Puma's and gained the vital bonus point needed before next weekends blockbuster encounter against the Springboks to decide this years Rugby Championship.

It was scrappy at times but the job was done and the win was taken.

It was again a slow start from our boys with the Puma's asserting there physical dominance on the scrums and competing well at the breakdown. It was only during the post match analysis that it was discovered that Owen Franks sustained a groin injury and perhaps had a larger than expected impact on his scrummaging ability. 

There was more moments of individual brilliance than long periods of attack, including a spectacular break by Julian Savea that lead to the All Blacks first try.

Aaron Cruden, had an up and down night with the boot and even had fans in the stand's shine a lazer light on the ball during a conversion attempt, something that unfortunately put a shadow over the fans and there sportsmanship during the game.

I continue to be very impressed with Beauden Barrett each time I see him in the black jersey. He continues to bring a fantastic impact onto the game and is slotting in better and better each time, a great position to be in yet again with the wealth of talent we have in the no10 jersey.

The shining light was Ben Smith's final minute of play try right between the sticks, steam rolling in the process 2 Argentinean defenders and securing the bonus point before the showdown at Ellis Park. 

With Conrad Smith leaving after the final of the Championship, many are predicting a shift into the midfield which would allow injured winger Cory Jane to be brought back in for the end of year tour. It certainly wont be a walk back into the right wing jersey for Jane but he will be another experienced head that will no doubt be invaluable for our boys going forward.

From the Puma's point of view they will be disappointed again that they have yet to rack up there first win in the Championship. It looks like its more of a case of nabbing the first win and the rest will follow. They will need to learn how to win, but in there second year in the competition they have again proved that they are no easy beats.

What did you think of the game?