After securing a 28-24 victory on Saturday in what was an epic quarter-final against the then world’s number-one ranked side, Ireland, only Argentina now stand in New Zealand’s way from a return to a World Cup final.
The two sides are preparing to face off at the Stade de France on Friday night and the All Blacks will take some stopping to be denied a place in the final, where either England or South Africa will be waiting on October 28th.
- New Zealand -17 handicap
- Will Jordan to score anytime
- Over 5.5 tries in the game
All Blacks Set To Dominate
Having only lost two of their previous 36 meetings, New Zealand have a formidable record against Argentina.
The last time these sides met was in the shortened 2023 Rugby Championship over the summer, with the All Blacks running out convincing 41-12 winners in Mendoza.
It was a ruthless performance from the Kiwis, who had seven different tryscorers on the day, and a similar display can be expected on Friday night.
Only Fiji conceded more points from the teams that qualified for the quarter-finals than Argentina and their defence is likely to be pushed to the absolute limit by the three-time winners in Saint-Denis.
New Zealand have scored 94 points over their last two encounters with Argentina and Ian Foster’s side should fall on the right side of the -17 handicap in this semi-final.
Will Jordan to cut loose
Keep An Eye On Jordan
One of the players in the running for top tryscorer at the tournament, keep an eye out for New Zealand winger Will Jordan in the anytime tryscorer market.
The Crusaders flyer, who helped his club side to the Super Rugby title this year, already has five tries in this World Cup, as have fellow New Zealanders Leicester Fainga’anuku and Damian McKenzie.
Damian Penaud is out in front with six tries, but France’s heart-breaking exit at the hands of South Africa in their thrilling quarter-final on Sunday has left the door open to Jordan to finish top of the standings.
With 28 tries in 29 appearances for New Zealand, Jordan has made an electric start to life in Test rugby.
It would be little surprise to see the 25-year-old add to his remarkable tally against Argentina.
Expect Tries In Saint-Denis
Considering the threats in the New Zealand backline and the power they have up front, there should be plenty of tries scored in this semi-final.
Argentina should also have their moments in this contest and they might also be able to cross for a couple of tries as they did against the All Blacks in Mendoza in July.
A high-scoring affair looks to be on the cards for this one, with New Zealand scoring at will in their last two games against Argentina to win 53-3 in Hamilton and 41-21 in Mendoza.
With that in mind, over 5.5 tries over the course of this semi-final looks to be the way to go.
Argentina vs All Blacks 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 Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Bench: 16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Joel Sclavi, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bruni, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Nicolas Sanchez, 23 Matías Moroni
All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Bench: 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
