On the third day of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Argentina threatened to upstage the defending champions in front of 90,000 people at Wembley as they raced into an early lead.
However, New Zealand fought back and managed to grind out a 26-16 win. Part of New Zealand’s problems were entirely through their own making as captain Richie McCaw and Conrad Smith spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin during the first half. After making changes at the break, New Zealand managed to score their first try of the match when Aaron Smith went over in the 56th minute before Sam Cane settled things late on in the game.
However, Argentina will be happy with their efforts and will now focus on their next game against Georgia in Pool C.
Elsewhere, Wales beat Uruguay convincingly in front of a home crowd by 54-9 and in the process secured themselves a valuable bonus point.
Wales had initially gone behind in Cardiff as they were slow to get going and Uruguay took full advantage. However, it wasn’t long before Wales got into full swing and by half time they were winning by 28-9. In the second half, they ensured they got their bonus point and more as they added a further 26 points to show they mean business at this World Cup.
In Brighton, the scene of Japan’s magnificent victory yesterday, Samoa overcame the USA by 25-16 to ensure they got off to a winning start in pool B. Having led 14-8 at half time, Samoa extended their lead to ensure that they were not to be a victim of another World Cup upset on the south coast.
