Argentina player ratings: Poor shifts all-round as All Blacks pummel Pumas

Following Argentina’s 44-6 loss to the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, here is how we rated the Los Pumas players.

15 Juan Cruz Mallia: Had a horrendous gaffe near his own try line that the All Blacks capitalised on. A couple of bad passes, a boatload of missed tackles and didn’t provide the spark from the back that he usually does. 4

14 Emiliano Boffelli: A good start early on, but although he had conceded two turnovers, the world-class winger couldn’t do too much with what was happening around him. Caught out of position a few times but so was the rest of Los Pumas. 5

13 Lucio Cinti: Defended bravely but with little luck, got some purchase from his carries and did what he could with what has happening around him. 5

Tough night

12 Santiago Chocobares: Outplayed by man of the match Jordie Barrett, had limited impact on attack and torn apart on defence, missing more tackles than he made. 3

11 Mateo Carreras: Incredibly busy as he tried to get some sort of attacking possession and wrestle his side back in the game but ultimately came up short on every occasion. 6

10 Santiago Carreras: Some bright moments in attack but he was quite frankly outplayed and outsmarted by Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett. He was also exposed on defence. 4

9 Gonzalo Bertranou: A tough night for the scrum-half as he had little to work with due to the All Blacks dominating up front. There wasn’t much wrong with his service, but he also didn’t test the All Blacks around the fringes. 5

Back-five forwards

8 Facundo Isa: A big shift despite a stop-start beginning to his game after leaving the pitch for a HIA. He was impactful on both sides of the ball despite the scoreline. He gained metres regularly and was busy on defence before departing after the hour mark. 6

7 Marcos Kremer: Threw absolutely everything he had at the men in black, hammering into tackles with the referee’s mic picking up several of the brutal sound effects that came with those shots. It was a tireless shift as he emptied his tank and some, which meant he missed several tackles. A warrior in a losing effort. 6

💥 Do not run directly at Marcos Kremer! #ARGvNZL #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/PaSlceLdDG

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) October 20, 2023

6 Juan Martin Gonzalez: Precious few opportunities to make his mark as the All Blacks simply shut him down all over the park. He did land some nice shots on defence but was largely ineffective and conceded a pair of penalties. 4

5 Tomas Lavanini: A busy carrier but chopped down by the All Blacks’ wall with real ease. A quiet game overall for the experienced second-rower and was replaced early. 3

4 Guido Petti: He ran the lineout well enough, one of the few standouts for the Pumas. Petti missed five of his 15 tackles and conceded two penalties as well. 4

Failing front-row

3 Francisco Gomez Kodela: Conceded a couple of penalties while the All Blacks had his number in the scrums. Forced into having a busy shift on defence, making 10, but missed two as well. 3

2 Julián Montoya: Always gives it his all in the Pumas jersey and tonight was no different but it just wasn’t his day. He had little luck at the breakdown, missed some crucial tackles and had a really poor lineout throw by his standards. His decision to kick for the poles when they had the All Blacks on the back foot also proved costly. 4

1 Thomas Gallo: Ridiculously busy on defence – the All Blacks’ attack meant he had to be – as the prop made 19 tackles. He was dominated in the scrums and did impress when he had the opportunity to carry, but his set-piece work let him down again. 6

Replacements: Rodrigo Bruni was one of the few standouts during his two cameos, while Matias Moroni had some bright moments. There was a scrum improvement in the latter stages, but overall, it was much the same when the replacements came on. 4

READ MORE: All Blacks thump Argentina as Will Jordan hat-trick fires them to Rugby World Cup Final