PARIS — New Zealand bulldozed through Argentina 44-6 on Friday to reach the Rugby World Cup final for a record fifth time.
The All Blacks will bid for a record fourth title against defending champion South Africa or England, who play their semifinal on Saturday.
Going into the semifinal, there was a question mark whether the All Blacks could back up physically and mentally their astonishing herculean effort to topple Ireland last weekend. It didn't take long to show they were as up for the semifinal in which they started as the firm favourite as they were for the quarterfinal in which they were the heavy underdogs.
“I am incredibly proud of the way we backed it up tonight,” New Zealand coach Ian Foster said. “It is really satisfying, but now all the pressure of the final comes.”
The All Blacks outclassed Argentina with power and pace and sent the Pumas scrum reeling backwards. But the defence might have been the most impressive again, as it was in containing Ireland last weekend. They finished with 195 tackles, but made 121 of them in the first half when they missed only 10. That exhausted the Pumas, who threw everything at the All Blacks but were virtually out of the contest by halftime at 20-6 behind.
“Our forwards did an outstanding job — set-piece, maul time, earned a few penalties, got a bit of dominance and it kept a lot of pressure on the Argentinians,” All Blacks captain Sam Cane said. “We knew they're a team that will fight for everything and they wouldn't go away. So that ability to keep piling on points was pleasing.”
As the game opened up more in the second spell, the All Blacks showed off their ruthlessness by building attacks and battering the Pumas to the point of fatigue. They led 39-6 going into the last quarter, when they added only a hat trick try for Jordan.
Jordan could have had a fourth try in the match but Richie Mo'unga ignored the overlap and chose to go on his own and was wrapped up. No matter, Jordan has a tournament-leading eight tries, matching the single tournament record set by Jonah Lomu in 1995, Bryan Habana in 2007 and Julian Savea in 2015. And Jordan has one more match to go.
The most lopsided semifinal result since 1987 when eventual champion New Zealand beat Wales 49-6 started with an early penalty for Argentina's Emiliano Boffelli after they wasted 14 phases in the first two minutes.
New Zealand scored its first try after 11 minutes. A kickable penalty was kicked to the corner, the All Blacks hammered the Pumas and narrowed their defence, and Mo'unga's double miss-out pass allowed Jordan to stroll over.
Minutes later, the Pumas were going nowhere after 10 phases when wing Mark Tele'a stripped Pumas scrumhalf Gonzalo Bertranou. Rieko Ioane and Mo'unga counterattacked and Jordie Barrett ended up rolling across the tryline.
The Pumas hit back with a 12-phase move that netted Boffelli’s second penalty kick but Mo’unga's penalty made it 15-6 and flanker Shannon Frizell walked over for the third try on halftime. At the end of 12 phases and way past 40 minutes, Tele’a broke through five tackles and Smith and Mo’unga set up Frizell. Mo’unga’s conversion attempt hit the left post.
Two minutes into the new half, another powerful All Blacks scrum allowed Smith to dummy opposite Bertranou, step inside winger Mateo Carreras and score their fourth try.
Another 18 phases by the All Blacks including a Mo'unga break finished with Frizell burrowing over for their fifth try.
The All Blacks then strung another 11 phases, at the end of which Tele'a dragged in four defenders and Jordan had another walk-in try, his second.
Hooker Julián Montoya, the Argentine captain, also paid tribute to New Zealand’s ruthless efficiency.
“The scrums were completely dominant on us. Every opportunity they have they score," he said. "Awesome team.”
The only downer for New Zealand was Scott Barrett's yellow card with 15 minutes left for a cynical ruck foul and yet their discipline was still impressive. They conceded three penalties in the first half, seven in the match. Even with Scott Barrett in the sin-bin, they expertly worked a lineout move in which Ardie Savea's inside pass put Jordan in a huge gap on halfway. He collected his own chip ahead and earned the hat trick.
The All Blacks draining the tension early on added to a subdued atmosphere at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, which previously hosted Ireland matches packed with 40,000 green-shirted Irish fans singing their hearts out, or hopeful fans of three-time finalist France.
New Zealand comes back next Saturday for one last game, having opened the tournament here with a 27-13 loss to host France that led to some observers writing off the All Blacks.
They will take some stopping now.
“We are in a good spot, in the final, exactly where we wanted to be," Cane said.
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AP Rugby World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
Jerome Pugmire, The Canadian Press
