Sam Darry training for Blues during their Super Rugby Pacific campaign in Auckland in May 2024. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Analysis - How quickly things can change. After a record-breaking duo of Samuel Whitelock and Brodie Retallick finished up last season, then injuries to Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu, all of a sudden the All Blacks are heading into a test with a locking department boasting only 11 starts worth of experience.
Sam Darry and Tupou Vaa'i will start in the second row against the Pumas on Saturday night in Wellington, with Josh Lord backing up off the bench. Coach Scott Robertson admitted it was "fresh blood coming through".
"Sam's been impressive since he's come in and Josh's worn the black jersey before. He (Lord)'ll be straight up to the mark and standard."
Another big talking point was the midfield, where 73-test veteran Anton Lienert-Brown comes in for Rieko Ioane.
"We had a conversation with Rieko and it's competitive," Robertson admitted.
"We have two or three guys we can pick now and it's a performance-based sport. Everyone's got areas to work on and we've gone with Anton. It's a decision that's best for this week."
Anton Lienert-Brown. Photo: Lynne Cameron/SmartFrame
There's a reshuffle in the loose forwards, with Samipeni Finau paying the price for a couple of workmanlike performances against England. Robertson confirmed that Luke Jacobson suffered a hamstring injury, paving the way for Ethan Blackadder to take the blindside flanker spot. Wallace Sititi comes onto the bench in his second test.
"(Blackadder)'s had a few games in a row now… he's been as robust as ever in a game for Tasman. Then obviously Wallace, we're really pleased with him, he had a great 20-odd minutes in San Diego and gets to go again and have a bit of continuity."
Out of all the changes, the locks are certainly the ones under the microscope the most. It's fair to say the Pumas will be trying to do as much homework as they can on an area that they'll look to target, because their gameplan in the only two victories they've had over the All Blacks relied heavily on a dominant lineout.
That and a much better read on referee interpretations, however the All Black discipline this year has been one of the definite success stories.
"It's exciting… when someone retires, someone gets an opportunity," Robertson said of the locking situation.
"So we'll set them up the best we can to perform… now on Saturday night, it's up to them to keep that jersey."
There was the usual chat from Robertson, captain Ardie Savea and Lienert-Brown about the "passion" and skillset of the Pumas, but really it'd be hard to learn much from their body of work so far this year under new coach Felipe Contepomi.
They split a series 1-1 with a French B team and then flogged Uruguay, so really this will be a pretty good barometer as to where they've landed after a very good World Cup campaign last year.
Robertson and Contepomi have a shared history as former representatives of their national sides, although it's probably not one the Argentinean record points scorer remembers too fondly. In Buenos Aires in 2001, the Pumas were only a few moments away from a historic first victory against the All Blacks, however Contepomi's missed touch finder led straight to a Ben Blair break and Robertson scoring the match winning try.
"So many Argentineans come up to me and remind me of that moment," Robertson said.
"Felipe's a hell of a coach, to play for your country and coach them is pretty special and he's done it through working hard."
As for his memories of the game, Robertson described it as "an incredible atmosphere" at the 85,000 capacity Estadio Monumental.
"(Diego) Maradona was there, there was a lot of whistling… really passionate, it was really cool, it had a football-like feel."
All Blacks v Pumas
Kick-off: 7.05pm, Saturday 10 August (NZT)
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Live blog coverage on RNZ Sport
All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot 2. Codie Taylor 3. Tyrel Lomax 4. Tupou Vaa'i 5. Sam Darry 6. Ethan Blackadder7. Dalton Papali'i 8. Ardie Savea (Captain) 9. TJ Perenara 10. Damian McKenzie 11. Mark Tele'a 12. Jordie Barrett 13. Anton Lienert-Brown 14. Sevu Reece 15. Beauden Barrett
Bench: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18. Fletcher Newell 19. Josh Lord 20. Wallace Sititi 21. Cortez Ratima 22. Rieko Ioane 23. Will Jordan
Pumas: TBC