The Sam Cane hit that summed up the All Blacks’ performance
The All Blacks meant business on Saturday against Argentina, and a few of their players answered some critics, none more so than captain Sam Cane.
The flanker was outstanding in Hamilton, and has had plenty of praise heaped on him by coach Ian Foster. He made his mark early on in the game, and it summed up the entire performance by his side, as they wet on to win 53-3.
The moment came when all 6ft 5in and 115kg of opposite man Marcos Kremer ran into him on the half hour mark and got smashed backwards. Kremer was an absolute beast in the first Test against the All Blacks, when the Pumas beat the hosts for the first time ever on New Zealand soil, tackling and manhandling All Blacks for fun. Cane was going to make sure he did not get the physical ascendency a week later, and this hit proves it.
The way the All Blacks competed at the breakdown after the tackle showed that they had learned their lesson from the week before, although it was during a penalty advantage to the visitors. Discipline was certainly an area that cost Cane’s side the week before, but it was much better in Hamilton (despite this incident).
Take a look at the tackle:
This is what Cane said after the match: “This week we were in the game right from the start and were able to turn that into points so it was a pretty enjoyable night.
“I thought our defence was outstanding. We were able to force them into a heck of a lot of errors but on top of that our discipline was really good so we were able to capitalise on that and counter-attack.”
The All Blacks now sit at the top of the Rugby Championship, and have a week off before back to back Bledisloe Cup Tests.
