Match News and Current Form
Argentina showed some of their best and their worst football in Córdoba last weekend, thwarted by a first half sin bin that sucked any momentum out of their strategy. The performance was much more solid after half-time once normal service was resumed, but the Pumas in reality weren’t able to put the All Blacks under significant pressure for more than the occasional period. Sadly their scintillating performance against the British & Irish Lions in Dublin has proven to be an anomaly rather than an inspiration, and they’re now on a five-game losing streak against Tier 1 opposition, including twice to a second-string English opposition. The surroundings of Estadio José Amalfitani could provide the Pumas with some inspiration given they defeated France 33-25 in their last visit to this venue.
But New Zealand won’t have to perform much worse than last weekend’s effort to take two wins home from South America on Monday. Not least because their matchday squad has been strengthened by the returns via the bench for the previously injured pair of Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams. Their second half tackle completion rate of 89% last weekend and four scrum penalties won points to two aspects of a fairly slick performance, though head coach Scott Robertson still wants more set-piece dominance. Whilst the critics have not been shushed, the winning form can’t be denied: their only loss from their last 11 tests came by a single point in France.
Head-to-Head History
The All Blacks now boast a 36-4 all-time record against the Pumas, and some of the more recent meetings have been dominant, with New Zealand scoring 40+ points in five of the last six H2Hs.
Argentina have never defeated New Zealand on home soil, drawing in 1985 and losing each of the other 14.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Argentina were outscored in both halves in just two of their last ten defeats
65% of Argentina’s tries in 2025 came after half-time
New Zealand have a 4-1 record since the start of 2024 when conceding the opening try
New Zealand outscored their opponents during the second half in only one of their last four games
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Tomás Albornoz has been the finest Argentina player this year by a long way, beating a game-high seven defenders last weekend. Across his last six Tests he has recorded four tries and 82 points including a try. All Blacks vice-captain Ardie Savea continues to be magnetised to the try line, crossing it in five of his last eight games for Moana Pasifika or New Zealand.
Patrick Tuipulotu and Anton Lienert-Brown were unavailable through injury. Argentina voluntarily made two changes with Mateo Carreras bumps out Rodrigo Isgro and Juan Martín González replaces flanker Marcos Kremer.
Betting Analysis
Argentina’s underwhelming 2025 can be summarised by the Pumas failing to cover the spread in four of their five games, so the trend points towards New Zealand -10.5 points in the handicap markets.