Without forcing New Zealand, they sweep Argentina and provide themselves with the fifth final in their history

When you think of New Zealand, two major clichés come to mind: flocks of sheep in a postcard scene and a black-clad rugby team dominating world rugby. If goats become increasingly rare on the island with the long white cloud, there are only five goats left for each inhabitant, This is a number at its lowest levels since the mid-nineteenth century^H a century – On the other hand, the rugby team continues to top Ovalie.

The proof: For the fifth time in its history, on Saturday, October 28, the World Cup final will be played at the Stade de France. Without forcing it, it crossed the last obstacle separating it from this date, Friday, October 20, with its comfortable victory over Argentina in the semi-finals (44 to 6).

The day before, Argentina’s assistant coach, Felipe Contepome, had declared an irreconcilable truth in rugby: whoever your opponent is, the match always starts zero to zero. Way of saying that the Pumas had a chance against the New Zealanders, and at the very least, they would start their match on the same starting line. The problem with the All Blacks, especially since the start of the competition, is that this initial hypothesis does not hold up for long. The Argentines had a bitter experience on Friday 20 October at the Stade de France: they were swept by the Pacific players without being able to compete at all.

Tremendously effective all blacks

If they were the ones who opened the scoring after a brilliant run of play in the opening moments of the game, they took the lead for just six short minutes. The New Zealanders then showed their surgical realism, scoring seven tries, gagging the South American players. Every time the Men in Black approached the Argentine goal line, they scored. “Against New Zealand, the slightest mistake is fatal. They are very effective…they turn all our mistakes into points.” Argentina coach Michael Cheika expressed his regret after the match.

Among the attacking arrows of the Men in Black, winger Will Jordan is undoubtedly the sharpest: by scoring three attempts, he raised his total in the competition to eight goals, thus doubling the Frenchman Damien Benaud (six attempts). If the New Zealander returns behind the opponent’s line in the final, he will be the sole record holder for the number of tries scored in a World Cup, surpassing South Africa’s Brian Habana and his compatriots Julian Savea and Jonah Lomu.

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