Rugby-Being a 50-minute team is not good enough - Pumas
Sept 10 (Reuters) - Argentina again showed how good they have become when they put New Zealand under immense pressure in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, but scrumhalf Martin Landajo lamented they fact they again did not sustain the effort for a full 80 minutes.
The All Blacks ran away in the final 30 minutes in Hamilton, scoring five unanswered tries to clinch a 57-22 victory that in reality flattered the world champions.
Until flyhalf Beauden Barrett sparked a flurry of three tries in 10 minutes after the Pumas had reduced the deficit to 24-22 the visitors were threatening to secure their first win over the All Blacks in the 23rd test between the sides.
"A bit of a lie the result but they really deserved the win so we congratulate them," Landajo said.
"We made a good first half and then again at the start of the second but it's not enough. We need to do 80 minutes.
"We are playing 50 or 60 minutes of great rugby but it's not enough so we need to change something."
The Pumas entered the match at Waikato Stadium fresh from a 26-24 victory over the Springboks, though they needed a late penalty from Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias to seal that win in Salta after they had let slip a 10-point advantage.
Agustin Creevy's side also let South Africa off the hook a week earlier in Nelspruit as the South Africans scored 17 points in the last 10 minutes to record a 30-23 victory.
They went into the break trailing 24-19 on Saturday and it would have been a 24-22 deficit if Nicolas Sanchez had slotted his fifth penalty on the stroke of halftime.
The flyhalf, however, did reduce the deficit after his side had hammered away at the All Blacks line for the opening 10 minutes of the second period.
"The second half we didn't score the tries we needed to," Landajo said. "Then the first time they came here (into Pumas territory) they scored and that was the difference.
"But we are happy that we are playing good rugby. It's a young team and we are growing. We are on a good path."
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Napier; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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