Sunday 9th October 2011 NEW ZEALAND KO: 20:30 ARGENTINA Eden Park, Auckland Key Facts & Figures Head-to-head New Zealand (cont’d) • The All Blacks and Pumas have met 13 times with the All • Henry is coaching a team in a RWC match for the 14th Blacks winning 12 by an average of almost 34 points. The time, equalling Bernard Laporte’s (FRA) record. Henry teams drew their second match 21-21 in Buenos Aires in coached Wales in their four matches at RWC 1999 and will 1985. have coached the All Blacks in five matches at RWC 2007 • Argentina also recognise a further four matches played and RWC 2011. against New Zealand teams in 1976 and 1979. New • Henry is the first person to coach 100 Tests for a major Zealand won all four of those matches. nation in the professional era. His 85 per cent winning • The teams have met at the World Cup once before with record coaching New Zealand is the best for any coach New Zealand winning the RWC 1987 pool match 46-15 in of a major nation in the professional era. His predecessor Wellington. John Mitchell’s record of 82.1 per cent is the only other • Argentina’s two narrowest losses to the All Blacks have above 80 per cent. Henry also coached 34 Tests for Wales come in two of their past three encounters - by four and and three for the British and Irish Lions. six points respectively - although both were in Buenos • New Zealand have lost only to South Africa, Australia and Aires. France during Henry’s reign and have a winning record • Argentina’s narrowest loss to the All Blacks in New Zealand against all three. was their first Test, a 46-15 defeat in 1987. The last match • New Zealand have won their last 14 Test matches at home, between the two in New Zealand was a 41-7 win to the All a winning streak that goes back more than two years, Blacks in Hamilton in 2004, their second-narrowest margin since South Africa beat them 32-29 in Hamilton on 12 in New Zealand. September 2009. • New Zealand’s highest score against the Pumas in • Under Henry, New Zealand have lost only three home Test Argentina is 36 points, while their lowest score against matches against South Africa (twice) and France. their opponents on Sunday in New Zealand is 41 points. • During the RWC 2011 pool phase, New Zealand: • Argentina’s highest score against the All Blacks in New • Trailed on the scoreboard for just five minutes, equal Zealand is 19 points. Their highest score against New with Ireland as the shortest period by any team. Zealand in all Tests is 21 points in the 1985 draw. • Scored 240 points and 36 tries, more than any other • Mils Muliaina is the only All Black in the current RWC team but their fewest since the pool phase was 2011 squad to have scored points against Argentina. He expanded to four matches. scored a try in the team’s last encounter in New Zealand in • Were the only team to score a bonus point in every Hamilton in 2004. match. • Three of New Zealand’s starting XV, Tony Woodcock, Ali • Made 91 per cent of their tackles. Only Scotland (91.8 Williams and Piri Weepu, played in the All Blacks’ last per cent) made more. match against the Pumas in Buenos Aires in 2006. Andrew • Won 100 per cent of their scrums. South Africa are the Hore, who is on the bench for Sunday’s match, came on only other team to have done so. as a replacement in Argentina five years ago. Woodcock, • Won eight scrums against the feed, more than any Hore, McCaw and Muliaina also started the 2004 match in other team. Hamilton. • Lost three of their own lineouts, the fewest of any team. New Zealand Argentina • Ranked No.1 in the world, a position they have held more than all other nations combined. • Ranked No.7 in the IRB World Rankings, having moved • Have scored 1951 RWC points, 566 more than from No.9 to No.8 following their RWC 2011 victory over second-placed Australia. Scotland and then again to No.7 following their win • Have scored 268 RWC tries, 90 more than second-placed against Georgia and France’s loss to Tonga last weekend. Australia. • Have the most RWC wins (15), points (732) and tries (73) of • Have won 34 RWC matches, three more than teams outside the Tri Nations and Six Nations. second-placed Australia. • Are the only team outside of the Tri Nations and Six • Are the only team to finish first in their pool at every RWC. Nations to have progressed to the RWC quarter-finals • Are one of four teams, along with England, France and three times and are the only team outside that group to Australia, to have progressed to the quarter-finals at every have won a quarter-final. RWC. • Are one of three teams to have won a RWC knockout • Have progressed to the semi-finals on five occasions, match after trailing at half-time. England have done it four equal-most with France. times and France have done it three times. • Along with France, are the only teams to have lost • Have never beaten a Tri Nations side at an RWC. Their two multiple RWC semi-finals. narrowest defeats were 13 and 16-point losses to Australia • No team is undefeated in RWC quarter-finals. New in pool matches. Zealand, along with South Africa and France, are the only teams to have played at least three quarter-finals and lost only one. • Have lost two knockout matches after leading at half-time, both against France. Australia are the only other team to have done it more than once in two losses to England. • New Zealand have scored at least one try in their past 93 Tests and in 99 of the 100 Tests coached by Graham Henry. © International Rugby Board 2011. Data extracted from Rugby Information Management System (07/10/2011 08:36). Page 1 Sunday 9th October 2011 NEW ZEALAND KO: 20:30 ARGENTINA Eden Park, Auckland Key Facts & Figures (cont’d) Argentina (cont’d) The line-ups (cont’d) • Have won nine of their last 11 RWC matches, losing only • At an average of 28 years and 228 days, this is New to RWC 2007 finalists South Africa and England. Zealand’s second oldest RWC XV and their oldest to play in • During the RWC 2011 pool phase, Argentina: a RWC knockout match. The only All Blacks team at a RWC • Scored 90 points, the only quarter-finalist to not score older than this one was the team that beat France two at least 100 points. weeks ago. It was 24 days per player older. • Conceded just three tries, the fewest of the four teams • Their previous oldest team in a knockout match was their to finish second in their pool. last team to play a knockout fixture, that being the team • Used only 27 of their squad members, the fewest of that lost to France in the RWC 2007 quarter-finals. That any quarter-finalist. team was 398 days older per player. • Converted only 48.5 per cent of their place kicks, the • Mils Muliaina becomes the 20th player, and second All only quarter-finalist to kick less than 50 per cent. Black after Richie McCaw, to play 100 Test matches. • McCaw makes his 101st appearance for the All Blacks to The venue remain their sole most capped player. McCaw’s first match against the Pumas was his third Test, in Buenos Aires in • Eden Park hosted five matches during RWC 1987, with 2001. He is the only active All Black remaining from that New Zealand and France winning two matches each and match. Romania one. • McCaw also plays his 14th RWC match, equalling Reuben • Eden Park will host 11 matches at RWC 2011. It has already Thorne’s tally. Sean Fitzpatrick (17) is the only All Black hosted two Pool A matches, one match in each of the with more RWC matches. other three pools. It will host two quarter-finals, both • Brad Thorn is the oldest All Black to play at the Rugby semi-finals, the bronze final and final. Its total of 16 RWC World Cup. He advances his record to 36 years and 248 matches will be a record, surpassing Murrayfield’s mark days by starting this match. of 13. • Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith play in the centres together • New Zealand have played four RWC matches at Eden for the 33rd time, extending their All Blacks record. Park, two at RWC 1987 and two at RWC 2011, winning by • Keven Mealamu plays his 90th Test, moving to within a minimum of 20 points each time. Their closest match two of Sean Fitzpatrick’s All Blacks record for a hooker. there was the 29-9 victory over France in the final of RWC Mealamu can equal Fitzpatrick’s record at RWC 2011 if 1987 and their 37-17 victory against the French two weeks New Zealand beat Argentina. ago. • Argentina have made four changes from the side that • The All Blacks have won their last 24 Tests at Eden Park faced Georgia. With the exception of number 8, Leonardo since an 18-18 draw with South Africa in August 1994. Senatore, the starting XV is identical to the team that • France are the last team to beat New Zealand at Eden Park played against Scotland two weeks ago.