Sunday special: ABs start season by stealing souls

PLUS: Canes kicks out, while Stuff gets the official ratings season underway with a bang

That was a very good All Blacks performance. 

No two ways about it. To start your year with a seven-try 41-12 win away from home is about as good as you can hope for, especially with the All Blacks being notoriously slow starters¹.

If you were being dismissive you could point out that the Pumas looked like somebody had entered their Mendoza hotel the night before and stole their souls, but the real thieves were the All Blacks, whose lightning start took both the crowd and Argentina’s hope of keeping it close and physical out of play.

Some of those tries, particularly the opener to Dane Coles and the long-range short-side snipe that ended with Jordie Barrett crossing, were works of art.