New Zealand survive scare to see off Argentina

New Zealand made it eight Rugby World Cup wins on the bounce after seeing off Argentina 26-16 with a clinical second half display at Wembley Stadium.

Argentina threatened a second big upset of the tournament, having led 16-12 early in the second half thanks to a converted Guido Petti try and four Nicolas Sanchez penalties.

New Zealand looked in disarray late in the first half as skipper Richie McCaw and then Conrad Smith were sin-binned in quick succession.

Indeed, the nature of McCaw's temporary dismissal showed how bad things had become: he was yellow carded for a cynical and disgraceful trip on Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe as the Argentine star tried to take a quick tap penalty.

Things improved as the World Champions made some telling substitutions and ramped up their tempo in the second half before tries from Aaron Smith and Sam Cane, allied to the boot of Dan Carter, saw them comfortably home.

The match was attended by 89,019 fans at Wembley Stadium, breaking the record for the biggest ever crowd at a Rugby World Cup match, the 82,957 at the Rugby World Cup 2003 Final.

Argentina’s ferocious tackling. New Zealand may have won the match in the end but the work rate and intensity of the Argentina defence will have won many admirers and frightened potential knockout opposition, such as France and Ireland.

4’ – New Zealand 3-0 Argentina – PENALTY: Dan Carter makes no mistake with a kick straight in front of the posts.

10’ – New Zealand 6-0 Argentina – PENALTY: A professional foul by Matera for not letting the ball go and he’s into the sin bin. Carter to add the points.

19’ – New Zealand 9-0 Argentina – PENALTY: Argentina again penalised and again it’s a simple kick for Dan Carter.

21’ – New Zealand 9-7 Argentina – TRY: Argentina drive upto the line and it’s Guido Petti who dives over after a tremendous spell of pressure. Sanchez converts.

30’ – McCaw sin-binned! The Kiwi skipper is a master of the dark arts but doesn’t get away with this one for a cynical trip on Lobbe.

31’ – New Zealand 9-10 Argentina – PENALTY: Sanchez drills it over from distance to put Argentina ahead.

37’ – Smith sin binned: This time it’s smith who slows up play with hands in the ruck and he’s on his way.

38’ – New Zealand 9-13 Argentina – PENALTY: Sanchez slots the resultant penalty.

40’ – New Zealand 12-13 Argentina – PENALTY: Carter cuts the deficit with a penalty just before the break.

42’ – New Zealand 12-16 Argentina – PENALTY: Another Sanchez penalty puts Argentina further ahead.

57’ – New Zealand 19-16 Argentina – TRY: Finally they break through, Aaron Smith sniping at the base of the ruck before scampering over. Relief all round for Kiwi fans. Carter adds the rest

66’ – New Zealand 26-16 Argentina – TRY: There’s acres of space out wide on the right and it goes through the hands before Cane does this time catch the ball to go over in the corner. Carter converts and it’s New Zealand 26-16 Argentina.

[MATCHCAST: Full scoring summary and live commentary]