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AMID an abundance of All Black riches, Tana Umaga's 60-metre run that led to Josh Kronfeld's try was the most precious gem in the All Blacks' 93-8 win over Argentina on Saturday.
The win, a record for the All Blacks at home, was three weeks less than a year after they produced one of the great test displays against Australia.
They blessed Athletic Park with another vintage performance on Saturday.
Coach John Hart said the All Blacks' performances at the park were the two best in the 12 tests he has had in charge of the team.
He did not think it was accidental. The players enjoyed the ground because of the proximity of the crowd.
The All Blacks' attacking play on Saturday was at times nearly perfect as they smashed hapless Argentina for 14 tries in a scarcely- believable scoreline which included first five-eighth Carlos Spencer scoring 33 points on his test debut.
There were two big differences from last year when the Wallabies were thrashed 43-6. The Pumas provided nowhere near the same competition and a lovely winter's day meant a stark contrast to last year's atrocious conditions.
Spencer and the other two-try scorers, Umaga and fullback Christian Cullen, were at the forefront of some enthralling attacking rugby.
Hart singled out three players for special praise - centre Frank Bunce and flanker Taine Randell, because of the criticism their selections had earned, and Spencer because of the pressure he was under in his debut.
Hart's accolade to each of this trio was justified, with Randell, playing in place of the injured Michael Jones, an inspiration...