Clinical 7-try New Zealand clinch rugby title

New Zealand ran in seven tries to crush Argentina 54-15 Saturday and win the inaugural Rugby Championship title with a game to spare. The clinical and merciless world champions recovered from conceding an early try to score four and build a 32-8 half-time advantage before a capacity 53,000 crowd at the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata. Argentina also started the second half well and scored another try only for the men in black to once more wrest control and right wing Cory Jane completed the rout in the final minute with his third touchdown. Fellow wing Julian Savea crossed the line twice and scrum-half Aaron Smith and centre Ma’a Nonu once each with the rest of the points coming from the boots of fit-again Dan Carter and the man who replaced him at fly-half, Aaron Cruden. “We had a plan and stuck to it, taking every opportunity that came our way,” said New Zealand captain and flank Richie McCaw after the most one-sided of 10 Championship matches. “Patience was a key factor in our success tonight as we often went through one or two extra phases to create openings.”