Scott Robertson is dealing with the first loss of his tenure as All Black coach, after the Pumas pulled off a memorable 38-30 win at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
"I'm disappointed, I'm hurt," said Robertson after the game - one where the All Blacks never asserted the necessary dominance. It was a game of fine margins, which the home side was on the wrong side of more often than not.
"We planned for the frustration, we planned for them to put a grip on us, but we couldn't fight out of it. As a coaching group, we have to own that."
Just where did it go wrong? Robertson lamented the fact it took an incredible 59 minutes for the first scrum to be set, as well as the decision-making on advantage.
Matias Moroni of Argentina dives over to score a try during the All Blacks v Argentina at Sky Stadium, Wellington. Photo: Masanori Udagawa / Photosport
"We kicked away a few knock-on advantages, there were multiple things like that. We would've liked to have scrummed earlier.
"There's four or five key [moments in the game]: that try before halftime when Sevu palmed it back. Well done to them - they play that style and got that result."
Tellingly, Robertson brought up Reece's moment as an example, which was a bit of sheer bad luck after the winger did quite well to palm down a box kick - only for it to land in Santiago Carreras' hands and the Argentinean first five to scoot away to score.
But he stopped short of analysing the more glaring moment that will undoubtedly be getting a few reruns during the week, when two shocking passes wiped out 50 metres of territory and led to Agustin Creevy's match-winning try.
Argentinian players celebrate their 38-30 win over the All Blacks. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
That's probably because one of those passes came from the man sitting next to him at the press conference table: captain Ardie Savea. However, Savea's demeanour and answers suggested that sequence was very much on his mind.
"We've just got to own it; look ourselves in the mirror and ask the players to do that too and get the lessons we need to. The good thing about rugby is that we get to play again next week," he said.
"We put ourselves in a good position, but that's a testament to Argentina. When they were kicking off, their kicks were right on the money, they were always there and we couldn't get out. That's something we need to look at."
When asked if heading back to Eden Park with a loss would fire up the All Blacks, the response was clear.
"As an All Black, we shouldn't need a week. We shouldn't need a loss to get a performance. Our standard is that we turn up every week … we didn't get it right tonight and that's not good enough."
Meanwhile, it was a sweet moment for Pumas coach Felipe Contepomi, who never tasted success as a player against the All Blacks.
He was well within his rights to make wryly observe that the majority of the media present had not bothered to attend the Pumas' press conferences during the week, before praising his side for executing a well thought-out game plan.
"We had a plan and the boys stuck with it, even when things weren't going our way," said Contepomi.
Matias Moroni of Argentina dives over to score a try against the All Blacks. Photo: Photosport
"To me, that's more important than even the result. It's how you win, sticking to your plan. That's what we're looking for and it wasn't the perfect game, there's lots of things to improve. Hopefully we will get better for next week."
Contepomi praised his bench and with good reason - almost the entire final, crucial 10 minutes were played inside the All Blacks' half.
"We came all the way from Argentina. No one spoke about jet lag; we just got on with it."
The two sides meet again at Eden Park next Saturday night.
