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Cape Town - Argentina's improving standards in recent years will ensure that New Zealand will not underestimate them when the sides meet in Hamilton on Saturday.
That was the word from All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster who expects a tough challenge from los Pumas.
The All Blacks had growing respect for Argentina's ability to change things up during a game. Playing them on a regular basis, at least two times a year home and away since 2012 had created a greater awareness of the playing qualities they possessed while their World Cup game last year had been another mine of information.
But Foster said it was all very well having the information, it was how it was used that was important.
"We know them pretty well but as we've seen in the last few weeks they were 10 minutes away from beating South Africa over there, they beat them at home and they are a team that has probably grown a lot in confidence and when they grow in confidence their game gets more expansive and more challenging," he told allblacks.com.
"We've got to stop looking at them as a team that has got potential and not quite there, but now they've beaten just about everyone, probably just not us and I'm pretty sure we're on their radar so we're fully aware of that.
"We do know that the Argentinians are one team that we often struggle to get quick ball from and it's clearly their objective to slow down everything we do and when we've really struggled with them in the past is moving their big bodies and their intention to slow everything down.
"So we've got to make sure we get that tempo going and that we can play our game because otherwise it becomes a real bun fight."
