Defeat to Argentina piles more pressure on New Zealand head coach Ian Foster

A fourth defeat in six matches has piled further pressure on All Black head coach Ian Foster after suffering a 25-18 defeat to Argentina.

Traditionally strong finishers, New Zealand looked to have the game in the bag when Richie Mo'unga gave them an 18-12 lead eight minutes into the second half, only for the Pumas to turn over the restart and score a try on their way to a 25-18 win.

"We conceded that try at the kick-off, a bit fortunate, and after that they grew an arm and a leg, and we probably got perhaps a little bit flustered," he said.

"So we've got to look at our composure in the latter stages, particularly with the bench coming on, and we've just got to make sure we're a little bit more ruthless at the breakdown."

Foster said the Pumas ability to turn over the ball at the breakdown, and the refereeing of the tackle area, had been a key factor in the loss.

"Congratulations to Argentina, they kept true to how they wanted to play, they really frustrated us," he added.

"We didn't get what we wanted at the breakdown. We had large periods of dominance in our set piece but that didn't go well at the end.

"But overall they got away with some stuff at the breakdown and we weren't able to deal with it."

Foster has endured a torrent of criticism this year after New Zealand lost their July series to Ireland and their Rugby Championship opener in South Africa.

It was only after the victory in Johannesburg two weeks ago that he was confirmed in his job through to next year's World Cup.

Former Leinster head coach Michael Cheika was delighted with his Argentina side after their maiden victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand but said it was vital they were ready to go again against the same opposition in Hamilton next week.

"For those