Green Island duo Jake Te Hiwi and Oliver Haig bagged a try each to help New Zealand overcome a stubborn Argentina on the Sunshine Coast yesterday.
The Baby Blacks pulled away to win the Oceania Under-20 Championship match 32-9.
The game was tighter than the final margin suggests.
Te Hiwi muscled over to score just before the halftime break to give his side a 13-9 lead.
It was a critical period. Fellow Highlander under-20 player Hayden Michaels had just been sinbinned for a dangerous tackle.
Haig scored 15 minutes into the second half when he crossed out wide after a lovely build-up.
That gave New Zealand some breathing space and it ran in two more tries to secure its second win in the tournament.
Alhambra-Union halfback Noah Hotham also featured strongly, while
Taieri first five Cameron Millar started from the bench and knocked over a couple of late conversions.
New Zealand registered a 74-5 win against Fiji in its opening match on Friday night.
Argentina entered the match buoyed by its 24-21 victory against Australia in round one.
New Zealand’s final game is against Australia on Sunday.
