All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said his side's 46-24 victory over Argentina deserves a pass mark, but they should have been better.
Hansen made eight changes to his starting line-up, including handing a starting debut to first-five Richie Mo'unga, in the six-tries-to-three win in Nelson.
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- All Blacks shake off resilient Argentina 46-24
Hansen wanted to see how his inexperienced squad members could handle pressure as the All Blacks continue to build towards next year's World Cup in Japan
In total, 16 of the 23 All Blacks that faced Argentina had fewer than 30 tests under their belt.
The game was close heading into the final 10 minutes with the All Blacks leading 32-24, before two late tries blew the margin of victory out to 22.
"If it had been our aim to get a bonus point and win the game, then we achieved that," Hansen told reporters after the match.
"We expect to play well and we expect to win well, and even when we make changes, like we have, those expectations don't change.
"We got the opportunity to blood some young men and they got put under pressure by a good Argentinian side, but it wasn't the perfect performance by any stretch of the imagination.
"I thought they played particularly well at times and put us under pressure, so we had to show a lot of mental fortitude."
The All Blacks are now sweating on the fitness of two key players for next week's test against South Africa in Wellington. Midfielder Ngani Laumape went down with a knee injury, while lock Brodie Retallick picked up a shoulder injury.
"Ngani's done a knee ligament. Don't know how long that's going to be. We'll get a better idea [in the next few days]," said Hansen.
"And Brodes' shoulder's pretty sore and, again, we don't know [how seriously] until we get it scanned on Monday. I can't really tell you any more than that they're both pretty sore boys."
The loss means Argentina are still winless against New Zealand after 27 tests with one draw to go with 26 losses.
The two teams will face off again later this month at the Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires on November 30 (NZ time).
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