A full 80-minute Test performance is on the top of All Blacks skipper Kieran Read’s wish list for Saturday’s clash with Argentina.

Read’s troops have emerged victorious from both of their Rugby Championship Tests to date, but only after some poor patches.

In last month’s Championship opener against the Wallabies, the Kiwis took their foot off the gas with a 54-6 lead to concede four-second half tries and win 54-34.

In the following week’s return fixture in Dunedin, uncharacteristic All Blacks errors and an early Australian blitz put Read’s side behind.

Yet the world champions successfully turned a 17-0 first-half deficit into a late 35-29 triumph, having regained their composure in the second stanza.

Read hoped to avoid such a situation on Saturday in New Plymouth.

He called on his side – missing a number of regulars including Sam Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Ryan Crotty and Ben Smith – to find a degree of Test consistency.

“We’re always striving for that,” Read told reporters.

“It’s just about turning up – I think we’ve got a bunch of men here who are pretty excited by the challenge of what the Argentinians present.

“We’ve just got to go out there and play as well as we can.”

While Los Pumas had struggled to recapture the form which took them to the 2015 World Cup semi-finals, and were beaten easily by the All Blacks in 2016, Read maintained his side would face a genuine challenge on Saturday.

He said the All Blacks would face threats across the field.

“Their ball carriers and loose forwards are probably among the best in the world and their backs are, on their day, pretty dangerous counter-attacking. We’ve just got to adapt and, alongside that, is the scrum and maul,” the 102-Test veteran said.