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Rugby Championship Round 1 Preview 1 views 3 Comments
16 August 2012 by The Swede Eaters
 
Connected with: Wiki Player Sonny Bill Williams

Scotty Donaldson previews the Wallabies vs All Blacks and the Springboks vs Pumas in Round 1 Rugby Championship action.

The Rugby Championship starts this weekend with the All Blacks playing Tri Nations champions Australia in Sydney. It will be an exciting match since the last time these two teams met was the Rugby World Cup 2011 semi-final. In the other match, the Springboks are hot favourites to beat the new kids on the block, Argentina. The All Blacks are the hot favourites to win the first Rugby Championship, ahead of South Africa and Australia, with Argentina 100 to 1 outsiders.

The odds according to the New Zealand TAB have the All Blacks paying $1.45 to win. This shows what hot favourites they are to win the competition.

1 New Zealand 1.45
2 South Africa 4.25
3 Australia 5.50
4 Argentina 100.00

Australia vs New Zealand

The All Blacks are favourites to win in Sydney this weekend, but despite the relatively mediocre performances by Australian teams in Super Rugby, they have been able to put together a useful enough side, but you get the impression that the All Blacks will be too big and strong for them. Australia has some slippery running backs in the likes of Kurtley Beale and Adam Ashley Cooper, but I think unless David Pocock can get away with blue murder at the breakdown like he did in the Rugby World Cup 2011 quarter-finals, then the All Blacks will have too much muscle upfront and X Factor outwide. Aaron Smith seems to have the ability to unleash this awesome backline, which sees two devastating ball runners in Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu running off Dan Carter, surely that will be unstoppable unless the Wallabies can do something special upfront and stop that flow of possession. I think the inclusion of bargain priced Luke Romano and Liam Messam will add mongrel to that All Blacks forward pack too.

The Ockers will miss James Horwill, while Berrick Barnes can be fragile at first five eighth. The main question for the All Blacks will be how their backline of mainly X Factor players copes without the steadying influence of Conrad Smith.

Players to buy (in www.testrugby.com) - Kieran Read, David Pocock, Sonny Bill Williams, Ma'a Nonu, Israel Dagg.

Bargains - Luke Romano, Liam Messam, Sitaleki Timani.

My pick - All Blacks by 15.

South Africa vs Argentina

The Springboks have their injury problems but should still be far too strong for the Pumas. The Boks go into this game without Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger, Chilliboy Ralepelle and JP Pieterson. South Africa does have some depth these days, with three sides making the Super Rugby finals, so it will be interesting to see if they can cover the loss of such quality players. Not a lot is expected of the Pumas who will be strong upfront, but may lack some size in the backs. The scrums in this match will be interesting between two of the stronger frontrows going round.

This match should be one way traffic and expect the Springboks to win by about 20 points. The Argentinians have a sprinkling of quality players, but to win the Rugby Championship you need an entire squad of classy players.

I think Argentina will struggle to win one match in the Rugby Championship, with their home match against Australia, their biggest chance in my opinion. I think Australia are fragile upfront and that is where Argentina can potentially cause a boilover. I would love to see Argentina be competitive in this competition, but I think it may take a while.

Players to buy - Willem Alberts, Morne Steyn, Bismarck Du Plessis, Franc Steyn, Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe, Patricio Albacete.
Bargains - Keegan Daniel, Marcell Coetzee, Lwazi Mvovo, Eben Etzebeth. There are plenty of bargains from frontrowers to outside backs playing for Argentina, but I don't know if they will trouble the scorers too much.

My pick - South Africa by 25 points.

Who are you picking to win the Rugby Championship? Who are you picking to be the players to watch in the Rugby Championship? Who will win in Round 1 this weekend?

Have your say

http://www.superrugbytips.com/2012/08/rugby-championship-round-1-preview.html

Rugby Championship Round 1 Teams

Australia vs New Zealand

Australia: Kurtley Beale, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Rob Horne, Anthony Fainga'a, Digby Ioane, Berrick Barnes, Will Genia, Scott Higginbotham, David Pocock (c), Dave Dennis, Nathan Sharpe, Sitaleki Timani, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota Nau, Benn Robinson . Reserves: Stephen Moore, James Slipper, Rob Simmons, Radike Samo, Michael Hooper, Nick Phipps, Drew Mitchell.

ALL BLACKS: Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams, Hosea Gear, Dan Carter, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Andrew Hore, Ben Franks, Brodie Retallick, Victor Vito, Piri Weepu, Aaron Cruden, Ben Smith.

South Africa vs Argentina

Springboks

15. Zane Kirchner , 14. Lwazi Mvovo , 13. Jean de Villiers , 12. Frans Steyn , 11. Bryan Habana , 10. Morne Steyn , 9. Francois Hougaard , 8. Keegan Daniel , 7. Willem Alberts , 6. Marcell Coetzee , 5. Andries Bekker , 4. Eben Etzebeth , 3. Jannie du Plessis , 2. Bismarck du Plessis , 1. Tendai Mtawarira .

Replacements , 16. Adriaan Strauss , 17. Pat Cilliers , 18. Flip van der Merwe , 19. Jacques Potgieter , 20. Ruan Pienaar , 21. Pat Lambie , 22. JJ Engelbrecht.

Argentina – 15 Lucas González Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernández, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe (c), 7 Álvaro Galindo, 6 Julio Farías Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guiñazú, 1 Rodrigo Roncero. Substitutes: 16 Bruno Postiglioni, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Tomás Leonardi, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Martín Rodríguez

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comment Comments (3)
Rating:

3 . The Swede Eaters 19 Aug 2012 11:55 PM
Pocock was disappointing.

2 . stefdawg101 19 Aug 2012 08:58 PM
lol poccock defanitly not a player 2 buy he cost 15 ponits


Site User Upload

1 . deep 18 Aug 2012 05:34 PM
I'm expecting the Boks to seriously pummel the Argies, and the ABs to dish out a good serve to the Ozzies. Hope the Boks turn up with attitude and an ordinary Oz team don't find some fizz that I don't know about. Based on this, there are some bargains to be had!

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