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
|