The final round of the rugby championship is set to take place this Saturday the 29th of July where Australia plays host to their neighbours New Zealand and a few hours later South Africa are hosting Argentina in the final game of this year’s contest.
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AUSTRALIA v NEW ZEALAND – Click here to bet
Australia
Australia’s Rugby Championship campaign started badly, as they suffered defeats in their first two matches. They took a heavy loss against South Africa in the opening round of the tournament and then experienced another setback when playing against Argentina on their home ground, where the Pumas dove over for a last-minute try to secure the win.
As a result of those performances, significant pressure now rests upon Eddie Jones to turn the team around and pull off an upset win over the All Blacks to end the competition on a high and carry some momentum into the World Cup.
New Zealand
New Zealand have been on top-class form throughout the tournament and a win in their final game this weekend will see them crowned Champions. They have won both of their previous two matches comfortably.
They crushed Argentina on the road in their first game of the championship and then shrugged off the Springbok side in round 2 after an intense and well executed first 20 minutes, leaving the Springboks playing catch up for the remainder of the match.
The New Zealand kicking game has been lethal and the Wallabies will need to find a way to counter this.
Head-to-Head
The last five encounters between these two sides have gone the way of the All Blacks
Handicap: Australia +15.5
Squads:
Australian Squad:
The Australian coaching staff have made multiple changes ahead of the final game.
15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Tom Hooper, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 David Porecki, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Izaia Perese
New Zealand Squad:
Sam Cane will not be playing this weekend which has resulted in Ardie Savea captaining the side on Saturday.
15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clarke
VERDICT
Although I expect to see a much improved Australian side this weekend, I believe that the All Blacks will over-power them over the course of the match and comfortably take home the Rugby Championship 2023 trophy.
Suggested Bet: New Zealand -15.5 at 9/10
SOUTH AFRICA v ARGENTINA – Click here to bet
South Africa
The Springboks made short work of Australia in round 1 of the competition at Loftus Versfeld, despite taking a massive risk and splitting their squad sending 13 players to New Zealand in preparation for their round 2 match. After all the efforts put in place to prepare for the game against the All Blacks, the Springboks fell well short after a near perfect start by New Zealand, which led to the game ending 35-20 to the All Blacks.
The Boks will certainly be fired up after their recent loss and will be looking to improve on their game in order to put away a dangerous Argentinian side.
Argentina
Argentina started the Championship off on a worrying note getting hammered at home by New Zealand. The side were much improved in a tight game against the Wallabies, which ended up with Argentina scoring a last minute try to win it. Argentina will be looking to build on that performance with a strong showing in Johannesburg.
Head-to-Head:
The past five games between these two teams has seen the Argentines lose all 5, Four of the five games being away in South Africa and only one being at home.
Handicap: South Africa -18.5
Squads:
South African Squad:
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made 9 changes to the Bok side that went down 35-20 to New Zealand.
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Lukhanyo Am, 23 Damian Willemse
Argentinian Squad:
15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Mateo Carreras, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Lautaro Bazán Vélez, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Lucas Paulos, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Tomás Albornoz, 23 Matias Moroni
VERDICT
I expect that the Argentinian team will come out firing to rattle the Springbok side early, however, based on past results Argentina tend to struggle when playing away in South Africa and I predict a solid win for the South African side.
Suggested Bet: South Africa -18.5 at 19/20
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
