Rugby Championship Predictions – Round 2

Momentum and redemptive drive will collide head-on in the second round of the Rugby Championship on Saturday, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

South Africa and Argentina will look to build on their strong starts to the Southern Hemisphere showpiece while Australia and New Zealand will be out to redeem themselves after their stinging home defeats last weekend.

The Springboks’ rematch against the Wallabies takes place in Perth, while the All Blacks and Pumas run it back in Auckland.

New Zealand v Argentina

Saturday, 10 August – 9:05

Scott Robertson’s honeymoon is over after his side’s shock 38-30 defeat to the Pumas last weekend.

To be fair, he could do nothing but watch in disbelief as his charges committed one coach-killing mistake after the other, which the Pumas pounced on brilliantly. The Kiwis also severely lacked physicality, which allowed a hungrier Argentina to win the gainline battle and boss the breakdown.

As ordinary as the All Blacks were, the Pumas deserve a ton of credit for claiming just their third-ever win over the mighty New Zealanders. They showed poise not to be rattled and come back from 10-0 down, had good attacking variation, were intelligent and intense and worked hard for each other in defence.

The South Americans have traditionally struggled to back up one sterling showing with another and that’ll be Felipe Contepomi’s challenge this week, to get his troops in the right frame of mind to stay in the fight in what’ll be a different test altogether at Eden Park, where the All Blacks haven’t lost in 30 years.

The gearbox could still have issues, but with a serious spike in hunger and physicality, the All Blacks should get back on track with a two-score triumph.

Prediction: New Zealand by 14.

Suggested Bet: Argentina +14.5 at 1.84.

Australia v South Africa

Saturday, 10 August – 11:45

The Boks will look to kick on after putting on a masterclass of Test rugby last weekend.

Utterly dominant, the men in Green and Gold showed why they’re the favourites to win the Southern Hemisphere crown as they put their Brisbane hoodoo to bed with a 33-7 victory.

Cohesive and commanding, they crushed the Wallabies to equal their biggest-ever win over them Down Under, and yet – scarily for the Aussies and the rest of the world – there’s room for improvement for the back-to-back world champions.

As dominant as they were, they weren’t as clinical as they would’ve liked. They left plenty of points out on the park, failed to add to their tally in the third quarter and will have to work on their discipline after conceding three yellow cards in the final quarter.

Rassie Erasmus would’ve been pleased with his team’s progression on attack and one can expect more enterprise and innovation from them. The key for the much-changed Boks who’ll do duty in this clash will be not to be too unstructured.

After a brutal Rugby Championship baptism of fire, Joe Schmidt has to somehow find answers to a series of problems as it pertains to the stylistic matchup against the powerful Boks.

Having hardly fired a shot last weekend, they need more sting in their tail, while they can’t afford to bleed as many penalties as they did in Brisbane (15), which kept them in their half for long periods.

A week is a long time in rugby and the fact that Erasmus has overhauled his team gives the wounded Wallabies, who’ll be without injured trio Filipo Daugunu, Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams, a lifeline.

However, the Boks have such great insurance on the bench that even if the new-look starting XV stutter, the cavalry should ensure South Africa make it two from two Down Under.

Prediction: South Africa by 10.

Suggested Bet: Australia +11.5 at 1.96.