The first of round of the Rugby Championship sees Australia host South Africa and New Zealand take on Argentina on Saturday and @Olimp_SA have a preview with plays from “Rob the Ringer”
AUSTRALIA v SOUTH AFRICA
Match Handicap: Australia +10.5
Australia are on the up after the new coaching was put into play and they have had a successful run throughout the mid-year internationals, winning all 3 of their matches, with 2 against Wales and 1 match against Georgia.
Their last match was played on Saturday the 20th of July at Allianz Stadium, where they clashed with Georgia and despite being put under pressure throughout the game, they managed to grab a 40-29 win which while within the handicap of -17.5 was happily banked by the coaching staff.
The Springboks have had yet another solid month or so of international rugby this year and they have been victorious on 3 out of the 4 occasions with their only loss being in the second match of the 2-game series against Ireland and prior to the series they had beaten Wales in late June.
They took part in a match with Portugal on the 20th of July at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, where they put up a dominant performance to cruise to an easy 64-21 victory despite going down to 14 men early on.
Head-To-Head
These sides have met 3 times since the beginning of 2022, with the Springboks currently holding 2 wins and the Wallabies just 1. Their most recent match took place on the 8th of July last year in Pretoria where the Boks managed to claim an easy 43-12-point win over the visitors.
ROB THE RINGERS PLAY
I expect Australia to start well but the Boks should be too strong in the end. The handicap looks well set as does the points line of 50.5 and my play is in the Halftime/Fulltime market.
Halftime/Fulltime Australia/South Africa at 6.04
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NEW ZEALAND v ARGENTINA
Match Handicap:
The All Blacks had a perfect record throughout their fixtures they played in July, despite a nail-biting first game against England to start off where the final score was 16-15. They then took on England again a week later and won the match by a slightly bigger margin of 7 points.
On the 20th of July they played in a match against Fiji at the Snapdragon Stadium in the USA. New Zealand had no trouble crossing the white line and their defence kept Fiji quiet, with the score being 47-5 when the final whistle sounded.
Argentina will be happy with the performances they have put in over the mid-year fixtures and after a 13-28 loss to France on the 6th of July, they managed to bounce back just a week later and clinch an 8-point win over the French.
They went head-to-head with Uruguay in their last match which also took place late July, at the Estadio Domingo Burgueno Stadium. Argentina didn’t have much trouble overcoming their opponents and, in the end, they won 79-5, resulting in their mid-year record sitting on 2 wins and a loss.
Head-To-Head
These sides have played 4 times since the start of 2022, with 2 matches in 2022 and 2 matches in 2023. The All Blacks currently hold the edge after winning 3, however Argentina did shock them by pulling off a win of their own in their first clash of 2022.
Their most recent match was played at last year’s World Cup where the Kiwis put up a show and won the semi-final match 44-6.
ROB THE RINGER’S PLAYS
I expect the All Blacks to be too strong but the handicap of -16.5 is a bit high for my liking.
I am going to back the home team to score 35 points or more.
New Zealand Points over 34.5 at 1.82
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