The summer internationals begin in earnest on Saturday, with the start of the headline series between tier-one nations.
In-form England are in New Zealand, while Wales head to Sydney, before the top two teams in the world rankings meet in Pretoria, where South Africa host Ireland.
ALL BLACKS VS ENGLAND - ENGLAND +11
AUSTRALIA VS WALES - WALES +12
SPRINGBOKS VS IRELAND - SPRINGBOKS TO WIN BY 1-12 POINTS
ARGENTINA VS FRANCE - ARGENTINA -5
All Blacks vs England
England, bronze medalists at last year's World Cup, look to be a team on the up, kicking on from their encouraging Six Nations campaign by romping past Japan 52-17 last month in Tokyo.
Their next challenge is a two-Test series in New Zealand, kicking off this weekend in Dunedin before the return game at Eden Park, Auckland next Saturday.
The All Blacks are set for their first outings under new boss Scott 'Razor' Robertson, who has selected Scott Barrett, who worked under him at the Crusaders, as captain ahead of the Hurricanes' Ardie Savea and already seems to be under fire after excluding several stars from Super Rugby winners the Blues.
Despite those doubts, there are few questions about Robertson's coaching pedigree and the Kiwis could be on to a good thing if he can repeat the style of play he oversaw in Christchurch, guiding his team to an unprecedented seven straight Super Rugby titles.
It will be interesting to see if he selects Damien McKenzie or Beauden Barrett at fly-half, although whoever is snubbed could pop up at full-back.
England have named their team and 13 of the XV who won in Tokyo have retained their places, with both changes coming in the front row.
After grinding to the bronze medal at the global showpiece, Steve Borthwick made good on his promise to play more expansively in the Six Nations and his side are again expected to throw the ball around at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The Kiwis could also look to entertain, but their initial focus will be on getting the basics right and it is worth remembering that for all the off-field changes, chunks of this squad played in last year's World Cup final.
England will be confident, but may fall short in their bid for only their third-ever win in the 'Land of the Long White Cloud'.
ENGLAND +11
Australia vs Wales
This match in Sydney feels like forcing someone to pick between their two least favourite children, with neither Australian nor Welsh rugby in great shape.
The Wallabies are another team embarking on a new era, with Joe Schmidt in charge for the first time.
He has rewarded domestic-based players who performed well in Super Rugby and could look to experiment as he puts the pieces in place ahead of next year's series against the British & Irish Lions and the home World Cup in 2027.
The team could take on a fresh look as they aim to move on from Eddie Jones' chaotic reign, perhaps reverting to something similar to the upward curve they appeared to be on before Dave Rennie was unceremoniously sacked.
Wales are also in transition. After beating the Wallabies 40-6 at the World Cup, they lost to Argentina in the quarter-finals before a youthful squad picked up the Six Nations' Wooden Spoon.
Their winless run was extended to seven matches with June's 41-13 defeat to South Africa. As in the Six Nations, there were signs that Warren Gatland's young side were moving in the right direction, but they lacked real grunt up front and fluency behind the scrum.
The noises from the camp are that they will look to limit errors before cutting loose and facing an Australian side settling into life under Schmidt provides a real opportunity.
However, they have only ever won one of 12 Tests in Australia and that was way back in 1969. The Wallabies could sneak home, but Wales are worth considering to skip in under the handicap.
WALES +12
BET ON THE SUMMER INTERNATIONALS
Springboks vs Ireland
The standout series of the summer sees Ireland head to South Africa for two Tests, the first of which takes place on Saturday in Pretoria.
Doubts over Ireland's ability to rule world rugby have centred on their lack of physicality against the real monster teams and their failure to find that extra 0.5% has cost them time and again, especially away from Dublin.
It's interesting to note that Leinster, whose players will form a significant part of Andy Farrell's run-on team at Loftus Versfeld, were beaten up on the same ground in last month's 25-20 URC semi-final defeat to Bulls.
They may have had more time to acclimatise to the altitude ahead of Saturday's game. The time off since that game may also have served some of their players well and, after winning a series in New Zealand in 2022, the Irish will be desperate to seal a successful tour to the Rainbow Nation.
Ireland won 13-8 when this duo met in Pool B at the World Cup, but, while they crashed in the quarters, the Springboks retained the title and were impressive in last month's win over Wales.
Rassie Erasmus is already doing his best to get the media mind games up and running, tweeting an image of a spreadsheet of what he believes will be Ireland's preferred XV and has subsequently named his team for the match, with 12 of the players who started last year's final selected.
A 6:2 bench split also shows that the Boks will look to bring the power game in the second half as they chase a first win over Ireland since 2016.
They are the odds-on favourites to do so and their traditional attrition hints that they should get the job done.
SOUTH AFRICA TO WIN BY 1-12 POINTS
Argentina vs France
Not to be forgotten is the match in Mendoza, where Argentina host an underpowered French team.
Fabien Galthie has chosen to use this summer to simultaneously blood some youngsters and rest his big guns, while new Pumas coach Felipe Contempomi will be looking to lay down a marker after replacing Michael Cheika.
Saturday's Test and next week's return game in Buenos Aires against a touring party containing 22 uncapped players provide a real opportunity for the World Cup semi-finalists to build momentum as they look to at least emulate last year's third place in the Rugby Championship.
Packed with experience and quality, Argentina are well capable of completing a 2-0 series win.
However, they are still relatively new to being favourites and could look to grind a result out before playing with more confidence next week in the capital.
Les Bleus have nothing to lose and Galthie's tyros can give a good account of themselves in a losing cause.
ARGENTINA -5
