South Africa are on the brink of winning their first Rugby Championship title since 2019, as we head into Round Four this weekend.
The Springboks have won all three of their matches to date and they will look to create history on Saturday as they seek a fourth consecutive victory over New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Argentina and Australia do battle in Santa Fe as they fight to avoid the Wooden Spoon in 2024.
- SOUTH AFRICA - 5 HANDICAP
- ARGENTINA 1-5 POINTS WINNING MARGIN
Springboks vs All Blacks
After winning the World Cup, teams can often dip in form and take their foot off the pedal after reaching the summit.
That’s not been the case, though, for South Africa, who have lost just one of their last seven Tests since beating the All Blacks in the Paris final last year – that was a one-point loss to Ireland.
Rassie Erasmus’ men have averaged 35.71 points per game since their World Cup success and have run in 12 tries in three Rugby Championship matches.
It’s now three wins in the last three meetings with New Zealand, who look to have hit a period of transition with just one win from three so far.
A shock defeat at home to Argentina last month was followed by a 42-10 victory over the Pumas, but their fragility was highlighted again in their Cape Town loss last week.
The stats show New Zealand were in the lead for 66 minutes of last Saturday’s clash, with South Africa in front in Cape Town for just 10 minutes, but that was when it mattered.
The Springboks have freshened up their matchday squad and with the home support, another historic success looks to be on the cards.
Springboks vs All Blacks Teams
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Bench: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Lukhanyo Am
All Blacks: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Bench: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Beauden Barrett
Bet On The Rugby Championship
Argentina vs Australia
A thriller at La Plata last week, when Australia beat Argentina by a point, was somewhat overshadowed by South Africa’s success.
Despite that victory, the Wallabies are still bottom of the Rugby Championship standings with four points from their opening three matches.
The Pumas are ahead of them courtesy of a bonus point win over New Zealand in Wellington and Saturday evening’s clash could prove crucial.
Argentina’s remaining two games are against table-toppers South Africa, so it looks like they may need to turn the tables on Australia to escape last place for the second consecutive year.
Felipe Contepomi’s men looked to have the game in their grasp last weekend, taking a 13-7 lead into half-time before eventually losing 19-20.
Very wet conditions didn’t help the Argentina cause in Week Three and that won’t be an issue on Saturday in Santa Fe, where there is expected to be a hostile atmosphere.
ARGENTINA 1-5 POINTS WINNING MARGIN
Argentina vs Australia Teams
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Gudio Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1
Bench: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Joaquin Oviedo, 21 Santiago Grondona, 22 Gonzalo Garcia, 23 Santiago Carreras
Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Bench: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Josh Canham, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tom Lynagh, 23 Josh Flook
