The Rugby Championship: Gearing up for an action-packed Round 4

Last weekend is one that the Springboks will be very keen to wipe from memory as they gear up for their second outing against the Wallabies in this year’s edition of The Rugby Championship. Likewise, the All Blacks are once again under the pump after yet another loss this season – their third consecutive one on home soil – Sam Cane and co. are desperate rain fire down on Los Pumas at Waikato Stadium. 

It was a decidedly frustrating performance from the Boks as they stuttered for approximately 70 minutes before stringing together two tries to give the 25-17 score-line some essence of respectability.  

Nienaber has rung the changes for this weekend’s encounter, which will be a particularly special one for young Bulls outside back Canan Moodie who has been named on the wing for his Springbok debut. 

Speaking ahead of the game, Nienaber said: 

“We selected a team we thought would be best for this match given that we have several players out with injuries and with an eye on how we want to play,” said Nienaber. 

“Handre, Lukhanyo, Elton and Pieter-Steph are all carrying injuries which adds to a list that includes Cheslin Kolbe and Sbu Nkosi, while Kurt-Lee Arendse is also out serving a suspension, and this has forced our hand to make a few changes in some positions. 

“With both flyhalves injured, Damian was the natural choice at No 10 where he has slotted in for us a lot. He is also becoming a settled player in our team with over 20 Test caps to his name. 

“This will also be a great test for Canan, who was a stand-out player for the Vodacom Bulls this season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship. He’s a very talented player, who will enjoy this opportunity.” 

Nienaber added: “Cobus at his best is world class and having seen what he offers us at training we think he’s close to that form. With him, Warrick and Frans Steyn on the bench we have sufficient cover among the backs.” 

Commenting on the changes among the forwards Nienaber said: “With Bongi (Mbonambi) and Trevor injured in the last few weeks we were in a position where we could test other combinations and we got some good answers in that regard. 

“This weekend we opted to make a few switches with Ox and Trevor playing off the bench along with Deon Fourie. With Bongi and Malcolm both settled with over 50 Test caps each, it was always our plan to give Joseph (Dweba) and Deon a chance at hooker, and this week Deon gets a run. 

“We had a thorough review of our performance against Australia last week, and the most disappointing aspect is that were dominant in several areas of the game, but we struggled to show that on the scoreboard. 

“This week is a final for us to stay in the competition and we are expecting Australia to be just as desperate, but so are we. 

“We let ourselves down in the last two games and we are determined to rectify that this week and change our fortunes in Australia. We’ll prepare as well as possible this week to stay in the hunt for the title,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Dave Rennie has seen no need to make changes after last week’s victory and has subsequently named the same team. 

“It's great to be able to have some consistency in selection with the team that played last week earning the right to wear the jersey again in Sydney." 

"While rapt with last week's effort, we’re well aware of the challenge a wounded Springbok poses and the intensity we will require again on Saturday night. 

"We're excited by the opportunity to play in front of a sold-out crowd in the first International event at the new Allianz Stadium." 

All Black boss Ian Foster has opted for the same starting XV as last week. Notably, Dalton Papali’i finds himself amongst the reserves after many calls from the rugby public for him to be involved. 

“We are obviously looking to build parts of our game and this week is another chance to do that,” Foster said. “This year’s Rugby Championship is extremely tight and that makes this weekend’s Test an exciting opportunity. 

“As a group, this has been a week of refining areas where we know we can be better. It has been a good preparation in Hamilton so far and the hard work will need to continue so that we get a performance everyone can be proud of.” 

Turning attention to the Argentinians, Michael Cheika has made four changes to his side from last week (two in the backs and two in the forwards). 

Lucio Cinti drops to the bench to make way for Santiago Cordero coming on to the left wing, while Tomas Cubelli replaces Gonzalo Bertranou at scrum-half. 

Santiago Grondona will start on the blindside flank in place of Juan Martin Gonzalez, and Guido Petti joins Tomas Lavanini in the engine room, with Matias Alemanno named among the replacements. 

While fielding questions from the press, Cheika laughed off suggestions that Los Pumas will take the field as favourites on Saturday. 

"Mate, we're in New Zealand, like, playing against New Zealand," Cheika said. 

"I know you guys like to manoeuvre the story around but we're about as underdog as you get. The guys that need to believe we can do it is us. 

"We've got no expectations on ourselves except for the quality of our play. As in life, good things happen when you work hard and you're good at your craft." 

Commenting on the changes, Cheika said: 

"There were different reasons for all of them, some relating to the competition that we're having inside of the team and we're trying to reward training performance as well. 

"And also just some things about how we want the team to set up this week with different combinations. It's been a good week in training and it's getting harder to pick the team every week. 

"We know it'll be difficult," he added. "But when the challenge is really big or the situation in the game is really tough, we try and thrive in those moments."