Rugby Championship Round 1 Preview

Essential to an assessment of anything associated with the 2015 Rugby Championship is an understanding that this year’s tournament is merely a means to an end, and not an end in itself. Winning the competition would help with momentum and boost confidence, but the bottom line is that in a World Cup year, few will remember in years to come without looking it up who won the Rugby Championship, while the team winning the World Cup will be legends forever in the annals of Rugby Union. 

The Rugby Championship serves as the culmination of the selection trials process, an opportunity to test and hone prospective World Cup game plans, and for teams to improve on execution of strategy.

Matches will be played with intensity, primarily because players will be desperate to show they deserve selection for the World Cup, but everything needs to be viewed in the context of a build-up to the hope of winning the game to be played at Twickenham on 31 October.

New Zealand vs Argentina

The All Blacks have never lost to Argentina, with 18 wins and a draw, and they’ve lost only once in their last 29 games. They go into this competition as favourites, as they will go – barring a collapse of form and momentum –into the World Cup. Argentina won their first Rugby Championship game when they beat Australia in Mendoza last October, and beat Italy and France on tour in Europe in November, but they go into this tournament as the underdogs they’ve been since being admitted to the Rugby Championship. Beating the All Blacks in Christchurch on Friday is a mammoth task and a win for the visitors would come as a major surprise.  

Little should be read into New Zealand’s stutter to an unconvincing win against Samoa in their only warmup game, since that was no more than an experimental team selected as part of the selection process and a number of players who will be pivotal to their 2015 campaign were not in action. With Steve Hansen committed to an ongoing selection review, this week’s combination – while still some way from a team picked strictly on merit, and offering rest to players needing a break – is stronger.

Key players:
For New Zealand, Super Rugby’s leading try-scorer Waisake Naholo, making his Test debut, Israel Dagg at fullback, trying desperately to recapture the level of performance eluding him after his comeback from injury, and Keven Mealamu, starting at hooker and wanting to show that at age 36 he can still crack it at Test level. For Argentina, so much revolves around the experience and skills of Nicolas Sanchez at 10, Marcelo Bosch at 13, and up front, brilliant flank Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, hooker and captain Agustin Creevy, and one of the rugby world’s most respected scrummagers, Marcos Ayerza.

The big match-ups:
The three Puma Rugby Championship debutants, Santiago Cordero, Facundo Isa, and Guido Petti face a tough baptism up against Naholo, Kieran Read, and Brodie Retallick respectively. At inside centre, Jeronimo de la Fuente takes on Sonny Bill Williams. The scrummaging battle between the fiercely competitive Ayerza (a Puma since 2004 and Leicester Tiger since 2006) and Owen Franks could be epic. 

Australia vs South Africa

While the Springboks have an established set-up, with Heyneke Meyer having been in charge since 2012, the Wallabies changed coaches just before their November tour, with Michael Cheika a late replacement for the hastily departing Ewen McKenzie – himself a replacement for Robbie Deans. Australia’s six defeats in their last seven matches reflects their coaching crises of 2013-2014, but Cheika has now had the opportunity for the reflection and planning denied him when last the Wallabies were together. 

In the 2014 tournament the Wallabies averaged the fewest kicks out of hand per game (16) and the Springboks the most (28). It’ll be interesting to see how much the respective game plans have evolved since then, especially with Australia having changed coaches.

With the Australian conference having provided two teams in the Super Rugby top six on log points accumulated and the South African conference none (before conference system machinations), the Wallabies would appear to have the form players, but the Rugby Championship is a different kettle of fish to Super Rugby and this game will provide the first real indication of the teams’ respective prospects.

Key players:
For South Africa: Schalk Burger, playing at 8 in the absence of Duane Vermeulen, Handré Pollard and JP Pietersen, the two frontline Boks whose performances against the World XV were less than impressive, and the centre pair, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel – excellent last week, albeit against disorganised opposition, and keen to show they can play as effectively against competitive Test opposition. For Australia: Matt Giteau at 12 after four years out of Test rugby, Quade Cooper, trying to re-establish himself as Australia’s best 10, Israel Folau, because he is an attacking genius, and James Slipper, rated less highly as a scrummager outside Australia than by his countrymen.

The big match-ups:
Giteau vs De Allende at 12 and Kriel vs Tevita Kuridrani at 13. The two battle-hardened warriors at 8, Burger vs Scott Higginbotham. As scrummagers, Slipper vs Jannie du Plessis. Hookers Stephen Moore and Bismarck du Plessis.