The Rugby Championship 2021 travelling circus rolls into Brisbane on Saturday for the next double-header, with Australia taking on South Africa’s Springboks ahead of New Zealand’s clash with Argentina.
Suncorp Stadium is the venue for all four Southern Hemisphere nations to play the reverse fixtures of last weekend.
The All Blacks and the Wallabies were the victors last Sunday, leaving the Boks and Los Pumas with work to do to reel in the unbeaten Kiwis at the top of the table.
Rugby Championship: Australia vs South Africa
The Springboks are out for revenge when they tackle Australia in the second leg of their Rugby Championship double header in Brisbane on Saturday.
Jacques Nienaber’s men fell to an agonizing 28-26 defeat after the final hooter, thanks to the boot of returning veteran Quade Cooper.
The Aussie golden oldie bested opposite number Handre Pollard, who was one of several South Africans to suffer an off-day in their first overseas international fixture since lifting the World Cup trophy in Tokyo in 2019.
It was the first four points for Dave Rennie’s side, who had earlier slumped to back-to-back losses at the hands of the All Blacks.
Two starting changes are the order of the day for Nienaber, with the concussed Lood de Jager replaced in the locks by Marvin Orie.
Trevor Nyakane starts in the front row, with Steven Kitshoff edging out Retshegofaditswe Nche for a place on the bench.
Michael Hooper becomes Australia’s most-capped captain when he leads his side out, while Nic White and Taniela Tupou are both included from kick off.
The experienced James Slipper returns to start in the front row.
Australia Starting XV: 15 Tom Banks, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Lachlan Swinton, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Folau Fainga?a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Feleti Kaitu?u, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Reece Hodge, 23 Jordan Petaia.
South Africa Starting XV: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Francois Mostert, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Albertus Smith, 21 Jasper Wiese, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse.
Rugby Championship: Argentina vs New Zealand
New Zealand and Argentina square off for round two of their Rugby Championship double-header when they meet at the Suncorp Stadium.
The All Blacks romped to a 39-0 victory in Gold Coast last weekend, bolstering their place at the top of the competition standings after three wins from three.
Los Pumas, meanwhile, are pointless after losing both matches against South Africa en route Down Under last month.
Kiwi coach Ian Smith shuffles his pack, retaining just three of the starting side from last weekend.
TJ Perenara, Jordie Barrett and George Bridge are adjudged fresh enough to crack on, as Beauden Barrett drops to the bench and Brodie Retallick is afforded the chance to put his feet up entirely.
Matias Alemanno comes into the locks alongside Tomas Lavanini, as Guido Petti drops to the bench for the South Americans.
Santiago Carreras is in at fly-half, while Emiliano Boffelli finds a place on the wing for Ledesma’s side.
Argentina Starting XV: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Facundo Gigena.
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Carlos Muzzio, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Domingo Miotti, 23 Matias Moroni.
New Zealand Starting XV: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 George Bridge, 10 Damien McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Ardie Savea (captain), 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Tupou Vaa?i, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei?aho, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 George Bower, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Braydon Ennor.
Rugby Championship: Predictions
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing. Score margins use the methodology developed by Rugby Vision.
