The 2017 Rugby Championships kicks off this weekend and we will take a look at the two matches in every round throughout the competition. See our Week 1 Rugby Championships Preview and Betting Tips below.
Australia vs New Zealand (Saturday 8pm AEST)
The Wallabies head into this match hoping to break a 14-year stretch of the All Blacks holding the Bledisloe Cup while they also aim to get their Rugby Championship off to the perfect start. Do we think it can happen? Not a chance. The Australian Super Rugby teams are coming off arguably their worst season in the competition and not one of the sides were able to defeat a New Zealand opponent. The psychology of the players and their confidence would be hit hard and the losing culture is hard to avoid. The All Blacks are a step above the rest of world in rugby and the Wallabies would have to play a perfect game to earn the victory.
The Wallabies played international matches a little over a month ago and they were less than convincing. They suffered an embarrassing loss to Scotland on home soil while they failed to impress against Fiji and Italy.
Meanwhile the All Blacks defeated the Lions, suffered a loss after Sonny Bill Williams was shown a red card in the opening half before they drew with the side in their final game. It wasn’t the clinical and dominant performances we expected but they were facing the best the British has to offer. We are predicting the ability of New Zealand to pounce on an error from the Wallabies and turn it into points to be too much as they get an early lead and run away with the contest in the second half.
TIP: New Zealand at the line (-16.5) – $1.90 at Sportsbet
South Africa vs Argentina (Sunday 1am AEST)
The Sprinboks get a favourable start to their Rugby Championship campaign as they get to ‘warm up’ against the Pumas on home soil before facing New Zealand and Australia later in the tournament. It allows them to get points on the board with a strong showing, build confidence and combinations. However, the Springboks are also coming off a poor showing in their June internationals as they suffered a loss at home to Ireland. Their biggest fault in that match was a slow start and they can’t afford to do the same against Argentina who is improving every year and has a strong forward pack.
The partnership between inside centre Juan Martin Hernandez and fly-half Nicolas Sanchez will be a big determent of the outcome of htis match. If the two Argentinians can combine well and create opportunities for their players then they stand a chance of an upset. However, it is too big of an ‘if’ for us and we will be predicting the South Africans to get a win on home soil by a narrow margin to start their Rugby Championship.
TIP: South Africa at the margin (1-12) – $3.30 at Sportsbet
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