Rugby Championship Predictions – Round 3 – All Blacks and Wallabies to Cover Spread

Argentina and Australia need “Any Given Sunday” like magic if they are to defy the odds in the third round of the Rugby Championship this weekend.

You can call it the start of the thunder Down Under. Tightened Covid restrictions have resulted in the Southern Hemisphere showcase being moved to Australia, with Sunday seeing the first of four double-headers over the next month.

The Pumas and Wallabies are rank underdogs in their encounters against the pacesetting All Blacks and Springboks in Gold Coast, Brisbane. A win for either would be a massive shock, for both, a rugby miracle.

New Zealand v Argentina

Saturday 11 September – 09:05

The Pumas produced exactly such a rugby miracle in last year’s Tri-Nations, shocking the rugby world by claiming a first-ever win over the vaunted Kiwis. The New Zealanders set the record straight two weeks later with a 38-0 blackout, however, it’s the Argentinians’ historic 25-15 triumph that’s the lasting memory of this traditionally one-sided rivalry.

Unfortunately for Pumas fans and neutral rugby lovers alike, the chances of Mario Ledesma’s charges repeating that feat on Sunday is akin to hell freezing over. That may sound harsh but they were uncharacteristically meek in their back-to-back losses (32-12 and 29-10) to the Springboks last month.

They lacked intensity, direction and their usual determination and as a result, they all but rolled over on the South African soil. Even most Springbok supporters were disappointed that the Pumas didn’t put up more of a fight, especially considering their competitive nature in recent years.

If the opportunity of upsetting the world champions wasn’t enough to motivate the toothless Pumas, surely the aura of the All Blacks is. However, not even a 300% turnaround from their two latest offerings will be enough to overcome the Kiwis, who despite missing several key players, were far too good for the Wallabies for the third straight time last weekend.

New Zealand have hit the ground running this year and are set to run circles around the Pumas. Bar a complete overhaul on Ian Foster’s part (the teams were yet to be announced at the time of writing), I can see no other outcome than another commanding win and full-house for the All Blacks.

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South Africa v Australia

Saturday 11 September – 12:05

The rivalry between these two sports-loving nations has always been ultra-competitive. Even with the decline of Australian rugby in recent years, the teams are split 4-4 with two draws in their last 10 meetings. South Africa have won the last two, both at home, but the key piece of history as it pertains to Sunday’s showdown is the Green and Gold gladiators’ struggles Down Under.

They’re winless in their last five on Australian soil and have won just one of the dozen Tests they’ve played in the Brisbane area. As any coach will tell, you, though, such records count for nothing on game day and never has that been truer than it is this weekend.

The Wallabies have been woeful thus far this season, serving as cannon fodder and being swept by the All Blacks in three lopsided Bledisloe Cup “contests.” As atrocious as they were in Auckland, last Sunday’s 38-21 humiliation in Perth was equally amateurish.

Springboks Squad v Australia: Vermeulen and De Klerk Back From Injury

Granted, this will be the Springboks’ first overseas assignment since their World Cup triumph in Japan, and granted, the British & Irish Lions had success when they played a fast-paced brand of rugby that the Wallabies will throw South Africa’s way.

However, the almost effortless manner in which the All Blacks steamrolled the Australians when they did keep it tight and mauled points to a world of problems for Michel Hooper and company against the most powerful and well-oiled pack in the game today.

It probably won’t be as “entertaining” as the try-fest that was the one-sided Bledisloe Cup series, but the Springboks could power to a dominant victory. One must keep in mind the Springboks’ history in Australia though.