Coach Eddie Jones will christen the new-look Wallabies in hostile surroundings against South Africa in Pretoria this weekend. There are very few relevant stats and they all start with Australia’s 0-7 record at this high-altitude fortress. So, what can we expect from the first round of The Rugby Championship?
Jim Tucker previews both matches and provides his best betting tips below!
2023 The Rugby Championship Round 1 Preview & Betting Tips
South Africa v Wallabies
Sun, July 9 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 1:05am (AEST)
The Wallabies’ awful 0-7 record in Pretoria disguises the fact that they have had some big chances to win there.
The hoodoo should have been broken when the Wallabies led 14-0 in 2010 and the 18-10 loss of 2016 was, again, plain wasteful because the Springboks didn’t score a try.
This is 2023 and we really don’t know what to expect from the Jones’ team.
Better, more settled Wallabies teams have travelled to South Africa and lost.
Balancing this is the instant spike that new coaches like Jones get with their teams. He has them alert and listening.
He has drummed in physicality and has picked a strong lineout to disrupt the Boks’ rhythm. He has picked three good kickers in general play to get his team away from the danger end. He’s picked experienced playmakers in Quade Cooper and Nic White.
Everyone hopes debutant flanker Tom Hooper fires because the Wallabies need a non-stop 1.99m No.6 to balance the backrow.
The Springboks have picked an under-strength side with some major trumps bypassing this Test so they can head to NZ early for a Test a week later.
That will chisel away some quality but a Bok team on home soil is always a 10-point better side than away from home.
That’s why the Boks have won six and drawn one of their last seven Tests at home against the Wallabies while regularly losing to the same side away.
Any Springboks team boasting the names Vermeulen, le Roux, Am, du Toit, Kitshoff and Malherbe is a serious side.
Wisdom dictates backing South Africa to get home in a scrap but the value is backing the Wallabies.
Hooker Dave Porecki to score an Anytime Try at $4 is also good value.
Wallabies HALF-TIME LEAD
$2.65 (4 Units)
Argentina v New Zealand
Sun, July 9 Estadio Malvinas, Mendoza 5:10am (AEST)
The Argentinians are up for their only home Test of The Rugby Championship.
The Pumas have broken the bogey of facing the All Blacks with zero results. The epic upsets in Sydney (2020) and Christchurch (2022) have given the team belief and neither was won with home ground advantage.
Aussie coach Michael Cheika has added more attacking punch to the Pumas so this definitely is a danger game for the Kiwis.
The Pumas always have seasoned, strong forwards to compete and the All Blacks have admitted they didn’t respect the Argentinian defence enough last year.
One big factor missing is backrow enforcer Marcos Kremer, under a red card suspension from France for the entire TRC.
The All Blacks have named in-form Damian McKenzie at flyhalf which shows their depth because it means Richie Mo’unga is on the bench.
The All Blacks almost always play their opening Test somewhere cosy in NZ so this is a challenge on that front as well.
Expect the Pumas to challenge but few of their players have been playing consistently at the level of Super Rugby Pacific finals recently.
New Zealand -13.5
$1.92 (4 Units)
