The 2016 Rugby Championship kicks off this weekend as New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina look to dethrone Australia as the champions. Continue reading for our Rugby Championships Round 1 Preview and Betting Tips.
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Australia vs New Zealand (Saturday 8.05pm AEST)
The Wallabies are the defending champions and they won’t want to give up the trophy but it will be a tough ask starting off the first two weeks of the International campaign against the World Champions the All Blacks. The Australians will at least have the advantage of playing on home soil but that won’t phase the New Zealand side. Australia will enter the match looking to redeem their disappointing Super Rugby season as they managed just one side reaching the finals and the Brumbies were bowed out in the opening week of the knock out stages. The Wallabies struggled against the New Zealand teams all season and they were disappointing against England during the midseason international period. However, the Green and Gold are boosted by the return of Matt Giteau and he will bring a lot of experience to the squad. It could be the last tournament Giteau lines up for the Wallabies and he will want to have a real impact on the squad. Adam Ashley Cooper, Will Genia, Drew Mitchell and Quade Cooper have all also joined the squad from French Rugby.
The All Blacks were tested in their midseason Internationals against the Wales but ultimately their class shone through as they won all three games. They are the number one side in the world for a reason and their dominance against Australia is proven with them holding the Bledisloe Cup for over a decade. The preparations for the All Blacks haven’t been smooth sailing with Sonny Bill Williams injuring his Achilles in the Rio Olympics whilst versatile centre George Moala suffered a knee injury and will likely miss the opening two matches against the Aussies. The depth of the All Blacks makes it hard to determine which players will start against the Wallabies this weekend but we are predicting the side will have a few Hurricanes faces including flyhalf Beauden Barrett and Julian Savea who were stars for the Super Rugby champions.
The Wallabies will do their best to put up a fight but facing the All Blacks in their first test match of the season will be tough. The All Blacks will show their dominance and depth in the later stages of the match, as their interchange will help the side gain a considerable lead.
TIP: New Zealand -6 @ $1.90 with Sportsbet
South Africa vs Argentina (Sunday 1.05am AEST)
Argentina will enter their fifth Rugby Championship and they will be looking for an improved performance after a strong showing in the Rugby World Cup last year. A lot of the Argentina players have also received extra experience after taking part in the Super Rugby competition this year. The Pumas have won just two games in the Rugby Championship in 18 showings. The squad has just one debutant and the side named will have a lot of experience playing International rugby. They travelled to South Africa a week early to adjust to the conditions and we are expecting a strong showing from Argentina.
However, the South Africans are a terrific side and are always difficult to beat on home soil. It will be interesting to see how they approach the match tactically and whether they will look to use a more attacking style that saw the Lions be successful this season. The Lions were there most successful Super Rugby side and they went away from the traditional way the Springboks play where they look to take advantage of as many penalty opportunities as possible and kick long Instead looked to attack with the ball in hand and it took them all the way to the Super Rugby final. The side is missing a few key players such as Handre Pollard, Pat Lambie and Frans Malherbe due to injury but the side will be boosted by Johan Goosen, who has been in outstanding form for his club in France and will give the side a lot of versatility in the backline. We are predicting the Pumas to attempt to get on the scoreboard early but if the Springboks are able to get an early start it will finish in a big win for the home side.
TIP: South Africa 13+ @ $1.90 with William Hill
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
