The Rugby Championship Rd 5

The Rugby Championship Rd 5
Saturday
South Africa* v Australia     10:00
Argentina v New Zealand*     18:10
* denotes fav
All times Houston Tx

Preview: Argentina v New Zealand

This courtesy of Planet rugby

It will by no means be a stroll to 2012's Rugby Championship trophy for the All Blacks when they take on the Pumas at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata.

Granted they are hot favourites to wrap up the title a week ahead of schedule. But as we saw in the reverse, Los Pumas can cause them problems.
What adds further fuel to that outlook - something that's already been highlighted by our prediction man - is that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen criticised Argentina this week for their thwarting tactics against them. What a fillip that is for the hosts, knowing they have him openly worried.
So don't expect them to stray from that style this Saturday, with a forward battle set to be played out while Juan Martin Hernandez and Dan Carter collide. Carter, alongside Aaron Smith, will be looking to impose a quick tempo on proceedings while El Mago and Martin Landajo go for territory. Despite the fact Smith has now paid his dues for breaking a curfew, one feels that going for Piri Weepu over the quicker Smith would have played into Puma hands. Therefore, expect more threats in the backs than previous visitors to Argentina, South Africa, who this week face Australia.
Yes, I hold my hands up to going for Argentina to prevail by two points against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast, but hopefully their performance has created a few more believers.
A boost to their cause is the return of Marcos Ayerza to bench duty, which arguably frees up Rodrigo Roncero to put in another of those 50 minute barnstormers. Ayerza was absent last time out and it came as a double blow in some respects as Roncero played for longer, subsequently thinning out his impact. Such is the boost that we are going for the veteran's battle with Owen Franks as our head-to-head, with both props having solid tournaments.
Ayerza is joined on the bench by Tomas Vallejos in the only changes made by head coach Santiago Phelan for their penultimate outing before they watch the Jaguars (second XV) in their upcoming Americas Rugby Championship, which takes place in Canada. That will be where the Pumas will hope to build up a squad depth for future campaigns, which look exceedingly bright following what has been an impressive debut term with the big boys.
Of course there's a long journey ahead until they can be challenging year-in-year-out with the probable champs. But now that they have the sure footing of the Rugby Championship to begin their ascent up the standings, those Hansen headaches are expected to become a regular occurrence. Hansen won't need the Nurofen just yet though, as it is a measure of these special All Blacks that their 14-game unbeaten run exudes an air of dissatisfaction.
A title with a round to spare might help with that.
Ones to watch:
For Argentina: While the likes of number eight Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and loosehead Rodrigo Roncero have stood out up front, centre Marcelo Bosch and right wing Gonzalo Camacho are two of the men typifying this Pumas debut season in the Rugby Championship. Bosch has covered well and communicated superbly defensively and his battle with Conrad Smith sees two similar players collide. But it is the threat Camacho poses on the wing that Argentina will hope is prominent in Buenos Aires. Exeter will be proud of their man and want him to bring this form back with him for the Heineken Cup.
For New Zealand: He's baaaaack! New Zealand's maestro is back after missing his side's previous two wins over the Pumas and Boks due to a calf injury and the timing couldn't be better. Whilst Aaron Cruden did an admirable job in Dan Carter's absence, it's clear the world champs have missed their number one pivot, who brings a wealth of experience and is a more composed presence in the number ten jersey. The 30-year-old will start in his 90th Test, as the All Blacks vice-captain closes in on his international century.
Head-to-head: As mentioned in the body of this preview, Rodrigo Roncero against Owen Franks whets the appetite. Two props who are at opposite ends of their careers meet on Saturday in what could provide valuable on-the-job training for the Cantabrian. Roncero has just two games left in his Test career yet his tackle count for each of his four Rugby Championship appearances thus far has him making over ten tackles. Should be good.
Previous results:
2012: New Zealand won 21-5 in Wellington
2011: New Zealand won 33-10 in Auckland (RWC)
2006: New Zealand won 25-19 in Buenos Aires
2004: New Zealand won 41-7 in Hamilton
2001: New Zealand won 24-20 in Buenos Aires
2001: New Zealand won 67-19 in Christchurch
1997: New Zealand won 62-10 in Hamilton
1997: New Zealand won 93-8 in Wellington
1991: New Zealand won 36-6 in Buenos Aires
1991: New Zealand won 28-14 in Buenos Aires
1989: New Zealand won 49-12 in Wellington
Prediction: Oodles of passion with a great deal of entertainment but the special day will not result in a victory for Argentina. New Zealand have too much class wider out - win by 10!
The teams:
Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Tomas Vallejos, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Martin Rodriguez, 22 Juan Imhoff.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.
Date: Saturday, September 29
Kick-off: 20:10 local (00:10 BST, 23:10 GMT)
Venue: Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
 Pete says;
Argentina can proudly claim that they have not conceded a single try in the first halve in any of their matches so far and it is testament to their exceptional defensive team effort. As I have stated before, intensity and cohesion in defence is one of the best barometers of the internal motivation of a rugby team and the Pumas have shown bucketloads of guts in every game. Although individual defence comes down to technique and the innate desire to be an impenetrable force (which no coach can impart), team defence is a "coachable" area where many defensive coaches have made a name for themselves in the business.
So long as this game is not played in another monsoon I expect ABs to win by 28.
I am unhappy that AB coach didn't bring Zac Guildford or Aaron Cruden as starters. They are the future and they are very exciting players. Glad to see Savea and Smith starting
I bet an Argentinian buddy copious amounts of beer if the Argies even scored one try in the whle tournament. I'm paying dearly.
The ABs will concentrate on NOT running into the Argies as that is their strong point....they do not miss tackles regularly.
Just saw that weather will be showers most of the day. this will probably crimp AB style.
If I could pick now i would go ABs by 21 
No showers...go figure that the weather forecast could be so bad
At long last.
It's taken six at times agonising weeks, but the All Blacks have finally delivered the complete performance we all knew they were capable of in La Plata  today.
The New Zealanders ran in seven tries all told as they put a game Argentina outfit to the sword 54-15 with their best performance of the Rugby Championship.

South Africa v Australia

If the history books are anything to go by, we're set for a cracking game at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as the Wallabies go in search of their sixth consecutive win over the Springboks.

Positive team selections, bone-dry weather, a venue with a history of high-scoring fixtures (especially between these sides) and two coaches looking to prove a point: all the indicators suggest we're in for a treat and probably the highest scoring game of the Rugby Championship to date.
Both Heyneke Meyer and Robbie Deans said they expect a fast-paced game. The South Africa coach is eager to show Bok fans that his team can dance to more than one tune while his Wallaby counterpart has a long track record of leading sides that play positive rugby, despite what Quade 'I-think-I'm-Sonny-Bill-Williams-but-you-should-treat-me-like-Dan-Carter' Cooper would have us believe.
Fly-halves (as they tend to do) have been in the headlines this week and the spotlight will be firmly fixed on Johan Goosen and Kurtley Beale. Many fans and pundits firmly believe that the Cheetahs pivot is the embodiment of the path they hope the Boks will follow over the next for years. Considering Cooper's fall-out with Deans and the ARU, Beale could well find himself in a similar position for the Aussies, (assuming the current coaching staff manage to hang around.)
But we're getting ahead of ourselves and Bok fans in particular shouldn't delude themselves by thinking the wunderkind from Bloem is going to transform the way the Boks play overnight. As Meyer stressed at Wednesday's team announcement, Test rugby is a very different level to the Currie Cup and no one should expect Goosen to be cutting Australia's defence apart at will.
The Wallabies have won seven of the last eight Tests between these sides, including the previous two on South African soil. During the Deans era, Australia have claimed the spoils in three of their six games in the Republic. Prior to his arrival, they had won just once in SA in the professional era.
But they've never won at Loftus.
Even though victory in Bloemfontein two years ago ended their Highveld hoodoo, the thin air and hostile crowd in the South African capital have seen the home side to victory on all five previous Wallaby visits.
Deans has long maintained that teams of the past have made too much of the altitude factor and ended up psyching themselves out of the contest. When I spoke to young wing Dom Shipperley on Thursday, he had a similar take on the crowd, insisting the atmosphere wasn't an issue unless you made it one for yourself.
Fair points from both, but the numbers don't lie. Our tipster dug up some interesting stats for internationals in Pretoria, where the Boks are outscoring visiting teams by an average of 13 points in the second half. That number climbs to 16 against the Wallabies.
So it seems no matter their mental approach, the Wallabies will still have to overcome that lungs-on-fire sensation that is unavoidable in the last 20 minutes at 4,500 feet above sea level.
They've been on the Highveld for ten days, so they should be acclimatised. But even if they had been here for a year, handing out free Wallaby jerseys, it wouldn't make the 52,000-strong crowd any friendlier.
However if this injury-depleted Aussie squad can get that record-setting sixth straight win over the Boks, it'll be an occasion to be remembered.
Players to watch:
For South Africa: As mentioned above, all eyes will be on Johan Goosen, who at the tender age of 20 will be tasked with igniting the Bok attack. You have to be pretty special to replace Morne Steyn for a Test at Loftus. Expectations are sky-high but his team-mates reckon he thrives under pressure. Francois Louw played for Bath last week, meaning he's done a lot of traveling in the last fortnight. It'll be interesting to see when Marcell Coetzee needs to take over from the bench. Zane Kirchner is next in line to get the axe if public pressure has anything to do with Bok selections, but he's usually very solid on his home turf.
For Australia: Another young gun, Kurtley Beale will run the Wallabies backline, but his big boot is also set to come in handy in a territorial battle that will see punts fly 70ms when struck sweetly. He'll interchange positions with Berrick Barnes fairly regularly with the latter set be tested under the high ball. Up front Benn Robinson becomes the third Australian prop to reach his half century of international appearances and will want to build on the solid performance from the Wallaby scrum in Perth.

Head-to-head: With both teams set to use the favourable kicking conditions to seek out territory, the line-outs could make or break the attacking plans. South Africa have recalled their first-choice lock pairing of Eben Etzebeth and Andries Bekker, with the former returning from suspension and the latter looking to make amends for his nightmare game in Mendoza after a solid stint off the bench against the All Blacks. Meyer said earlier this week that Bekker was suited to the open game we all expect because his "strong point is to pitch up as a centre, ala Victor Matfield, on the wing sometimes!" Wallaby skipper Nathan Sharpe joins former openside George Smith as the most capped forward in the green and gold (playing his 110th Test), but it remains to be seen if the old warhorse will go the distance. 23-year-old Kane Douglas wins just his second cap, but at 122kg he's got the tools to make an impact.
Previous results:
2012: Australia won 26-19, Perth
2011: Australia won 11-9, Wellington
2011: Australia won 14-9, Durban
2011: Australia won 39-20, Sydney
2010: Australia won 41-39, Bloemfontein
2010: South Africa won 44-31, Pretoria
2010: Australia won 30-13, Brisbane
2009: Australia won 21-6, Brisbane
2009: South Africa won 32-25, Perth
2009: South Africa won 29-17, Cape Town
2008: South Africa won 53-8, Johannesburg
Prediction: There has been an average of 53 total points per game in Tests at Lofus and 50 between these sides, so the safe money is on a high-scoring game. We reckon the Boks looked good enough against the All Blacks to merit their favourites tag. South Africa by ten points!
The teams:
South African (revised): 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.
Australia: 15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Dominic Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT ; 01.00 NSW/ACT)
Weather: Dry. Clear skies, 21°C
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)

Pete says
Australia arrive in Pretoria with five consecutive wins under their belt against the South Africans (and I backed the Aussies for a win in Perth), but they will meet a different team at Loftus this Saturday. The conditions will be superb for the Aussie flyers like Digby Ioane and Dom Shipperley, but I think the loss of Steven Moore will leave a deep scar in a team that is already missing star players like Horwill, Genia, Cooper, O'Connor, Mitchell, Pocock, Timani, Palu and Kepu. Moore is the type of player you want in your side when you face a wounded Springbok at Loftus. But the silent death and great equaliser on the Highveld - altitude - will take its toll in the last quarter and will definitely favour the Boks when it matters. Moreover the almost messianic starting debut of Johan Goosen may just be the spark that can unlock the two veteran centres outside him (assuming Frans Steyn is fit ) - but I would not get my hopes up just yet that they will be able to run circles around the talented Wallaby backline. I do however believe it is the right move and if he can be joined by Pat Lambie at full-back soon, we may see a renaissance in South Africa's attacking game.
Steyn is injured and Taute takes his place. A different kind of centre and one who hopefully can dodge and dive better.
I have to agree with the Planet rugby writer.
Look no further than a Bok victory but only by 9. It might well be a game of penalties.

Game over
Boks scored 5 tries. Habana  was a workhorse turning up at all the right moments. I'm a huge fan. this man goes looking for work.
Aussies hardly ever in Bok 22. Too much kicking the ball away and running into boks. Surely Coach deans needs to go and a man like campese take over.
The biggest humiliation was the Bok, not renown for their running rugby, nearly scoring an 80 yard try from deep within their own 22.
Bok won easily 31-8. Aussies picked up many injuries. Deans couldn't even manage their reserves properly. They used up all 8 reserves and had to play one man down for last 8 mins...pathetic