The Rugby Championship 2018 Edition: Week Five Predictions

South Africa vs Australia

The Springboks are coming off a much needed win, but they also showed that they still have a chance at winning this tournament. However, what is incredible is they came off a victory against the very tough All-Blacks who are the best rugby team in the world as they edged them out 36-34. Aphiwe Dyantyi was a force to be reckoned with on the wing as he scored two tries against New Zealand, but they also got tries from Willie le Roux, Malcolm Marx, and Cheslin Kolbe. Australia came off a much needed victory against South Africa in Week Three, but then fell to a rising Argentina squad 23-19 in Week Four. The Wallabies will need to get back on track, but they will be facing the Springboks who will be coming in with a lot of momentum. If the Wallabies don’t want to finish in last, then they will have to play a near flawless game against one of the best forward packs in rugby. This could be a very interesting match.

Predictions

James Rowe: South Africa. Things just don’t look promising for the Wallabies and I was very impressed by the Springboks against New Zealand. I don’t even think this will be close.

New Zealand vs Argentina

The All-Blacks are coming off a tough loss to South Africa and now have to face off against an Argentina side that has a very tough pack. New Zealand though are resilient and are after all the best rugby team in the world, you can expect them to come back and come back hard. They will be tough to face off against. That being said, the Pumas have been very impressive and will look to keep the momentum going off their victory against Australia. Nicolas Sanchez had a great game in Week Four as he scored a try, converted on all two point after attempts, and even scored a penalty kick. You can expect Argentina to fight hard and won’t make anything easy for the All-Blacks.

Predictions

James: New Zealand. Argentina has been very impressive, but these are the All-Blacks after all and they will likely come back and click on all cylinders. Never count them out. But I do expect this to be a close match as both scrum units are solid and it could come down to the scrums.