New Zealand will enter the Rugby Championship this year as the reigning champions, but after thrashed by South Africa in the opening game they are certainly not favorites.
How to watch the matches on TV
(All times BST)
Round 1
Round 2
- South Africa v New Zealand (Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg) 4:05 PM on Saturday, August 13 – Sky Sports
- Argentina v Australia (Bicentennial Stadium, San Juan) 8.10pm on Saturday, August 13 – Sky Sports
Round 3
- Australia v South Africa (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide) 6.30am on Saturday 27th August – Sky Sports
- New Zealand v Argentina (Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch) 8.45am on Saturday, August 27 – Sky Sports
Round 4
- New Zealand v Argentina (FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton) 8.05am on Saturday, September 3 – Sky Sports
- Australia vs South Africa (Allianz Stadium, Sydney) 10.35am on Saturday, September 3 – Sky Sports
Round 5
- Australia vs New Zealand (Marvel Stadium, Melbourne) 10.45am on Thursday, September 15 – Sky Sports
- Argentina vs South Africa (Estadio Jose Amalfitani, Buenos Aires) 8.10pm on Saturday, September 17 – Sky Sports
Round 6
- New Zealand vs Australia (Eden Park, Auckland) Saturday, September 24 at 8:05 AM – Sky Sports
- South Africa vs Argentina (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban) 4:05 PM on Saturday, September 24 – Sky Sports
What’s the latest news?
Argentina will put extra emphasis on their agitation in training this week and try to avoid the mistakes that cost them in Saturday’s clash against Australia when they meet again next weekend, said coach Michael Cheika.
The Wallabies ran into two late attempts to turn a 26-17 deficit and win their opening game 41-26.
“I thought we did really well for the first 50 or 60 minutes and then Australia did a really good job of coming back and attacking and putting pressure on us. We went a bit individual at the time and got caught because of that,” he said. Cheika after losing to the team he used to coach.
“The biggest area was obviously three attempts from the maul, so that’s something we really want to resolve. It’s not acceptable.
“We see that as a frontline of our team, and that was really disappointing as a team and it’s something we need to work on and move into the game,” he said as the focus shifts to Saturday’s encounter in San Juan. .
Saturday’s game in Mendoza turned out to be a seesaw affair before Australia got a penalty try just after the hour, when Argentina illegally tried to stop a driving maul and Matias Alemanno was shown a yellow card to add to their woes.
That turned out to be the turning point and the victory was sealed with another driving maul attempt for hooker Folau Fainga’a.
Cheika, who was the Wallabies coach from 2014-2019, added that poor decision-making at crucial moments was also costly.
“We have to work harder now. We must not give up on the goals we have set for ourselves and we want to keep putting our performance layer upon layer,” the Pumas coach added.
When is the last round?
The last round is on Saturday 24 September. New Zealand hosts Australia in Auckland, while Argentina travels to Durban to face South Africa.
Last year, New Zealand had already completed the Rugby Championship for the final round, having defeated South Africa 19-17 in the penultimate round. However, the Springboks would beat the All Blacks 31-29 a week later to end their campaign on a high.