Round 3 In The Rugby Championship Looms

Round 3 In The Rugby Championship Looms

The All Blacks are once again in command in the Rugby Championship and are heavily favored going into this weekend's home game against Argentina.

Sep 8, 2017 by Alex Goff
Round 3 In The Rugby Championship Looms
The All Blacks are once again in command in the Rugby Championship and are heavily favored going into this weekend's home game against Argentina.

The visiting Pumas face New Zealand on Saturday in New Plymouth -- a relatively small host city for an All Blacks game, but one deserving of a chance to host its rugby heroes. Kieran Read captains the New Zealand side in his 103rd appearance.

"We've had a great buildup here in New Plymouth," All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen said. "It's a real rugby city and the people have made us feel really welcome, so we're all looking forward to Saturday."

At 0-2, the Pumas are shaking up their lineup and looking to get some momentum going. They got a nice welcome at New Plymouth's tiny airport.

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/lospumas/status/905735529433464832" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Those two teams have played 24 times, and New Zealand has won 23 of those meetings, with one game being tied.

New Zealand
Argentina
1. Joe Moody 1. Lucas Noguera Paz.
2. Dane Coles 2. Agustin Creevy (C)
3. Nepo Laulala 3. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
4. Luke Romano 4. Guido Petti
5. Brodie Retallick 5. Matias Alemanno
6. Vaea Fifita 6. Pablo Matera
7. Ardie Savea 7. Javier Ortega Desio
8. Kieran Read (C) 8. Benjamin Macome
9. TJ Perenara 9. Tomas Cubelli
10. Beauden Barrett 10. Nicolas Sanchez
11. Nehe Milner-Skudder 11. Emiliano Boffelli
12. Sonny Bill Williams 12. Jeronimo de la Fuente
13. Anton Lienert-Brown 13. Matias Moroni
14. Israel Dagg 14. Santiago Cordero
15. Damian McKenzie 15. Joaquin Tuculet
Reserves Reserves
16. Codie Taylor 16. Julian Montoya
17. Wyatt Crockett 17. Santiago Garcia Botta
18. Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18. Enrique Pieretto Heilan
19. Scott Barrett 19. Marcos Kremer
20. Sam Cane 20. Tomas Lezana
21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow 21. Martin Landajo
22. Lima Sopoaga 22. Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias
23. Ngani Laumape 23. Matias Orlando.

South Africa, in fact, leads the Rugby Championship standings with a better points difference than New Zealand. But to create a true showdown for the title in Round 4 and Round 6, the Springboks have to beat Australia on Saturday.

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has made four changes to Australia's lineup prior to hosting South Africa in Perth. Tatafu Polota-Nau will start at hooker, and Sekope Kepu comes in at prop. Adam Coleman returns to the starting lineup after having to pull out from the last New Zealand clash.

Interestingly, Cheika released 12 team members to play in Australia's National Rugby Championship, and three players remain in the NRC for Round 3.

Meanwhile, South Africa has a lot hanging on this meeting. The Springboks stood up nicely against Argentina, but this is a different matter entirely.

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Francoishougi/status/905782271000457216" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]


Australia
South Africa
1. Scott Sio 1. Tendai Mtawarira
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau 2. Malcolm Marx
3. Sekope Kepu 3. Coenie Oosthuizen
4. Rory Arnold 4. Eben Etzebeth
5. Adam Coleman 5. Pieter-Steph du Toit
6. Ned Hanigan 6. Siya Kolisi
7. Michael Hooper (C) 7. Jaco Kriel
8. Sean McMahon 8. Uzair Cassiem
9. Will Genia 9. Ross Cronje
10. Bernard Foley 10. Elton Jantjies
11. Reece Hodge 11. Courtnall Skosan
12. Kurtley Beale 12. Jan Serfontein
13. Tevita Kuridrani 13. Jesse Kriel
14. Henry Speight 14. Raymond Rhule
15. Israel Folau 15. Andries Coetzee.
Reserves Reserves
16. Jordan Uelese 16. Bongi Mbonambi
17. Tom Robertson 17. Steven Kitshoff
18. Allan Alaalatoa 18. Trevor Nyakane
19. Rob Simmons 19. Lood de Jager
20. Jack Dempsey 20. Jean-Luc du Preez
21. Nick Phipps 21. Francois Hougaard
22. Samu Kerevi 22. Handre Pollard
23. Curtis Rona 23. Damian de Allende.


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