Draw released for the Rugby Championship 2013

Posted on Jan 15, 2013 in SANZAR, The Rugby Championship

SANZAR today announced the full draw for The Rugby Championship’s second year, kicking off with a popular clash between the Wallabies and 2012 season’s winners, the All Blacks, at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday 17 August.

That same day the Springboks will host the Pumas at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

The Pumas will replicate the 2012 draw for their home matches and the Pumas will play their first home match of The Rugby Championship in Round Two against the Springboks at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza on Saturday 24 August, with the All Blacks hosting the Wallabies at Westpac Stadium in Wellington the same day.

Test matches in Brisbane, Hamilton, Perth, Auckland, Cape Town and La Plata will follow during The Rugby Championship in 2013.

The final round will be played in Johannesburg between the Springboks and the All Blacks at

Coca-Cola Park Stadium, while the Pumas will host the final match of the Championship by hosting the Wallabies at Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, in Rosario.

The two travel byes will take place on Saturday 31 August and Saturday 21 September respectively.

SANZAR CEO Greg Peters said it was exciting to release the draw for The Rugby Championship as Test rugby closed out for the year.

“In 2012 we saw The Rugby Championship played for the first time, welcoming the Pumas into the fold alongside the original Tri-Nations teams, which saw the All Blacks claim inaugural success with an unbeaten charge to the title,” Peters said.

“The Rugby Championship will again feature the best teams in the world.  With the recent End of Year Tests yielding 10 victories for our competing rugby nations."

"The Pumas claimed a historic win in Cardiff against Six Nations champions Wales, the Springboks went through Europe unbeaten, while the All Blacks and Wallabies won three of their four Tests.”

Mr Peters said that the new dimension that Argentina brought to The Rugby Championship was evident with the fan response through the six rounds.

“A total of over 16 million viewers tuned into the twelve Tests of The Rugby Championship and an average of 44,000 attended the matches, which saw stadiums at 91% capacity, with the 88,739 crowd that saw the All Blacks come back from a half time deficit to defeat the Springboks 32-16 at FNB Stadium in Soweto the most attended match of the season,” Peters said.

“The first round of action, with the Wallabies playing the All Blacks in Sydney, and the Springboks hosting the Pumas in Bloemfontein, will have added spice considering the last time each of these two nations played – the result was an 18-18 and 16-16 draw respectively.”

"We are also pleased to announce that the format for 2013 will be consistent with the recent season to enable Unions and fans to have certainty on which weekends matches will be played in their territories."

The draw, with confirmed dates and venues, is attached.

Full kick off times will be confirmed at a later date by SANZAR, as will all other particulars involving The Rugby Championship in 2013.

The Rugby Championship: round six preview Argentina vs Australia

Posted on Oct 5, 2012 in Argentina, Australia, The Rugby Championship

Argentina versus Australia at the Stadio Gigante de arroyito, Rosario

The Pumas will wrap up their maiden campaign in The Rugby Championship with a match in the historic Rosario on the banks of the Paraná River, hosting a Wallabies team that last weekend ended their chance to challenge for The Rugby Championship title.

The Wallabies Round Five 31-8 loss to the Springboks, combined with the All Blacks Round Five 54-15 win over the Pumas, ensured that the Australians were unable to ‘defend’ the Tri-Nations title they won in 2011, and it is indicative of how long 12 months can be when looking at the visitors situation.

This time last year they had just defeated the All Blacks to win the final edition of the Tri-Nations, but now arrive in Argentina depleted due to an incredibly high injury toll essentially having a full starting XV of Wallabies missing.

Argentina’s heavy loss to the All Blacks broke a sequence of three highly competitive results, and one shouldn’t read too much into a result which appeared to be a growing Pumas side attempting to take on the World Champions at their own game, while the number one ranked side clearly turned up to La Plata with a serious point to make.

One wonders if former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry’s now famous advice to Argentina – to score more tries – may have come a bit early, with captain Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe saying that against the All Blacks perhaps his troops strayed away from their greatest strength, their no-nonsense defence.

Whether they go back to this approach or continue trying to chance their arm will intrigue, considering that the confident approach could be far more effective against the Wallabies.

Rosario is one of the biggest Argentine cities, with 1.4 million “Rosarinos,” as the locals are called.

The Argentine flag was created in 1812 by General Manuel Belgrano, and the huge Monumento de la Bandera (Flag Monument) is a central point of the city.

Rosario is a strong rugby area, with one of the founding members of the Unión Argentina de Rugby (Rosario Athletic) from the city. It has a competitive club championship and the national club champion is Duendes RC, also from Rosario.

It won’t be the first time Australia plays in Rosario, although this will be the maiden International Rugby Board sanctioned test match at the stadium.

In their first tour to Argentina in 1979, the Wallabies played two test matches in Buenos Aires, but an Australian selection skippered by Mark Loane beat the local provincial side Rosario 21-13.

In 1987, led by centre and current Australian Rugby Union Chairman Michael Hawker (who will attend the match this weekend), the visiting Australians won the tour match 35-15, while two tests were played during that tour again in Buenos Aires. 

A third win came in their last visit to Rosario in 1997, 29-18 by a team led by flanker David Wilson, again while the Wallabies played two sanctioned test matches in Buenos Aires.

Argentina fullback Martin Rodriguez is to undergo an operation, after dislocating his shoulder against the All Blacks, but the Pumas had no other injury concerns to speak off.

This resulted in Argentina coach Santiago Phelan retaining the same starting XV, with the only changes on the bench, with loose forward Leonardo Senatore replacing Tomas Vallejos while Nicolas Sanchez replaces Rodriguez.

For the Wallabies, they have lost further players, with Berrick Barnes and Adam Ashley-Cooper ruled out, meaning the young Australian side loses another 118 test caps.

Mike Harris (who will assume kicking responsibilities), Nick Cummins and Ben Tapuai are the changes in the backline, replacing Barnes, Dominic Shipperley and Ashley-Cooper respectively.

Up front the Wallabies have opted for a big pack, with Sitaleki Timani and James Slipper into the side with Dave Dennis and Benn Robinson slipping to the bench.

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The Rugby Championship: Round six preview South Africa vs New Zealand

Posted on Oct 5, 2012 in New Zealand, South Africa, The Rugby Championship

South Africa versus New Zealand at FNB Stadium, Soweto

The All Blacks arrive in Soweto as The Rugby Championship champions, but it is somewhat fitting that with the ultimate symbol of Southern Hemisphere Rugby supremacy in hand, New Zealand still need to play the one team in the one country that has been their greatest rival.

Indeed, it was not until 1996 that the All Blacks broke the ‘final frontier’ and won a test series in South Africa, and despite winning The Rugby Championship, the trophy will lose some shine if they falter in their sixth test, while the Springboks will sign off on a high if they can be the first side to inflict a defeat on the World Champions.

It is a grand finale considering both sides put in perhaps their best respective performances of The Rugby Championship, and the hosts will be positive after 31-8 win broke a sequence of five straight losses to the Wallabies.

Some would say that the inclusion of Free State playmaker Johan Goosen made the difference to the Springboks, although coach Heyneke Meyer and captain Jean de Villiers felt that it was more due to the side was beginning to understand the required game plan.

However while the positive attacking approach yielded results against the Wallabies, the Springboks will face the same dilemma the Pumas faced last week – try to attack the Kings of attacking rugby in the All Blacks, or use historical traits that have worked in the past?

The Pumas strayed away from their reliable defence, but whether or not the Springboks shift from their always impressive physicality, a proven rattler for the All Blacks, will only be answered on the weekend.

For the visitors, their game clicked into gear after threatening to for most of The Rugby Championship, and the return of Dan Carter, coupled with the form of the pack and All Blacks finishers in Cory Jane and Julian Savea, saw the most dominant winning performance of the Championship.

Soweto and ‘Soccer City’ will welcome the two teams for the second time.

In 2010 a crowd of 94,713 – a record for an audited attendance at a rugby match in South Africa – saw South Africa play New Zealand in former captain, John Smit’s 100th Test.

Another potential 100 could be on display this weekend, as All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will look to become the first ever rugby player to bring up 100 test match wins, with the skipper a late try scorer at the ground in his last visit when two late tries gave New Zealand a 29-22 win.

The All Blacks will also look at becoming sixth team to go through a Tri-Nations / The Rugby Championship season unbeaten – joining the 1996, 1997, 2003, 2010 All Blacks and 1998 Springboks.

For the hosts, Francois Steyn has been ruled out for the season, robbing them of a tactical boot that in the past has been useful against the All Blacks.

The Springboks have made only one change to their match day 22, with Coenie Oosthuizen taking over from Pat Cilliers as propping cover on the bench.

With the starting XV the same from last weekend’s victory against the Wallabies, it represents the first time the Springboks have started two consecutive Tests with the run on side since 2009 in the home victories over New Zealand (31-19 in Durban on August 1) and Australia (29-17 in Cape Town on August 8).

The Rugby Championship winners have made two changes to their starting All Blacks side, with lock Brodie Retallick and winger Hosea Gear for Luke Romano and Julian Savea respectively – Romano drops to the bench, while Savea drops out of the 22 altogether.

On the bench, prop Ben Franks, loose forward Adam Thomson and utility back Tamati Ellison replace Charlie Faumuina, Sam Cane and Ben Smith.

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Match Preview: Round 5 of The Rugby Championship–Argentina vs New Zealand

Posted on Sep 28, 2012 in Argentina, New Zealand, The Rugby Championship

The Rugby Championship’s new addition in the Pumas will host the World Champion All Blacks in back-to-back matches in South America, with the beautiful Estadio Ciudad de La Plata hosting a rugby test match for the first time.

The Pumas are confident, and while the main talk throughout The Rugby Championship has been consistent improvement, the reality is that the Argentineans have shown that they can match it with the original Tri-Nations teams – coming agonisingly close to a maiden win over the Springboks in Mendoza and a second victory on Australian soil since the first in 1983.

Still on current standings and form their toughest visitor has already touched down in the country, with the All Blacks once again taken back with the flamboyant culture of Buenos Aires, with the capital of Argentina approximately 50-60km North of La Plata.  A victory this weekend will guarantee the All Blacks the inaugural trophy of The Rugby Championship, unbeaten in four tests so far, although the perfection seeking New Zealanders are hardly happy, wanting to turn their pace driven game into try scoring sprees.

Yet Argentina are perhaps the best equipped of all the sides in The Rugby Championship to slow the All Blacks attack down, with All Blacks coach Steve Hansen remarking not only did they have an excellent defensive system, but were a little too proficient in slowing down his team’s ball.

Up front is where the Pumas traditional power lurks, but it has been the displays of the likes of wing Gonzalo Camacho, scrumhalf Martin Landajo and the recently returned Juan Martin Hernandez that have made a mockery of those calling Argentina a one trick rugby pony.

Still, while often it is the All Blacks backs that get the credit for their attacking finishing, it has been their pack that has grafted the bulk of their victories, with captain Richie McCaw a colossus in his recent outings, while young locks in the form of Brodie Retallick and Luke Romano have the World Champions integrating new faces into their established core.

La Plata, the second test venue in action for Argentina for the Pumas, was sold out for this test within days of tickets being on sale, and 53,000 will be expected to give the All Blacks a much louder welcome than they’d usually receive in other stadiums.

First opened in 2003, roofing was finished in 2011, ensuring every seat in the Estadio Único is under cover in the magnificent stadium known as ‘The City of Diagonals’.

Despite the recent presence of France and matches in the 2005 Under-19 Junior Rugby Championship, this will be the first full international recognised by the International Rugby Board, while the city has a strong rugby backbone with six local rugby clubs playing in the popular Buenos Aires rugby competition.

Continuing with their theme of being the most stable team in The Rugby Championship, the Pumas have made no changes to their starting XV, as they return home for the second time where they achieved their best result so far in the Championship, drawing 16-16 with the Springboks in Mendoza.

On the bench prop Juan Pablo Orlandi is replaced by Marcos Ayerza and loose forward Tomas Vallejos comes in for Leonardo Senatore in the only changes to the squad.

For the All Blacks the return of Dan Carter and Aaron Smith to the starting XV sees Aaron Cruden and Piri Weepu drop to the bench, while on the pine Sam Cane replaces Victor Vito and Ben Smith is named ahead of Tamati Ellison.

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Match preview: Round 5 of The Rugby Championship–South Africa vs Australia

Posted on Sep 28, 2012 in Australia, South Africa, The Rugby Championship

The Springboks will look to add to their solitary victory in The Rugby Championship so far, kicking off two straight home matches with the Wallabies arriving in the Republic for the first of two tour matches before heading to Argentina for their final match.

The South African hosts and new coach Heyneke Meyer have been under pressure, with feeling that the Bulls blueprint that won Meyer a Super Rugby competition and the Springboks power game that has served the side well for generations aren’t yielding the desired results.

On home soil such results will be doubly expected, although there would have been minor satisfaction that they managed to rattle the All Blacks up front in Round Four in Dunedin despite losing 11-21 – while earlier this week Springboks technical director Rassie Erasmus said there would be more strings to the team’s physical bow on home soil.

The Wallabies approach the test in high spirits, winning two tough tests on home soil – beating the Springboks 26-19 in Perth, before surviving a Pumas examination to win 23-19 in the first test on the Gold Coast.

Back-to-back losses to the All Blacks may not have been the ideal start to The Rugby Championship for the Wallabies, but they are now in a position (should the World Champions lose in La Plata to Argentina) to compete for the title, while their record against the Springboks has been brilliant in recent years.

The Wallabies will look to record another rare win in the Highveld this weekend, breaking a 47-year losing drought in Bloemfontein in 2010 with a 41-39 win, while the visitors have won seven of the last eight matches against the Springboks.

The consolation for the hosts is that they are unbeaten at Loftus Versfeld against the Wallabies.

If the Springboks are able to bring their heavy artillery power game to the field, one would suspect in front of nearly 52,000 fans the Wallabies may not be able to resist up front, especially considering the absence of players like David Pocock and James Horwill.

Indeed, the Wallabies have the worst injury toll of any team in The Rugby Championship, and calls for the team to rediscover the Australian running game will be compromised by the absence of Quade Cooper and James O’Connor – the latter a key figure in the win two years ago.

The Springboks, despite having over two-thirds of experience out wide, would be happy with how a young pack has stood up this season without the likes of Victor Matfield, John Smit and Bakkies Botha (overseas/retirement) and Schalk Burger, Juan Smith and Bismarck du Plessis (injuries).

But like their opponents this weekend, question marks linger over their backline, with Morne Steyn feeling the heat from the next generation like Johan Goosen and Pat Lambie in the playmakers seat.

Goosen will start his first Test for the Springboks when he runs out at flyhalf, one of three changes to the starting XV from the Springbok team that played New Zealand in Dunedin.

Eben Etzebeth and Andries Bekker are reunited in what looks to be the Springboks first choice second row, with the former returning from suspension and the latter swapping places with Flip van der Merwe in the run on team.

Six players in the match-22 that are 21 years old or younger – Goosen, Etzebeth, Marcell Coetzee, Pat Lambie, Elton Jantjies and Jaco Taute – while there are combined total of 468 Test caps, with 314 of those belonging to the backs and 154 to the forwards.

The Wallabies have named Kurtley Beale to run the backline, with the usual fullback shifted closer to the action, with flyhalf a position he played at regularly during his time with St Josephs in Sydney and in his early days with the Waratahs.

Nathan Sharpe continues to captain the team, leading his country for the fourth time, while he joins former Wallabies openside George Smith as the most capped forward in the green and gold, playing his 110th test, while up front Benn Robinson becomes the third Australian prop to reach his half century of international appearances.

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The Rugby Championship match preview: Australia versus Argentina at Skilled Stadium, Gold Coast

Posted on Sep 13, 2012 in Argentina, Australia, The Rugby Championship

The Wallabies will play the Pumas for the first time in The Rugby Championship this weekend, the first match between the two countries since the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

Australia were able to win that match 24-8, despite the solitary try of fullback Ignacio Corleto, although the Stade Francais back was the hero four years later, where he scored a try against Les Bleus in each of the Pumas wins over the 2007 World Cup hosts.

That Pool A Rugby World Cup match, Argentina’s last battle against Australia, was also notable for the fact that a young Juan Martin Hernandez sat on the bench, while current Pumas coach Santiago Phelan started at blindside flanker that day.

Of the Wallabies, only Nathan Sharpe will suit up for action again nine years later, wearing the captain’s armband no less.

The 2011 Tri-Nations champions recorded their maiden win of The Rugby Championship in Perth during Round Three, defeating the Springboks 26-19, a welcome respite after losing back-to-back test matches against the All Blacks.

The hosts overcame a ten point deficit early in the match, winning thanks to tries from Scott Higginbotham and Ben Alexander in the second half, with the visitors only able to score via Bryan Habana – which was his fifth try in Perth in three appearances.

Wallaby coach Robbie Deans felt that his team’s success came from putting into practice aspects that weren’t evident against the All Blacks a fortnight ago.

"We spent a little bit longer with the ball and ran some good lines both side of the breakdown, got in behind the shoulders, which is key when you’re playing these blokes," Deans said.

Argentina continued their initiation into arguably the toughest international rugby championship in the world with their first match against the World Champion All Blacks, since facing them at the 2011 Rugby World Cup last year.

While the All Blacks eventually won 21-5, it was a tough battle, and tough openside flanker Juan Manuel Leguizamon lamented how the Pumas dropped off at times.

“We play at a good level for more than 60 minutes, creating much pressure while we disrupted their systems (but equally), we made certain errors that they knew how to take and record two tries.

“In the second half we did not have possession of the ball, and they managed to seize the opportunity and we could not contain them.”

The Pumas hosted the Wallabies in a full test match in Buenos Aires in 1979, and claimed an impressive 24-13 victory, and four years later the Argentineans won 18-3 in Brisbane, with Ballymore privy to a matchup between Mark Ella and Hugo Porta – the latter who contributed ten points in the two tries to nil win.

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