Rugby Championship 2015: Round 4

SA vs NZ

Argentina vs Australia

In a new twist, both these matches will be played in England. The season is long enough. Do these sides need to add more to their punishing travel schedules? Who came up with Twickenham as a venue for this round?

Who do you think will win and will SA regret being the only one to not pick up a bonus point in their last match?

I did wonder how long it would take before this got put up.

NZ and Argentina have to be favourites, surely? NZ are NZ and Argentina cut up the best team in the northern hemisphere in the first and last twenty minutes.

Still a crap tournament. Give me a spring 6N where we can see tier 2 rugby any day!

Its freightening to be honest isn't it.

All the conditioning, the money, the coaching, the home support... yet can't beat a bunch of ex colonials who live in cow sheds, get paid less than Macdonald workers in London and their daily performance reviews have to be built around the regular blackouts which blight these nations.

To be honest I'm just glad I don't have to face Argentina next week and apparently they will have the hand of god on their side too.

Jokes aside I think that these games with large sets of fans from both sides really adds to these SH matches which unfortunately doesn't happen in RC's year on year. When NZ tour SA they get perhaps the odd expat pitching up in black. When you have 10,000 of each fans in a stadium the theatre just gets that more tense. Its been a great RWC to be fair.

Now if only someone can KO NZ that would ideal! "SUZI, get your bags packed you're flying to England tomorrow".

It is the outcome I was hoping for, purely from a point of view to prove SH dominance.

But I fear SA will lose in round 4 and 5.

Argentina are looking pretty threatening. I'm not sure the wallabies have enough left in the tank to beat them. They have more injury concerns after today. People claiming them as favourites after beating a hapless England and scraping home against a clueless Wales was maybe premature?

Squad depth and a physical toughness to withstand the brutality of modern rugby and not get injured seems to be carrying SH teams.

Can we join next year?

All four teams have had minimal injuries right?

More I think about it, more I think Argentina have to be favourites against Australia. They absolutely dismantled a very good Irish side. Only reason Ireland got close was because the Argentine #3's stupidity directly and indirectly lead to 13 points.

yappysnap wrote:All four teams have had minimal injuries right?

We're not too badly hit. From a first choice 15 we are sweating on Pocock and Folau, plus it looked to me like Sio's shoulder was out when he came off so he would not be likely to return. Horne was first choice when he got injured but Mitchell and Beale played reasonably well today.

Don't think NMS' shoulder was serious. Crockett's groin needs a good, long, hard look at. Suit you, sir!

FecklessRogue wrote:Can we join next year?

You need to start beating SH opposition on a regular basis. Same criteria for Georgia or Romania to join the 6N

yappysnap wrote:All four teams have had minimal injuries right?

NZ had to play most of the game with their 3rd choice 1 and had to start with their 2nd choice 10. Also their 6,7,12,13 are over the hill

Aust (1st in the RC) vs Arg (3)
NZ (2nd) vs SA (4th)
A nicely set up finals series for the 4th and deciding round of the Rugby Championship

Yes, they are the semi finals most neutrals would, no doubt, want to see.
The 4 best teams are there.

Australia now seems to be the weakest link in the SH chain of command.
Think it will either be a NZ-Arg or SA-Arg final this time.

I think the only conclusion right now is SA won't make the final, they simply don't have the smarts to outplay NZ

Biltong wrote:I think the only conclusion right now is SA won't make the final, they simply don't have the smarts to outplay NZ

That and the round four table wasn't an aberration, we really are the worst team in the rugby championships

Yep

The ABs have one good game and all of a sudden we're world beaters eh? SA will turn up with a brutal game and if the ABs blink then it could go anywhere.

Like with all NZ games SA will have to keep the score close for the first 40, if they can go into the second half leading or 2/3 points down then they'll believe they can win and for the first time this tournament NZ will be under pressure.

If NZ get a more then a try ahead of SA, well, then it's good night Vienna and role on the final.

What is a thread on the Rugby Championship doing on this site!!!!

You know none of the rest of us care!  Please have the decency to wait until the World Cup starts before heaping praise on all four SH sides.  We'll see how bloody fantastic they are when they meet the NH big sides!  I think New Zealand will be the only SH side to survive the Pools actually.