The 3rd Round of Rugby Championship action takes place on Saturday and while the Championship itself looks almost certain to go the way of the All Blacks there are still plenty of betting opportunities.
New Zealand currently top the table on 9 points with South Africa on 5 points, Argentina 4 and Australia have just 1 point. South Africa need Australia to beat New Zealand preferably without a bonus point and then they need to pick up maximum points against Argentina to win the Championship.
The betting suggests it is highly unlikely with New Zealand priced at 1/10, South Africa 11/2 and you can get 90/1 about Argentina.
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AUSTRALIA v NEW ZEALAND PREVIEW
This match takes at the MCG and Australia will be desperate for a positive result having gone down by 31 points in South Africa in Week 1 and they then lost a thrilling match by 3 points to Argentina at home the following week.
The All Blacks have had plenty of doubters over the past few years, but they are silencing them ahead of the World Cup and they were very impressive in beating Argentina 41-12 away in Week 1 before coming out firing against South Africa in Auckland, ultimately winning the game 35-20.
New Zealand won their last 5 matches against Australia and in 2022 beat them 40-14 in Auckland and 39-37 in Melbourne.
With an 80,000 crowd roaring them on I think that Australia can put in a better performance and while winning the game maybe a bridge too far, I think they can beat the handicap.
My Bet : Handicap, Australia +15.5
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SOUTH AFRICA v ARGENTINA PREVIEW
South Africa stormed out of the blocks with a comfortable 43-12 win over Australia who had been well supported in the betting markets prior to the match. The Boks then started 6 point underdogs away to New Zealand, but were blown away in the first 20 minutes and despite winning the second-half, lost by 15 points.
Argentina looked rusty in their opening loss to New Zealand at home but they were full value for their last gasp win against Australia on the road.
South Africa won their last 6 matches against Argentina and last year beat them 38-21 in Durban and 36-20 in Buenos Aires.
The Boks are always a difficult team to play against at Ellis Park and I am expecting Saturday to be no exception. I am expecting Argentina to drop off in intensity from what we saw in Melbourne and a strong Bok side can ensure they pay the price.
Suggested Bet - South Africa -18.5
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SQUADS
South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 RG Snyman, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Lukhanyo Am, 23 Damian Willemse
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Mateo Carreras, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Lautaro Bazán Vélez, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Lucas Paulos, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Thomas Gallo.
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Tomás Albornoz, 23 Matias Moroni
Australia:15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Tom Hooper, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 David Porecki, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Izaia Perese
New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clarke
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