Following lukewarm July Test performances, the Springboks, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina must make a statement in the highly-anticipated 2024 Rugby Championship, writes MARK KEOHANE.
The Boks tackle the Wallabies in the tournament opener in Brisbane on Saturday, 10 August, before the All Blacks and Los Pumas lock horns at Wellington’s SKY Stadium.
Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane argues that none of the Rugby Championship’s four teams made a significant impact in the July international series.
The All Blacks narrowly beat England, while the Boks and Ireland drew. Australia barely managed wins against a weak Wales, and Argentina performed poorly against a French ‘B’ team and narrowly won their second Test.
Keohane notes that in one-off Tests, the southern hemisphere teams were unimpressive: the Boks struggled against Portugal, Australia had a modest win over Georgia, and New Zealand’s victory over Fiji was underwhelming.
He highlights the anticipation for the Rugby Championship clash between the Boks and All Blacks, while emphasising that the competition will be a crucial test for new coaches Joe Schmidt (Wallabies), Felipe Contepomi (Argentina), and Scott Robertson (All Blacks).
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Keohane also underlines the importance of the world champion Boks breaking their losing streak in Brisbane, a historically challenging venue for them.
“Not one of the Rugby Championship big four made a statement in the July internationals. That statement must come in the Rugby Championship,” he writes.
“This is the most anticipated Rugby Championship since the first Tri-Nations in 1996, which featured South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
“The 2019 World Cup-winning coach and former SA Rugby director of rugby [Rassie] Erasmus is once again the Boks coach. Former Ireland coach and All Blacks assistant Joe Schmidt is the Wallabies coach and former Pumas legend Felipe Contepomi is in charge of Argentina.
“It really is the start of a new cycle and a new series. But not one of the four southern hemisphere coaches, in their July internationals, rocked.
“The biggest fortnight of the Rugby Championship will be when Robertson and Rassie go at each other in two successive Tests in South Africa. It is going to be a ripper.”
Photo: Twitter/@Springboks
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
