Rugby Championship 2018 Preview: New Zealand

Ahead of the 2018 Rugby Championship, we preview the teams looking to get their hands on the coveted silverware. Last up, it is New Zealand.

The All Blacks will be determined to continue where they left off in their 3-0 series victory of France in June when they resume hostilities against their traditional Southern Hemisphere adversaries.

Like most tournaments which they participate in, the Rugby Championship has been dominated by the All Blacks, who have won the tournament on five out of six occasions since its inception in 2012.

That statistic and the Crusaders’ recent success in Super Rugby means the world champions will, once again, start this year’s Rugby Championship as overwhelming favourites.

Last year: The men in black had a tough act to follow in 2017 as they finished the 2016 Rugby Championship by winning all six of their matches with bonus points.

Although the All Blacks celebrated another tournament win courtesy of victories in all their matches, they did not reach the same heights as that 2016 campaign as they failed to pick up bonus points in hard-fought triumphs over Australia and South Africa in Dunedin and Cape Town respectively.

New Zealand made a bright start to the competition by claiming a 54-34 triumph over the Wallabies in Sydney but were made to sweat in that return fixture on home soil before a late Beauden Barrett try secured them a 35-29 win.

They then beat Argentina 39-22 in New Plymouth before delivering a superb all-round performance in a convincing 57-0 victory over the Springboks in Albany in Round Four.

Their impressive form continued in their next match, in which they claimed a 36-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires, and they finished off their campaign with that narrow 25-24 triumph against South Africa at Newlands.

This year: The All Blacks will be determined to hit the ground running in their opening fixture and a dominant performance in that Bledisloe Cup Test with the Wallabies could set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

After an unconvincing win over France, in the second Test of their three-Test series whitewash in June, head coach Steve Hansen handed debuts to Jack Goodhue, Richie Mo’unga, Shannon Frizell and Jackson Hemopo and they all repaid their coach’s faith with impressive performances off the bench in a 49-14 win over les Bleus in third Test in Dunedin.

Hansen will surely start with his tried and trusted combinations during the early rounds but, if the All Blacks manage to dominate this year’s tournament again, the latter stages of the competition could see the aforementioned quartet and other Test rookies like Karl Tu’inukuafe, who made his debut in the first Test against France in Auckland, making their run-on debuts for the men in black.

Ones to watch: Although he played his part in helping the Crusaders win the Super Rugby tournament again, veteran number eight Kieran Read will be keen to make an impact at Test level as he spent most of the season on the sidelines due to a spinal injury.

New Zealand’s first-choice captain only joined the Crusaders’ successful campaign during the latter stages of Super Rugby and he will be determined to play a more prominent role in the All Blacks’ defence of their Rugby Championship title.

Another senior player of whom much is expected is fly-half Beauden Barrett, whose superb playmaking skills should unleash the world champions’ brilliance on attack.

Prediction: This should be another year where the All Blacks will prove too strong for their opponents, although they can expect tougher challenges from South Africa and Australia. First.

Fixtures:

Saturday, 18 August: vs Australia (away)

Saturday, 25 August: vs Australia (home)

Saturday, 8 September: vs Argentina (home)

Saturday, 15 September: vs South Africa (home)

Saturday, 29 September: vs Argentina (away)

Saturday, 6 October: vs South Africa (away)

by PlanetRugby.com

This is becoming a boring one-horse race. Can Australia step up and make it interesting? They seem to be the neutrals last hope.

I think this competition will be terrible for us...it is not the type of competition that will do us any good...I can see NZ being very clinical with a quick fix put together hopeful side and Australia having no problem with us and even the Pumas champing at the bit with a team that can even humiliate us...sadly it is a building stage...a tired half wounded and depleted English side playing at high altitude at Johannesburg and Bloemfontein is no trophy especially when they clipped us at Newlands at coast level and a major key player gone home...actually England scored more points if you tally them up...very deceptive...no accolade at all..

How we will recover after this is a puzzle that even the pundits will find impossible to solve.

But strange things happen in this game outside common sense ...and maybe that's our only hope

When England were all guns blazing they piled on the points. They were by far the more accurate of the two sides across all three tests. A repeat of that performance is going to receive a pummelling. 

New Zealand are too well rounded for us to beat them. 

Australia have usually profited from our style of play, which they exploit through trickery. Australia use more trickery and manipulation in their attack, moving defenders around. We never have an answer for it, and we have too few decision makers who can withstand the onslaught.

Argentina are too powerful, plain and simple. The current Boks have to be the least intimidating of my entire life. Even under Straeuli, you knew they'd lose, but they'd physically hammer you in the process. 

This team is a mess. We are a nation that produces fullbacks and wings, and not very good ones at that! The loose forwards and locks are our strong suit, that and Marx. Rassie must built the game around them and steady halfback play. The centres give us no options and the outside backs, particularly the wingers, are the worst I have ever seen for the Boks. We usually had at least 2 usable players.

Maybe they prove me wrong, I certainly hope they do, but I cannot see them reaching higher than third. It would talk an implosion by Australia to achieve 2nd.