South Africa vs New Zealand Preview & Prediction | 2024 Rugby Championship | Round 3
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
We have an absolute blockbuster in store at the Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg in what is a repeat of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final between South Africa and New Zealand
START DATE/TIME: Saturday, August 31st, UK – 4pm / US ET – 11am / US PT – 8am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Sky Sports / US – Not televised
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Sky Go / US – FloRugby
SOUTH AFRICA FORM: WORLD CHAMPIONS DETERMINED TO PUT MARKER DOWN
The Springboks come into this match having registered back-to-back wins over Australia. They now face a couple of matches against the All Blacks and they will be desperate to demonstrate that they are the best team in the world in Johannesburg.
LAST FIVE: WWWLW
NEW ZEALAND FORM: IMPROVING ALL BLACKS FACING TOUGH TEST OF CREDENTIALS
Ever since the World Cup, the All Blacks have been going under something of a transition under a new coach and on the whole, the trajectory has been positive. They were stunned by Argentina on home soil three weeks ago but they bounced back emphatically to beat them 42-10 after that wake-up call. There is no greater test to see how far they have come under Scott Robertson than a match against the world champions on their territory.
LAST FIVE: WLWWW
SOUTH AFRICA TEAM NEWS: KEY LOCK EBEN ETZEBETH HOPING TO RECOVER FROM KNEE PROBLEM
SQUAD: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
REPLACEMENTS: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard
NEW ZEALAND TEAM NEWS: BARRETT AND CANE RETURN TO ALL BLACKS LINE-UP
SQUAD: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
REPLACEMENTS: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele’a
SOUTH AFRICA VS NEW ZEALAND PREDICTION
This match has all the hallmarks of an absolute classic as South Africa welcome New Zealand in Johannesburg in a repeat of the World Cup final. South Africa edged that game by a single point against the All Blacks who had a man less for much of that match after an early red card.
This match will be completely different however and much has changed since that match. We expect this match to follow a different pattern and play out differently to that final. The All Blacks are evolving under Scott Robertson but are far from the finished article. The Springboks remain a juggernaut and will be tough to stop on home soil for any team.
We expect the hosts to put a marker down and run out winners here but they could well be pushed close. Take the Springboks to win straight up rather than the handicap however.
SOUTH AFRICA VS NEW ZEALAND TIP: SOUTH AFRICA TO WIN
