New Zealand will close out their 2020 Rugby Championship this Saturday and they’ll be out for revenge when they take on an Argentine side who outclassed them a few weeks back.
Image copyright – Steve Haag Sports
It’s all top play for in the Tri-Nations as we head into the tournament’s penultimate week with all three teams level on log points after Argentina and Australia drew this past weekend.
This Saturday will see the All Blacks go all out for revenge when they tackle the same Argentine side that embarrassed them just two weeks ago. The Kiwis will have been stewing on that defeat and you can expect a big response from them at the Newcastle International Sports Arena this Saturday.
Argentina v New Zealand
Saturday 28 November
Newcastle International Sports Arena
10:45
To Win (80 Mins)
Argentina TBA
Draw TBA
New Zealand TBA
Handicap
Argentina
New Zealand
Argentina
The Argentines proved that their opening game win over the All Blacks was no fluke as they held tournament hosts, Australia, to a 15-15 draw this past Saturday. Los Pumas were 15-6 down with 60 minutes on the board but managed to claw their way back into the game through fly-half Nicholas Sanchez, who landed three penalties to ensure his side would claim a 15-15 draw.
Last week’s draw, coupled with their win over New Zealand, sees the Argentines head into this one only just behind New Zealand on the standings and this is only because the Kiwis have 16 points superior points differential. Should the Argentines do the unthinkable and back up their 15-25 win with another win over New Zealand, then they will be well on their way to claiming their first-ever Rugby Championship/Tri-Nations trophy.
If they are to beat New Zealand twice in less than a month they are going to need the aforementioned Sanchez to fire. The Argentine pivot has been in deadly form this tournament scoring all of his sides points so far, so you can see just how crucial he is.
New Zealand
Could we have two years in a row without All Blacks lifting the Rugby Championship/Tri-Nations? This is a real possibility as the Kiwis are currently only top of the standings due to having a superior points difference to that of their two opponents. To make this worse for the men in black, both Argentina and Australia have a game in hand over them.
So, we can expect an all-out attacking onslaught from an All Blacks side that needs to claim a bonus-point win in order to stay in contention for the title. We can also expect a more street smart performance from the Kiwi forwards who were bullied and outsmarted by their opponents when these two sides last met.
Verdict: Argentina (+)
I know Argentina have been excellent thus far, but I have this feeling they’ll struggle against an All Blacks side that will be determined to cap a strange old year on a massive high. I don’t think the All Blacks will clear what is likely to be a rather large handicap, however.
Written by Darry Worthington.
