2016 Champions of the Rugby

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The 2016 Rugby Championship is now upon us, with an under-fire Australia defending their title against the All Blacks, Springboks and Pumas.

Full fixture list:

Round 1 - 20/8/2016
Australia v. New Zealand - ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Jaco Peyper (RSA)

South Africa v. Argentina - Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Referee: Glen Jackson (NZL)


Round 2 - 27/8/2016
New Zealand v. Australia - Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Referee: Romain Poite (FRA)

Argentina v. South Africa - Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta
Referee: Jerome Garces (FRA)


Round 3 - 10/9/2016
New Zealand v. Argentina - Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA)

Australia v. South Africa - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Nigel Owen (WAL)


Round 4 - 17/9/2016
New Zealand v. South Africa - AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Referee: Angus Gardiner (AUS)

Australia v. Argentina - nib Stadium, Perth
Referee: Wayne Barnes (ENG)


Round 5 - 1/10/2016
South Africa v. Australia - Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee: Wayne Barnes (ENG)

Argentina v. New Zealand - River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires
Referee: Jaco Peyper (RSA)


Round 6 - 8/10/2016
South Africa v. New Zealand - Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Referee: Jerome Garces (FRA)

Argentina v. Australia - Twickenham, London
Referee: Mathieu Reynal (FRA)

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Wallabies
Hooker
James Hanson (Rebels)
Stephen Moore (Captain, Brumbies)
Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs)

Prop
Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies)
Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)
Tom Robertson (Waratahs)
Scott Sio (Brumbies)
James Slipper (Reds)

Locks
Rory Arnold (Brumbies)
Adam Coleman (Force)
Kane Douglas (Reds)
Rob Simmons (Reds)
Will Skelton (Waratahs)
Lopeti Timani (Rebels)

Loose Forwards
Scott Fardy (Brumbies)
Michael Hooper (Waratahs)
Ben McCalman (Force)
Sean McMahon (Rebels)
Dean Mumm (Waratahs)
David Pocock (Brumbies)

Halfbacks
Will Genia (Stade Francais)
Nick Phipps (Waratahs)

Five-Eighths
Quade Cooper (Reds*)
Bernard Foley (Waratahs)
Matt Giteau (Toulon)
Matt Toomua (Brumbies)

Midfielders
Kyle Godwin (Force)
Samu Kerevi (Reds)
Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)
Sefa Naivalu (Rebels)

Back Three
Israel Folau (Waratahs)
Dane Haylett-Petty (Force)
Reece Hodge (Rebels)
Rob Horne (Waratahs)
Drew Mitchell (Toulon)
Luke Morahan (Force)
Henry Speight (Brumbies)

Utility Back
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux Begles)

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All Blacks
Hookers
Dane Coles (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Liam Coltman (Highlanders/Otago)
James Parsons (Blues/North Harbour)
Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Nathan Harris (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

Props
Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Charlie Faumuina (Blues/Auckland)
Owen Franks (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Kane Hames (Chiefs/Tasman)
Joe Moody (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Blues/Auckland)

Locks
Brodie Retallick (Chiefs/Hawke's Bay)
Luke Romano (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues/Auckland)
Samuel Whitelock (Crusaders/Canterbury)

Loose Forwards
Sam Cane (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)
Elliot Dixon (Highlanders/Southland)
Jerome Kaino (Blues/Auckland)
Kieran Read (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Ardie Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Liam Squire (Highlanders/Tasman)
Matt Todd (Crusaders/Canterbury)

Halfbacks
Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs/Waikato)
TJ Perenara (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu)

Five-Eighths
Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)
Aaron Cruden (Chiefs/Manawatu)
Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders/Southland)

Midfielders
Ryan Crotty (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders/Auckland)
Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs/Waikato)
George Moala (Blues/Auckland)
Seta Tamanivalu (Chiefs/Taranaki)
Sonny Bill Williams (Chiefs/Counties Manukau)

Back Three
Israel Dagg (Crusaders/Hawke's Bay)
Damien McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)
Waisake Naholo (Highlanders/Taranaki)
Julian Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Ben Smith (Highlanders/Otago)

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Springboks
Hookers
Malcolm Marx (Lions)
Bongi Mbonambi (Stormers)
Adriaan Strauss (Captain, Bulls)

Props
Steven Kitshoff (Bordeaux)
Vincent Koch (Stormers)
Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks)
Trevor Nyakane (Bulls)

Locks
Lood de Jager (Cheetahs)
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers)
Eben Etzebeth (Stormers)
Franco Mostert (Lions)

Loose Forwards
Jaco Kriel (Lions)
Francois Louw (Bath)
Teboho Mohoje (Cheetahs)
Sikhumbuzo Notshe (Stormers)
Julian Redelinghuys (Lions)
Duane Vermeulen (Toulon)
Warren Whiteley (Lions)

Halfbacks
Faf de Klerk (Lions)
Francois Hougaard (Worcester Warriors)
Rudy Paige (Bulls)

Five-Eighths
Johan Goosen (Racing Metro)
Elton Jantjies (Lions)
Morne Steyn (Stade Francais)

Midfield
Damian de Allende (Stormers)
Juan de Jongh (Stormers)
Jesse Kriel (Bulls)
Lionel Mapoe (Lions)

Back Three
Ruan Combrinck (Lions)
Bryan Habana (Toulon)
Lwazi Mvovo (Sharks)

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Pumas
Hookers
Facundo Bosch (Jaguares)
Agustin Creevy (Captain, Jaguares)
Julian Montoya (Jaguares)

Props
Felipe Arregui (Jaguares)
Santiago Garcia Botta (Jaguares)
Ramiro Herrera (Jaguares)
Lucas Noguera Paz (Jaguares)
Enrique Pieretto (Jaguares)

Locks
Matias Alemanno (Jaguares)
Marcos Kramer (Jaguares)
Tomas Lavanini (Jaguares)
Guido Petti Pagadizabal (Jaguares)

Loose Forwards
Juan Manuel Leguizamon (Jaguares)
Facundo Isa (Jaguares)
Tomas Lezana (Jaguares)
Pablo Matera (Jaguares)
Javier Ortega Desio (Jaguares)
Leonardo Senatore (Jaguares)

Halfbacks
Tomas Cubelli (Brumbies)
Felipe Ezcurra (Jaguares)
Martin Landajo (Jaguares)

Five-Eighths
Santiago Gonzales Iglesias (Jaguares)
Nicolas Sanchez (Jaguares)

Midfielders
Gabriel Ascarante (Jaguares)
Jeronimo de la Fuente (Jaguares)
Matias Moroni (Jaguares)
Matias Orlando (Jaguares)

Back Three
Lucas Gonzales Amorosino (Jaguares)
Santiago Cordero (Jaguares)
Manuel Montero (Jaguares)
Ramiro Moyano (Jaguares)
Joaquin Tuculet (Jaguares)

Utility Back
Juan Martin Hernandez (Jaguares)

[Doorzetbornandbred]

Out of curiosity what's the deal regarding gate money in the championship? Do they share it between each other or do the home side keep the money? Whats the biggest stadium capacity wise in NZ now? The others have 70K or 80K stadia? Anyhow looking forward to it from a rugby point of view.

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IIRC it was shared, although the amount distributed between them was also dependent on how much revenue each brought in. Costs like venue use, travel and accommodation are basically shared.

[rowan]

SA late-show does it in Nelspruit, after trailing for most of the game they get home with a late try to avoid a repeat of last year's defeat at home. 30-23. Good game tho. Pumas again showing their worthiness.

Interestingly, prior to last year the Boks had never lost to any nation outside of the original foundations members of the IRB. & they only had a losing record against NZ. Aside from the other 6 foundation members, they had also lost recognized tests to the Lions, Jaguars and NZ Cavaliers. But Argentina finally beat them (like the Jaguars, in SA) last year, and Japan stunned them at the World Cup to join the All Blacks as the only team with a superior head-to-head record against SA (1-0, in their case).

[scuzzaman]

Don't cry for me, Argentiiiiiiiiiiiina!

Toughed it out for 76 minutes, but just couldn't bring it home. But there's no doubt they're getting closer. I might have to revise my call from last night; maybe Oz won't beat them in Oz. I hope they take encouragement from this game and come back hard in their home game. SA are always beatable on the road, it's something in their heads. Argentina beating Sa and Oz in one comp would be a stunning result.

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After the first couple of rounds, the All Blacks have managed to earn maximum points with 2 bonus point wins. South Africa sneaks into second place on the back of a better PD over Argentina, by virtue of a 7-point win over the Pumas, which wipes out the -2 points from their loss to the same opponents in Salta. Australia have yet to earn a single competition points.

The Springboks will go without Ruan Combrinck due to a shattered leg.

1. New Zealand - 2 wins, 2 TBPs, 10 points
2. South Africa - 1 win, 1 loss, 1 LBP, 5 points
3. Argentina - 1 win, 1 loss, 1 LBP, 5 points
4. Australia - 0 wins, 2 losses, 0 points

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Wallabies squad ins and outs:

Adam Ashley-Cooper has returned to club duties in France, and is unavailable for the remainder of the Rugby Championship (and presumably Bledisloe III). Giteau, Horne, McCalman and Toomua are all unavailable due to various long-term injuries.

Rory Arnold, Kyle Godwin, Luke Morahan, Sefa Naivalu and Henry Speight all get called in as replacements.

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All Blacks squad flying overseas:

Hookers: Dane Coles, Liam Coltman and Codie Taylor.
Props: Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Owen Franks, Joe Moody and Ofa Tu'ungafasi.
Locks: Brodie Retallick, Luke Romano, Patrick Tuipulotu and Sam Whitelock.
Loose forwards: Elliot Dixon, Jerome Kaino (South Africa only), Kieran Read, Ardie Savea, Liam Squire and Matt Todd.
Halfbacks: Tawera Kerr-Barlow, TJ Perenara and Aaron Smith.
First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie and Lima Sopoaga.
Midfielders: Ryan Crotty, Malakai Fekitoa, Anton Lienert-Brown and George Moala.
Outside backs: Israel Dagg, Waisake Naholo, Julian Savea and Ben Smith.


Jerome Kaino will be travelling directly to Durban, as he is expected to be availab for the final fixture of the competition.