The Rugby Championships

[cashead]

Here's the 2017 Rugby Championships thread.

What's a Rugby Championship?
It's a Southern Hemisphere rugby competition contested by New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina over 6 rounds, which takes a couple of months. Each team plays the other 3 twice each, at home and away. In World Cup years, the competition is shortened, with each team playing each other once only.

Each fixture rewards the teams with competition points. A win is worth 4, a draw is worth 2 and teams can earn bonus points by scoring 4 or more tries or lose within 7 points (1 converted try).

Up until the conclusion of the 2011 competition, it was called the Tri-Nations, and was contested between the All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks. Initially, the tournament was played over 4 rounds, with each team playing each other twice at home and away. From 2006 until 2010, the competition was modified into a new structure where each team played each other three times. In 2011, the competition reverted to the previous "play each other twice" model to accommodate the Rugby World Cup. That structure was retained in 2012 when Argentina was added, and has stayed the same since, outside of 2015.

The 6 Nations has the Centenary Quaich, the Calcutta Cup, the Guiuseppe Garibaldi Trophy and the Millennium Trophy, along with the Triple Crown. Are there any titles contested within the competition to add some spice to the fixtures?
You'd better believe it. There are 4 trophies contested within the Rugby Championship: the Bledisloe Cup* (New Zealand v. Australia, current held by New Zealand), the Mandela Challenge Plate (South Africa v. Australia, currently held by Australia), the Freedom Cup (New Zealand v. South Africa, currently held by New Zealand) and the Puma Trophy (Australia v. Argentina, currently held by Australia).

*There is a Bledisloe Cup test that takes place after the competition, although it has never been a series decider outside of World Cup years.

Is there a "Grand Slam?"
Not formally, no. However, the All Blacks and Springboks have achieved a clean sweep of the competition. The Springboks managed their one and only in 1998, while the All Blacks achieved this in 1996, 1997, 2003, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2016. The 2016 win is historic, as it was the first, and so far only, occasion in which the winning team won a bonus point in each round.

Tournament history
New Zealand has historically been the most dominant team in this competition, winning it on 14 occasions. Australia are the next best with 4 titles, followed by South Africa with 3. Argentina have yet to win a title. Out of the past winners, South Africa are the only one of the three to have never won consecutive titles.

1996 - New Zealand
1997 - New Zealand
1998 - South Africa
1999 - New Zealand
2000 - Australia
2001 - Australia
2002 - New Zealand
2003 - New Zealand
2004 - South Africa
2005 - New Zealand
2006 - New Zealand
2007 - New Zealand
2008 - New Zealand
2009 - South Africa
2010 - New Zealand
2011 - Australia
2012 - New Zealand
2013 - New Zealand
2014 - New Zealand
2015 - Australia
2016 - New Zealand

[cashead]

New Zealand - The All Blacks

Coach
Steve Hansen

Captain
Kieran Read (Crusaders/Counties Manukau)

Squad
Hookers
Dane Coles (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Nathan Harris (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)
Ricky Riccitelli (Hurricanes/Taranaki)
Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)

Props
Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Owen Franks (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Kane Hames (Chiefs/Tasman)
Nepo Laulala (Chiefs/Counties Manukau)
Atu Moli (Chiefs/Waikato)
Joe Moody (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Blues/Auckland)

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

Loose Forwards
Sam Cane (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)
Vaea Fifita (Hurricanes/Wellington)
Blake Gibson (Blues/Auckland)
Akira Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
Jerome Kaino (Blues/Auckland)
Kieran Read, (Captain, Crusaders/Counties Manukau)
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)
Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders/Southland)

Midfielders
Ryan Crotty (Crusaders/Canterbury)
Ngani Laumape (Hurricanes/Manawatu)
Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs/Waikato)
Sonny Bill Williams (Blues/Counties Manukau)

Back Three
Israel Dagg(Crusaders/Hawke's Bay)
Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)
Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes/Manawatu)
Waisake Naholo (Highlanders/Taranaki)
Ben Smith (Highlanders/Otago)

Utility backs
Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)
David Havili (Crusaders/Tasman)
Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)


Form
Unusually for an All Blacks team, they come into the competition somewhat vulnerable with a drawn series against the British and Irish Lions. Even taking into account the controversy surrounding the conclusion of the 3rd and deciding test and missing players like Coles or Ben Smith, the team was also clearly below par, making some very uncharacteristic errors. For the first time in some years, they may be ripe for the picking for one of the other teams.


Best result
Champions - 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016


Last time round
Pretty much kicked the shit out of everyone, winning every test with a bonus point, which was an unprecedented feat.

[cashead]

Australia - The Wallabies

Coach
Michael Cheika

Captain
Michael Hooper (Waratahs)

Squad
Hookers
Tolu Latu (Waratahs)
Stephen Moore (Queensland Reds)
Tatafu Polota-Nau (Western Force)
Jordan Uelese (Melbourne Rebels)

Props
Allan Alaalatoa (Brumbies)
Tetera Faulkner (Western Force)
Sekope Kepu (Waratahs)
Tom Robertson (Waratahs)
Scott Sio (Brumbies)

Locks
Rory Arnold (Brumbies)
Adam Coleman (Western Force)
Kane Douglas (Queensland Reds)
Izack Rodda (Queensland Reds)
Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds)
Lukhan Tui (Queensland Reds)

Loose Forwards
Jack Dempsey (Waratahs)
Ned Hanigan (Waratahs)
Michael Hooper (Captain, Waratahs)
Adam Korczyk (Queensland Reds)
Sean McMahon (Melbourne Rebels)
Lopeti Timani (Melbourne Rebels)

Halfbacks
Will Genia (Melbourne Rebels)
Nick Phipps (Waratahs)
Joe Powell (Brumbies)

Five-Eighths
Bernard Foley (Waratahs)
Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)

Midfielders
Samu Kerevi (Queensland Reds)
Tevita Kuridrani (Brumbies)
Bill Meakes (Western Force)

Back Three
Tom Banks (Brumbies)
Israel Folau (Waratahs)
Dane Haylett-Petty (Western Force)
Marika Koroibete (Melbourne Rebels)
Izaia Perese (Queensland Reds)
Curtis Rona (Western Force)
Henry Speight (Brumbies)

Utility Back
Reece Hodge (Melbourne Rebels)


Form
Ooooh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. What is there to say? They were godawful, terrible, shit, garbage, rubbish, etc. They just beat Fiji in a win that papered over any issues that were evident. They were then beaten by Scotland, before just limping past a terrible Italian team that were the better outfit on the day for much the 80 minutes. They weren't up to much last year, and they somehow got worse.


Best result
Champions - 2000, 2001, 2011, 2015


Last time round
They ended up coming second in a battle between also-rans, only briefly coming to life against Argentina in a fixture played at Twickenham for some reason.

[cashead]

South Africa - The Springboks

Coach
Allister Coetzee

Captain
Eben Etzebeth (Stormers)

Squad
Hookers
Malcolm Marx (Lions)
Bongi Mbonambi (Stormers)
Mahlatse Ralepelle (Sharks)

Props
Ruan Dreyer (Lions)
Lizo Gqoboka (Bulls)
Steven Kitshoff (Stormers)
Frans Malherbe (Stormers)
Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks)
Trevor Nyakane (Bulls)
Coenie Oosthuizen (Sharks)

Locks
Lood de Jager (Bulls)
Pieter-Steph du Toit (Stormers)
Eben Etzebeth (Captain, Stormers)
Franco Mostert (Lions & Ricoh Black Rams)

Loose Forwards
Uzair Cassiem (Cheetahs)
Dan du Preez (Sharks)
Jean-Luc du Preez (Sharks)
Siya Kolisi (Stormers)
Jaco Kriel (Stormers & Kubota Spears)
Francois Louw (Bath)
Oupa Mohoje (Cheetahs)

Halfbacks
Ross Cronje (Lions)
Francois Hougaard (Worcester Warriors)
Rudy Paige (Bulls)
Louis Schreuder (Sharks)
Jano Vermaak (Stormers)

Five-Eighths
Curwin Bosch (Sharks)
Elton Jantjies (Lions & NTT Shining Arcs)
Handre Pollard (Bulls)

Midfielders
Damian de Allende (Stormers)
Jesse Kriel (Bulls)
Jan Serfontein (Bulls)
Francois Venter (Bulls)

Back Three
Andries Coetzee (Lions)
Warrick Gelant (Bulls)
Dillyn Leyds (Stormers)
S'busiso Nkosi (Sharks)
Raymond Rhule (Cheetahs)
Courtnall Skosan (Lions)


Form
After the worst season ever, where they set some rather dubious and quite frankly, unwanted records, there has been a significant improvement in the team. While there may be some quibbles about the quality of the French team they played, it does not disguise the fact that they won the test series 3-0, and finally managed to beat them at Ellis Park. They will be without their captain Warren Whiteley, who has been injured out of the tournament.


Best result
Champions - 1998, 2004, 2009


Last time round
An absolute shitshow, only winning 2 tests. Things somehow went on to become worse for them, and they were clearly mentally checked out at around the halfway point.

[cashead]

Argentina - The Pumas

Coach
Daniel Hourcade

Captain
Agustin Creevy (Jaguares)

Squad
Hookers
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)
Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (Jaguares)

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

Loose Forwards
Rodrigo Baez (Jaguares)
Juan Manuel Leguizamon (Jaguares)
Tomas Lezana (Jaguares)
Benjamin Macome (Jaguares)
Pablo Matera (Jaguares)
Javier Ortega Desio (Jaguares)
Leonardo Senatore (Jaguares)

Halfbacks
Gonzalo Bertranou (Jaguares)
Tomas Cubelli (Brumbies)
Martin Landajo (Jaguares)

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

Midfielders
Jeronimo de la Fuente (Jaguares)
Bautista Ezcurra (Jaguares)
Juan Martin Hernandez (Jaguares)
Matias Moroni (Jaguares)
Matias Orlando (Jaguares)

Back Three
Emaliano Boffelli (Jaguares)
Santiago Cordero (Jaguares)
Manuel Montero (Jaguares)
Ramiro Moyano (Jaguares)
Joaquin Tuculet (Jaguares)


Form
Fairly mixed, and somewhat uninspiring. They were beaten by what was ostensibly an English 2nd XV, although there was no great separation in the final score. They finished off their mid-year test programme with a morale boosting win over an improving Georgian team.


Last time round
Argentina have more or less taken out a mortgage on the last place spot on the Rugby Champs competition ladder, having never risen above it. Like in previous years, they've managed just the one win (against the Springboks having a nightmare season), and typically performed below expectations.

[cashead]

Round 1
Australia 34 - 54 New Zealand - ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Jerome Garces (France) Wayne Barnes (England)

South Africa 37 - 15 Argentina - Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Referee: Romain Poite (France)


Round 2
New Zealand 35 - 29 Australia - Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Argentina 23 - 41 South Africa - Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta
Referee: Pascal Gauzierre (France)


Round 3
New Zealand 39 - 22 Argentina - Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Referee: Angus Gardiner (Australia)

Australia 23 - 23 South Africa - nib Stadium, Perth
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)


Round 4
New Zealand 57 - 0 South Africa - QBE Stadium, Albany
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Australia 45 - 20 Argentina - GIO Stadium, Canberra
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)


Round 5
South Africa 27 - 27 Australia - Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Ben O'Keefe (New Zealand)

Argentina 10 - 36 New Zealand - Estadio Jose Amalfitani, Buenos Aires
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)


Round 6
South Africa 24 - 25 New Zealand - Newlands, Cape Town
Referee: Jerome Garces (France)

Argentina 20 - 37 Australia - Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

[cashead]

All Blacks squad has been added, guys.

The big news is that Julian Savea's out, while Nehe Milner-Skudder is recalled after a long injury lay-off and a stint with the MABs.

Atu Moli will be training with the squad as an apprentice. Damian McKenzie is in the squad as cover for Ben Smith, who will drop out of the squad after the first two rounds to go on his sabbatical.

[zer0]

Given that he'll be 33 in 2019, I'm not sure what point there is in selecting Romano over someone like Tuipulotu.

[cashead]

Given that he'll be 33 in 2019, I'm not sure what point there is in selecting Romano over someone like Tuipulotu.

Early 30s isn't really an issue due to careful management of players nowadays, and considering stuff like his doping test result coming back (false) positive and being sanctioned by Blues management, there may be off-field baggage that Hansen doesn't feel is worth taking on.

I feel bad for the Barracuda and Ngatai, so I hope they finally get a call-up later this year.

[zer0]

I had overlooked that Ngatai wasn't there. He's a quality player, though his inclusion may have meant there were too many rapiers and not enough hammers in the midfield. As it stands now there's two of each. So I'd imagine/hope that Ngatai would be first cap off the rank for Crotty or Lienert-Brown (any maybe even if one of the other two go down).

[rowan]

Probably not a major factor for a second rower like Romano, but seems like All Blacks speedsters have something in common with drug-abusing musicians . . .

What do Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson, Joe Rokocoko and Jonah Lomu have in common? The quartet, firmly among New Zealand's greatest outside backs, never featured for the All Blacks beyond the age of 27.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/ar ... ref=NZH_fb

[cashead]

The Springboks will play in a red away jersey against Argentina in round 2.

Now, before we have people screaming in horror at such sacrilege and shitting all over themselves, it comes as part of a 4-colour jersey set, incorporating the colours of the South African flag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of "rugby unity" and the Springboks being re-admitted to test rugby.

[Mr Mwenda]

I love the reasons given to advertise and sell different shirts. There's been some great creativity shown around the Ireland and England shirt press releases recently.

[rowan]

Red is not a winning colour. Look at all the red teams - they lose. France tried red in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup and got hammered off the park. Big mistake. If only they had worn their usual colors or white reverse strip that day. Instead they just wound up confusing themselves.

[cashead]

Eben Etzebeth has been named stand-in Springboks captain.

[rowan]

So I suppose that on the basis of the summer tours and Super 18, we should see the All Blacks dominate as per usual, the Boks come in second and the Wallabies & Pumas scrap it out for 3rd. Hopefully the Pumas get their almost customary one win of the competition, probably at home to Australia, while the Wallabies might just beat the Boks in Aussie. Pretty sure the All Blacks will go unbeaten, though it might be tight in SA. Not much chance of that elusive first Pumas win over NZ happening this year.

[rowan]

All-time head-to-head records:

NZ 55 SA 35
NZ 109 Aus 42
NZ 23 Arg 0
SA 46 Aus 36
SA 21 Arg 2
Aus 21 Arg 5

[cashead]

Jordie Barrett's shoulder injury's ruled him out for the season. Crusaders fullback David Havili has been called up.

[Spy]

Jordie Barrett's shoulder injury's ruled him out for the season. Crusaders fullback David Havili has been called up.

Rude. I was looking forward to seeing him play more in black. His goal-kicking ability is a tremendous plus.

[rowan]

All-time head-to-head records:

NZ 55 SA 35
NZ 109 Aus 42
NZ 23 Arg 0
SA 46 Aus 36
SA 21 Arg 2
Aus 21 Arg 5

Amazing, given SA led 20-15 prior to the first World Cup and 21-18 at the end of the amateur era. That means, NZ is 40-15 since the first World Cup, and 37-14 in the pro era for a winning average of around 74%. That's the most successful team in international rugby against the second most successful. Good for the game . . . ?

[J Dory]

Jordie Barrett's shoulder injury's ruled him out for the season. Crusaders fullback David Havili has been called up.

That's a shame, was looking forward to seeing Jordie get a real crack in the black jersey. Anyone got insight into Havili, from what I've seen he's solid but maybe lacking game breaking ability. I haven't seen much of him to be fair.

[rowan]

Jordie's time will come. Havili's the guy Kwagga took out in the Super Rugby final, as you are no doubt aware. Did a good job of spinning around in the air and landing on his head anyway. That's about all I know.

[BlackEyed]

Hoping to see more of Damian McKenzie (sp) but may not be till Ben Smith takes his sybatical.

[rowan]

The Springboks will play in a red away jersey against Argentina in round 2.

Now, before we have people screaming in horror at such sacrilege and shitting all over themselves, it comes as part of a 4-colour jersey set, incorporating the colours of the South African flag to commemorate the 25th anniversary of "rugby unity" and the Springboks being re-admitted to test rugby.

There's been a little controversy about that, unsurprisingly:

Bakkies Botha has slammed SA Rugby for changing the Springbok jersey to red for the Rugby Championship match against Argentina in Salta.

SA Rugby announced on Tuesday that the jersey had been commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of rugby unity in South Africa.

The Boks traditionally play in a white away jersey, and normally only when there is a colour clash against Ireland.

When asked about the red jersey on Twitter by former Bok flank Rob Louw, Botha said the following:

http://www.sarugbymag.co.za/blog/detail ... ok-jerseys

[cashead]

Dane Coles has been ruled out of Bledisloe I with a head knock. His Hurricanes back-up Ricky Riccitelli has been called into the squad, after two seasons of high quality performances as well as a further attractive ability to play as a loosehead prop.