Australia vs New Zealand Prediction & Betting Tips - The Rugby Championship

Prediction published on 27/07/2023, 10:20  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 28/07/2023 at 21:45 in Rugby Predictions

The final round of the 2023 Rugby Championship will be played out this weekend, and in the first match of the day, we will see Australia take on New Zealand. In this shortened version of the tournament, Australia are currently at the bottom of the table with one point from their two matches, while New Zealand are currently leading the standings with nine points. It really does not look very good for the Wallabies in a World Cup year, as they come into this match following a 34-31 loss against Argentina which marked their first-ever back-to-back loss against the Pumas, following last year’s loss at San Juan. With that result, the Wallabies have only won one of their last six matches, which was a 39-34 win over Wales. While they were only beaten by two points by New Zealand at home in this competition last year, they were then beaten comprehensively 40-14 a week later by the same opponent. Based on their performances in this tournament, they may do well to keep the scoreline respectable. 

Meanwhile, New Zealand showed their dominance in this competition by beating the Springboks 35-20 in their last match and are now on the verge of retaining the title for a third consecutive season. With that win, the All Blacks are now unbeaten in their last nine matches, winning eight and drawing just one, dating back to August 2022 when they suffered a shock defeat to Argentina. They have also overtaken Ireland into second-favorite according to most bookmakers to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup later this year. The All Blacks beat Argentina 41-12 in the opening match of the competition, and with the Pumas beating Australia a fortnight ago, it makes it all the more difficult to see the All Blacks losing this match.