New Zealand vs South Africa Prediction & Betting Tips - The Rugby Championship

Prediction published on 13/07/2023, 15:10  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 14/07/2023 at 19:05 in Rugby Predictions

World number three New Zealand will take on South Africa, who are ranked just one spot behind them, in the second round of the 2023 World Rugby Championship on Saturday. New Zealand will face Australia in their third and final match of the competition while the Springboks will face Argentina. The All Blacks got their tournament off to a perfect start as they demolished the Pumas 41-12 in Mendoza last weekend. They dominated their opposition in every aspect and found themselves going into the break with a commanding 31-0 lead. While the Argentines did show some fight in the second half, it was too little too late as the mighty All Blacks scored an incredible seven tries and converted three of them. They now face a Springbok side that they only narrowly edged to the title last year courtesy of a single bonus point. New Zealand won the last encounter between the sides at Ellis Park last year and have not lost to South Africa in Auckland in their last eight meetings. They are carrying the favourites tag into the match but will know that they are in for a much more difficult test in this one. 

Meanwhile, the Springboks were equally, if not even more, impressive in their opening match against the Wallabies. South Africa romped to a 43-12 win in that match, led by Kurt-Lee Arendse, who scored three tries in the match and took his tally to an excellent 10 tries in his first eight matches in national colours. The Springboks were awarded two penalty tries as they bullied the front row of the Wallabies while they also outperformed their opposition in terms of carries and line breaks across the 80 minutes. The major talking point in the build-up has been Jacques Nienaber’s decision to employ a split-squad tactic in this tournament. The South African boss has saved most of his best players for this encounter while his opponents traveled to South America and back. South Africa did beat the All Blacks a week before they lost at Ellis Park last season, and with the World Cup now within touching distance, they will be eager to get a psychological edge over this opponent.