Rugby Championship 2025: South Africa favourite as All Blacks & Wallabies reload
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Springboks open TRC with Wallabies clash on Saturday
The 2025 Rugby Championship gets underway this weekend with South Africa taking on Australia and New Zealand facing off against Argentina. You can get all of the key information and stats, as well as expert insights, by checking out our rugby predictions.
South Africa comes into the tournament off the back of a very impressive July incoming series in which they racked up three commanding victories, back-to-back against the Italians, before punishing Georgia at the Mbombela Stadium.
The Springboks scored an accumulative 97 points in consecutive Tests against Gli Azzurri while conceding just 24 points before notching up 55 against the Georgians. The Boks are now on a seven-match win streak dating back to the penultimate match in this competition last year.
Rassie Erasmus has transformed the Boks into one of the most feared and impressive units we have seen in recent years, blending youth and experience as well as innovative tactics that have pushed the boundaries of conventional rugby.
For the opening match of the 2025 Rugby Championship, Erasmus has shuffled his deck once again, with Captain Siya Kolisi set to start at number eight for the first time ever, while Lood de Jager is in line to join the colossus that is Eben Etzebeth in the locks pairing.
South Africa leads the head-to-head standings 52-40-3 and has won their last four encounters against the Aussies!
Indeed, Ellis Park has been an unhappy hunting ground for the men from Down Under, as they have left this venue empty-handed in each of their last six visits, and that will be a tough record to break this week with this side still in a major rebuilding phase.
Australia arrived in Johannesburg following a three-match Test series against the touring British and Irish Lions in which they managed to secure a 22-12 victory in the final match after losing the first two fairly poorly.
The Aussies have now won just two of their last six matches since beating Wales 52-20 in the Autumn Internationals last year. Still, it should be noted that outgoing head coach Joe Schmidt has moved the team forward since the major slump they experienced between mid-2023-24.
With Will Skelton returning from injury and Joseph Sua’ali’i making his Championship debut, the team is expected to be much more competitive this year compared to last, where they were handed the Wooden Spoon.
South Africa squad vs Australia
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Canan Moodie, 23 Damian Willemse
Australia squad vs. South Africa
15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 James O Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Los Pumas and All Blacks to return to Cordoba
On Saturday night (GMT), the mighty New Zealand will face Argentina in their opening match of the 2025 Rugby Championship, and this will be the first time that they step out in Cordoba since 1976, when they beat an Interior Selection 30 to 13.
The All Blacks are the most successful team in the history of TRC, having won the title nine times compared to South Africa’s five, while Australia has won it once. Argentina have yet to etch their name into the famous trophy handed to the best team in the Southern Hemisphere.
However, the Springboks have had the edge over New Zealand in recent years, having beaten them to the World Cup title in 2023 before clinching this competition last year. Many are expecting the clash at Eden Park between the All Blacks and the Green and Gold to be a possible tournament decider this year.
Scott Robertson received a few significant injury boosts ahead of this tournament, with captain Scott Barrett set to return as one of nine changes for the opening clash in Cordoba, and you can follow every moment of the action using our Rugby Championship livescore tool.
New Zealand have won 35 of their 39 Tests against Argentina!
However, despite the All Blacks’ dominance in this fixture, Argentina have plenty of reason to be optimistic heading into this match, given the incredible progress this side has made over the last couple of years under Felipe Contepomi.
Los Pumas got to the last World Cup semi-final and avoided the Wooden Spoon in this competition for a second consecutive year in 2024. During last years TRC, the Argentines beat every team in this competition once, including a stunning 38-30 victory over the All Blacks in Wellington.
Perhaps the only criticism one can have of Argentina is that you never really know which Los Pumas side is going to turn up on any given day, and that has been evident again this year with the team producing a record-breaking victory over the British & Irish Lions in June before losing back-to-back against England two weeks later.
The 2025 Rugby Championship is here, and Sportytrader will be covering every match throughout the tournament. Let’s get ready for a thrilling couple of months of hard-hitting action.
New Zealand squad vs Argentina
15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Du Plessis Kirifi, 6 Tupou Vaai, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Anton Lienert Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie
Argentina squad vs New Zealand
15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Pedro Delgado, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Simon Benítez Cruz, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo
