The 2023 Rugby Championship will end tomorrow morning with Australia taking on the All Blacks, which could officially crown the title.
New Zealand, which seems to have started counting the numbers again as before, seems to have found the right setting and it bodes well in light of the Rugby World Cup. On the other hand, Eddie Jones and his wallabies are still in deep crisis, who , it seems, did not find the right momentum, and tomorrow they will have to beat expectations at the crowded Melbourne Cricket Ground, where at least 85,000 spectators are expected. Tomorrow’s match could be the highest attended match since the birth of the Championship (given the format since 2012).
In the afternoon, another big match between South Africa and Argentina, with the Puma emboldened by a victory over Australia and Michael Cheika, who shuffles the cards again. The starting XV has room for Rovigo’s Lautaro Bazán Vélez instead of Gonzalo Bertranou and Thomas Gallo at the forefront. Benetton Chaparro and Thomas Albornoz will remain on the bench. There are four Azzurri in the team chosen by Cheika.
Australia: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Mark Navakanitawase, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Carter Gordon, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Tom Hooper, 6 Jed Holloway, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 David Poreki, 1 Angus Bell
Shop: 16 Jordan Wellese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Rob Leota, 21 Nick White, 22 Quaid Cooper, 23 Isaiah Perese
All black: 15 Boden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioan, 12 Geordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mounga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papalia, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Brody Retallik , 3 Tyrell Lomax, 2 Cody Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Shop: 16 Samisoni Taukeyaho, 17 Ofa Tuungafazi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Caleb Clark
Melbourne Cricket Ground
Judge: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistants: Karl Dixon (England), Christoph Ridley (England)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)
South Africa: 15 Willy le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Money Libbock, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Peter-Stef du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden , 5 Marvin Ory, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marks, 1 Steven Kitschoff
Shop: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Quagga Smith, 20 R.G. Snyman, 21 Faf de Klerk, 22 Luhanio Am, 23 Damian Willemse
Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia 14 Mateo Carreras, 13 Lucio Sinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Lautaro Bazan Vélez, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Lucas Paulos, 3 Francisco Gomez-Codela, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Tomas Gallo
Shop: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Joel Sclavie, 19 Pedro Rubiolo, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertrano, 22 Thomas Albornoz, 23 Matias Moroni
Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg
Judge: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistants: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)