The Westpac Stadium in Wellington will be home to one of the best and most exciting fixtures of the Rugby Championship when the All Blacks welcome the Springboks as from 19:35 local time on the 27th of July. These fixtures have proven to be so exciting and thrilling, as well as being action-packed. With the WC edging closer and closer, and with each of these two sides having their eyes firmly fixed on the ultimate prize, expect them to battle their hearts out as they test their abilities in this warm-up game.

Week II Sees New Zealand Host South Africa in The Rugby Championship 2019 Classic The Westpac Stadium in Wellington will be home to one of the best and most exciting fixtures of the Rugby Championship when the All Blacks welcome the Springboks as from 19:35 local time on the 27th of July. These fixtures have proven to be so exciting and thrilling, as well as being action-packed. With the WC edging closer and closer, and with each of these two sides having their eyes firmly fixed on the ultimate prize, expect them to battle their hearts out as they test their abilities in this warm-up game.

The reigning world champions New Zealand will only play three Rugby Championship matches this year, which has been squeezed due to the 2019 Rugby WC. They will start away to Argentina before Hosting the Boks and end their campaign with an away trip to the Optus Stadium in Perth to play the Wallabies.Similarly, the 5th ranked Springboks will play just three test matches this year and they will open with a home match against Australia before traveling to New Zealand and then flying to Salta, Argentina to face the Los Pumas.

Previous Matches.

In their most recent match, the All Blacks proved too strong for Italy and they totally demolished them by 66-3. The Kiwis were dominant from the onset and scored a total of 10 unanswered tries against a hapless Azzurri. New Zealand only gave away a penalty that was duly converted by Allan in a very strong all-round performance that they have been accustomed to in the recent past.

In contrast to the Kiwis’ result, the Boks went down 20-11 to Wales in their most recent game. Wales started strongly and the Boks couldn’t muster the will to get into the game until the final whistle. Wales scored two 1st half tries via Francis and Williams and the Boks could only manage to cross the whitewash in the 2nd half through Kriel but it wasn’t enough and hence served as a consolation try.

Form.

Since winning the 2018 Rugby Championship, the All Blacks have played a total of five matches where they won four. The wins came against Australia, Japan, England, and Italy. However, the Kiwis lost 16-9 to Ireland in an IRB No. 1 vs No. 2 that saw the Irish side score the only try of the game.

On the other hand, the Boks played only four games since the 2018 Southern Hemisphere tournament winning twice and losing twice. They lost to England in the first Autumn Internationals game before steadying their boat and winning against France and Scotland, but they were put to the sword by Wales in the final game as they lost by 20-11.

HEAD TO HEAD

The All Blacks have played 97 matches against the Springboks since their first meeting in 1921.New Zealand has won 58 with a majority of those wins coming in the new era (36). South Africa have won 36 of the 97 with the remaining three matches ending in a draw.

Additionally, these teams have also participated in the Freedom Cup since 2004 in the rugby championship plus any other test match played by the two sides in a calendar year. A total of 30 games have been played so far with New Zealand winning 21 against South Africa’s 9.

KEY PLAYERS

Of the current bunch of players, Beauden Barrett really loves scoring against the Boks (94 points – 4 tries, 22 conversions, and 10 penalties). In addition to the scintillating form that he enjoys, Barrett will be very instrumental when the Kiwis lineup against the South Africans.

On the other hand the Boks will be looking up to Handre Pollard to inspire and guide them into getting a result over the current world and Rugby Championship champions. Pollard has a total of 77 points scored against the Kiwis (2 tries, 14 conversions, 12 penalties, and 1 drop goal). Another player to watch is Aphiwe Dyantyi. Having been in the squad for barely a year now, Dyantyi has already scored 10 points against the Kiwis and he will fancy to add some more in this game.

Prediction

The Boks return to the Westpac Stadium where they caused a major upset last year. In 2018, South Africa beat New Zealand 36-34 in this fixture but the Kiwis will be eager to correct that. This will be a tough match but the Hosts enjoy a superior head-to-head advantage in the near past. New Zealand 35-32 South Africa.

New Zealand vs South Africa Match Preview 2016