SA v NZ & Other International Rugby Predictions

Twickenham plays host to rugby’s greatest rivals as the Springboks battle the All Blacks in their final World Cup warm-up match on Friday night, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

A bumper weekend of Test rugby will see teams put a bow on their competitive preparations for next month’s global showpiece in France. 

Twickenham stages the first of Saturday’s five fixtures as well as England face Fiji. Scotland meet Georgia at Murrayfield, Italy host Japan in Treviso, Ireland square off against Samoa in Dublin and Argentina are away to Spain. 

Wrapping up the Summer Nations Series is Sunday’s showdown between France and Australia in Paris.

South Africa v New Zealand

Friday, 25 August – 20:30

There’s no such thing as a friendly between these arch-rivals, but in saying that, the blockbuster in front of 80,000 strong is a balancing act for the respective coaches.

It’s a final chance to test combinations and fine-tune certain aspects of their game without showing their whole hand ahead of the World Cup, hence, there are some interesting selections by South Africa. 

Canan Moodie’s selection at outside centre is a gamble on the Boks’ part and has been the major talking point this week. As such, the fact that Jacques Nienaber’s named arguably his strongest possible pack has flown under the radar. It’s certainly not lost on Ian Foster and his assistants, who are fully aware that the forwards will power the Boks’ efforts.

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It’s a short turnaround for South Africa from their record 52-16 win over Wales in Cardiff last weekend and they can’t afford another slow start like the one that cost them the last meeting against the All Blacks in Auckland. 

With their powerful pack and strong bench, the Boks have bite and could grind out a win. However, with a strong spine and more reliable goal-kicker, the safe bet is on the All Blacks to make it 12 wins in a row. 

England v Fiji

Saturday, 26 August – 16:15

Fiji, along with many punters, will be smelling an upset against the out-of-sorts English. The Islanders have worked their way up to ninth in the world rankings, moving above Wales for the first time in 15 years thanks to wins over Japan, Tonga and Samoa and made a fist of it against France last weekend, trailing just 24-17 before an intercept try led to a 34-17 win for Les Bleus. 

England have looked decidedly average in the Summer Nations Series and failed to fire a shot against Ireland last weekend, going down 29-10. Ill-disciplined and devoid of any attacking sting, Steve Borthwick’s men must come good on Saturday to head into the World Cup on a positive note. 

It won’t be easy, but I expect an improved performance to lead to a valuable victory for England.

Scotland v Georgia

Saturday, 26 August – 18:30

Scotland are on the up and will look to continue the momentum of their strong showings against France that saw them beat a reserve Les Bleus team and push the full-strength side all the way. 

Georgia followed up their 56-6 rout of Romania with a 22-7 win over the USA last weekend. Remember, also, that they stunned Wales 13-12 at the end of last year, so they’ll serve as a decent hit-out for the Scots, who’ll prevail comfortably in the end.

Italy v Japan

Saturday, 26 August – 18:30

Fresh off a 57-7 thumping of Romania, the Azzurri will aim to make it two on the bounce against the Brave Blossoms. 

Whereas Italy continued to benefit from playing in the Six Nations, the toughest competition Japan have faced this year is Fiji, a fixture they lost 35-12 after South African-born Lappies Labuschagne received an early red card.

They also lost 24-22 to Samoa, so Italy should be too strong for them. 

Ireland v Samoa

Saturday, 26 August – 20:45

Avoid injuries. That’s Ireland’s main goal in a warm-up match they’d much rather skip against the always-physical Samoans. They have little if anything to gain from the contest as they have their ducks in a row and won’t risk their frontline players. 

Samoa, on the other hand, will be going all out in the hopes of scoring a first-ever win over the Irish. The Pacific Islanders beat a Barbarians team featuring six South African stars 28-14 last weekend and have a few former All Blacks in their ranks.

Ireland have developed such great depth, though, that they’ll see off Samoa convincingly.

Spain v Argentina

Saturday, 26 August – 20:45

The Pumas will use this encounter to sharpen their claws and bounce back from the disappointing 24-13 home loss to the Springboks last time out. 

The preceding 34-31 win over the Wallabies Down Under and narrow 22-21 loss to the Springboks in South Africa showed what they’re capable of and they’ll be far too good for a Spain side who’ve lost to Romania and Portugal this year after being booted out of the World Cup for fielding an ineligible player in South African Gavin van den Berg. 

France v Australia

Sunday, 27 August – 17:45

After shaking off months of rust in the last-gasp 30-27 win over Scotland and fielding a second-string side in last weekend’s 34-17 triumph over Fiji, this is the game for France to get back to their best ahead of their World Cup-opening clash against the All Blacks. 

For the woeful Wallabies, who are yet to register a win under Eddie Jones this year, an upset victory would be massive. After having a go at a South African journalist following their heavy defeat to the Springboks in Pretoria last month, Jones laid into the local media for their “negativity” as the team departed Australia last week. 

For all his genius, Jones hasn’t come up with any answers to stop the Wallabies’ downward spiral and had to hastily rope in Jason Ryles as his new attack coach after Brad Davis’ shock resignation last Thursday. ;

In shambles on and off the field, the Wallabies will be a highway rather than a speed bump for Les Bleus down the home stretch to the World Cup.