Anton Lienert-Brown of the New Zealand All Blacks celebrates winning (Getty Images)
Four of the world’s best teams will collide at the 2024 Rugby Championship, with New Zealand aiming to retain their crown and restore dominance.
The All Blacks emerged victorious with a whitewash over South Africa, Australia and Argentina in last year’s competition, securing 14 points in total.
Despite a narrow loss to the Springboks in a fiercely contested 2023 World Cup final, New Zealand remain favourites to come out on top once more.
But the current world leaders kick this year’s championship off against Australia, who enter the curtain raiser on 10 August off the back of three successful international outings this month.
South Africa, meanwhile, have suffered just one defeat this year, losing to Ireland in a close encounter earlier this month in a drawn series.
Taking place on the same day will be New Zealand against Argentina, with the latter coming off an impressive victory over France followed by a dominant display to beat Uruguay 79-5.
The All Blacks also find themselves in fine form, amassing back-to-back wins over England and a more one-sided demolition against Fiji in their international matches this summer.
An eagerly anticipated showdown between New Zealand and South Africa takes place on 31 August 31 at the Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, with both teams meeting for the first time since their World Cup spectacle. Here’s the full schedule for this year’s championship:
(REUTERS)
Rugby Championship 2024
Saturday 10 August
New Zealand vs Argentina
Australia vs South Africa
Saturday 17 August
New Zealand vs Argentina
Australia vs South Africa
Saturday 31 August
South Africa vs New Zealand
Argentina vs Australia
Saturday 7 September
South Africa vs New Zealand
Argentina vs Australia
Saturday 21 September
Australia vs New Zealand
Argentina vs South Africa
Saturday 28 September
New Zealand vs Australia
South Africa vs Argentina
Source link : https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/rugby-championship-2024-schedule-south-224156149.html
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Publish date : 2024-07-22 20:54:31
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