Patagonia in Argentina is known for its patriotic Welsh enclave and the population there is likely to be in good voice on Saturday as Los Pumas attempt to dethrone world champions New Zealand in Buenos Aires and, in turn, help create a bit of history for Warren Gatland's Wales.
Victory for Los Pumas would be a shock as they have never beaten the All Blacks before in 28 attempts but if they managed to break new ground and upset the odds while winning by a margin of more than 15 points, Wales would become the world's number one ranked team for the first time in history.
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Argentina go into this Rugby Championship match with a settled squad dominated by Jaguares players coming off their Super Rugby heroics, while defending champions New Zealand have opted to field a number of new All Blacks in their squad.
South Africa take on Australia in Johannesburg in the other match of the opening weekend with the Wallabies looking to start the season on the front foot having won only four of their 13 tests last year. Like New Zealand, the Springboks aim to use the first couple of matches to trial players and manage workloads.
On what could be a unique weekend, all four teams will be captained by U20 Championship graduates in Eben Etzebeth (South Africa), Michael Hooper (Australia), Pablo Matera (Argentina) and Sam Cane (New Zealand).
As this year's Rugby Championship falls in a Rugby World Cup year, the tournament will be played over three rounds instead of the usual six. Australia won the title the last time it adopted a truncated format in 2015 but could not convert that into Rugby World Cup glory, falling short against New Zealand in the Twickenham final.
Historically, winning the Rugby Championship is not a good Rugby World Cup indicator as no team has won both competitions, in the Tri-Nations or current format, in the same year.
SOUTH AFRICA (5) v AUSTRALIA (6)
Team news
Eben Etzebeth takes over the captaincy from Siya Kolisi, who is recovering from a knee injury, for the Springboks’ in their Rugby Championship opener against Australia. While Etzebeth wins his 76th cap to become South Africa’s third-most capped second-row of all-time, coach Rassie Erasmus hand debuts to blindside flanker Rynhardt Elstadt and scrum-half Herschel Jantjies. Prop Lizo Gqoboka is also in line for his first test appearance after being named on the bench.
On the bench, there is also a return to the Springbok fold for a number of familiar faces as Erasmus casts his net wide with the Rugby World Cup 2019 squad in mind. They are Ulster loose forward Marcell Coetzee, Northampton scrum-half Cobus Reinach, the mercurial Frans Steyn and Stormers utility back Dillyn Leyds.
Australia coach Michael Cheika includes Melbourne Rebels number eight Isi Naisarani in his starting line-up for the first time, and Waratahs young prop Harry Johnson-Holmes will also make his test debut if he gets the call from the bench.
While looking to the future with those selections, there is a definite nod to the past in the rest of Cheika’s line-up with scrum-half Nic White and prop James Slipper ending their long international exiles. Tevita Kuridrani will partner Samu Kerevi in the centres, resuming their combination for the first time since November 2017, when they faced Scotland in Edinburgh.
In brief
- The Springboks need three tries to reach 200 test tries against Australia. It will be the first time that have South Africa scored 200 tries against a single country
- Should the Wallabies score a try in this test, it will be the 800th try conceded by South Africa at this level in the history of Springbok rugby
- The Wallabies haven’t played South Africa in Johannesburg since a 53-8 defeat in 2008 and haven’t won at the now renamed Ellis Park since 1963
- Australia are the current holders of the Mandela Challenge Plate, having retained the trophy in 2018 with both sides enjoying one win each on home soil
- Tendai Mtawarira will become the second most-capped Springbok in the Rugby Championship, making his 51st appearance. Bryan Habana holds the record with 53
- Eben Etzebeth will become the third-most capped second-row, winning his 76th cap to surpass Mark Andrews’ total.
Rankings predictor
- South Africa cannot improve their position in victory, but an Australian win would see them replace the Springboks in fifth place
ARGENTINA (10) 77.05 v NEW ZEALAND (1)
Team news
Argentina field a similar-looking team to the one that was defeated 35-17 in last year’s fixture in Buenos Aires.
Head coach Mario Ledesma has gone with the same starting pack from last September apart from at tight-head where overseas-based Juan Figallo comes into the side for his first test since last August.
In the backs, there are three changes of personnel and one positional. Tomas Cubelli is named at scrum-half and will win his 70th cap, while Jerónimo de la Fuente shifts to inside centre to accommodate the selection of Matias Orlando and winger Matias Moroni plays against the All Blacks for the seventh time on the occasion of his 41st cap.
Former captain and hooker Agustin Creevy, who boasts double that number of appearances against New Zealand, will become Argentina’s joint-fifth most-capped player when he takes to the field at the Estadio José Amalfitani stadium to win his 85th cap.
Crusaders winger Sevu Reece has been rewarded for a stunning maiden Super Rugby season with a first All Blacks cap. The 22-year-old gets the nod ahead of Waisake Naholo and is now firmly in contention for the 31-man squad bound for Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. The uncapped quartet of Atu Moli, Luke Jacobson, Josh Ioane and Braydon Ennor are all named on the bench.
Balancing that is the experience of second-row Brodie Retallick, captain Sam Cane at openside flanker, the half-back pairing of Aaron Smith and Beauden Barrett, and Ben Smith at full-back.
In brief
- New Zealand and Argentina have played each other 28 times since 1976 with the All Blacks winning 27 times and a 21-21 draw in Buenos Aires in 1985
- New Zealand have won the last three Rugby Championship titles
- Argentina have finished last in every tournament since its inception in 2012, other than 2015 when they finished third
- New Zealand have been very consistent on trips to Buenos Aires, scoring 35 points on their last visit and 36 the two times before
- Argentina have failed to win any of their last five tests. They have never gone more than eight tests without a victory
- Argentina have not won in the actual city of Buenos Aires since defeating France there, 41-13, in June 2010
- Sam Cane will be captaining the All Blacks for only the third time
Rankings predictor
- Wales will become the world’s number one ranked nation for the first time since the rankings were introduced in October 2003 if the All Blacks lose by more than 15 points
- A win by such a margin would lift Los Pumas up two places to eighth, above France and Fiji
- A smaller margin of victory would still see Argentina climb above Fiji, while a New Zealand win would have no impact on the ratings of either side
The World Rugby Rankings update every Monday at 12:00 UK time.