Wallabies Next Game, Latest Odds and Analysis
Following the disappointment of a resounding second round defeat to Argentina a fortnight earlier, Australia reignited their Rugby Championship campaign and surprised betting sites with a superb victory against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval last Saturday.
Under pressure to perform, Dave Rennie’s charges comfortably put the reigning world champions to the sword.
An eight-point winning margin (25-17) for Australia is impressive in itself, but it was one that flattered the Springboks significantly in the end.
Thanks to a brace of tries from Fraser McReight and one from Marika Koroibete, the Wallabies had set out their stall in clinical fashion.
With Noah Lolesio also adding 10 points from the kicking tee, the hosts were effectively home and hosed before replacement back-row Kwagga Smith bagged a brace of late tries to add a more favourable reflection to the final scoreline.
Smith’s late salvo could yet prove important, of course, given how tight it currently is in the Championship table.
Expectations Of Wallabies Shift Following Last Weekend’s Win
As it stands, Australia are just behind surprise pace-setters Argentina on score difference, despite getting the better of the Pumas in their opening game of the campaign.
That said, their exploits against South Africa have forced online rugby betting sites to re-evaluate the Wallabies ahead of their rematch at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday.
Having gone into last week’s test as underdogs, the tables have suddenly turned and it is Australia who are now the favourites amongst bookmakers to come out on top.
This is the fickle nature of sport, but the strength of their performance in round three of the Championship has caused a substantial shift.
As such, Betfair are offering 1.83 on Australia scoring a home victory on Saturday.
South Africa’s Prospects Take A Dent
After being rated as overwhelming favourites to prevail in last weekend’s clash in Adelaide – Ladbrokes were offering odds of 2.0 that the shoe is on the other foot for the Springboks this weekend.
Although a draw never really looked on the cards last weekend, the topsy-turvy nature of this year’s Rugby Championship means it can’t be ruled out as a possibility either.
The odds on a stalemate sit at 23.0 with Unibet, but with the Springboks likely to batten down the hatches for their latest duel with the Wallabies, this is a game that could go down to the wire.
A Tight Affair Expected In Sydney
Following Smith’s last-gasp intervention on Saturday, the margin of victory ended up in the 6-10 points bracket.
You can get 6.0 with bet365 on Australia producing a repeat result on Saturday, while the same betting site are also valuing a South African win of between 6 to 10 points at 6.0.
Finally, you can find odds of 5.5 on either Australia or South Africa winning by a margin of 1 to 5 points.
Regardless of the end result, every score in this fixture is usually hard-earned and there is no reason to suspect it will be any different this weekend.
By some distance, the second half in Adelaide trumped the 40 minutes that preceded it. 10-3 in front at the break, Australia amassed 15 points without reply on the resumption prior to leaking 14 points themselves in the final five minutes of the action.
Unsurprisingly, the odds on the second half being the highest scoring segment of the game are 1.83 on Rugby Championship 2022 betting sites.
Meanwhile, the price sits at 2.0 on the first half being the more prolific, but with both teams looking towards their benches for energy, it could prove to be a high-octane finale.
Australia Looking To Show Consistency
Having achieved a double success over South Africa last year, Australia will now have their sights set on doing the same in the 2022 edition of The Rugby Championship.
Although those triumphs against the Springboks kick-started a run of five consecutive wins, the Wallabies have struggled for consistency at times under Rennie’s watch.
Coming into this weekend’s game, the New Zealander has won just 11 of his 26 games at the helm.
In addition to an astonishing three draws in his opening six tests as head coach, Rennie has also suffered 12 defeats.
They will be hell-bent on showing that last weekend’s performance wasn’t just another flash in the pan, while being aware that South Africa will be out to restore pride in the wake of an underwhelming display in Adelaide.
There was a stark contrast to Australia’s opening two games in the Championship. Impressive 41-26 winners over Argentina in Mendoza on August 6, the Wallabies suffered a 48-17 hammering to the same opposition in San Juan just seven days later.
This was Argentina’s biggest ever victory over Australia and proved to be a very satisfying success for their former head coach Michael Cheika – who is currently in the Argentinian hot seat.
Massive Turnaround For Wallabies From Second Argentina Game
Whatever happened between then and their first encounter with South Africa is something that only Rennie and his squad are really in a position to speak about, but it has certainly re-energised Australia’s rugby community.
Rennie did ring the changes from the second Argentine game, drafting in no fewer than six new faces to his starting line-up.
Lolesio in particular made a strong impression at fly-half and the Brumbies star will feel confident about retaining his place after playing the full 80 minutes last weekend.
However, Australia will have to be wary of potentially encountering a refreshed South African side.
The aforementioned Smith has been forced to make do with a role off the bench to date, but his brace of tries last Saturday could well propel him into Jacques Nienaber’s starting 15.