Rugby Nations Championship Resumes Again This Weekend
3 min readRugby$2.68 pending
)Tonight will see the start of the second stage of the Nations Championship after the first round was concluded with the Southern Hemisphere hosting the Northern Hemisphere teams. Now we see the roles reversed yet expect very little difference in the results which is not what the Northern Hemisphere was hoping for.
Finals weekend is in 4 weeks time where we see the top 3 finishing on each log face off against each other at Twickenham. This is actually fairer than the Rugby World Cup draw as at least there is no manipulating and dodging teams. This format for the first round of a World Cup would be brilliant but the format would sadly take too long as knockout rounds would then have to follow.
Where this tournament falls flat on it's face is the finals as the top two or three teams could be in one pool like we have South Africa and New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere pool who are streaks ahead of those in the Northern Hemisphere Pool.
New Zealand have stated their biggest match is against Scotland over the next 3 weeks and do not see England as a threat to remaining unbeaten. South Africa 's biggest test will be France in Paris and this could go either way yet expect South Africa to come out on top even though they have some injuries.
The Nations Championship is a new competition and it all depends on how important you see this new trophy. South Africa are still working on their goal of winning next years World Cup so they have added more youngsters to their squad. The SA team is not the finished article yet and blooding two or three more youngsters would be an ideal scenario over the next 4 weeks. This is the difference between a team who is not scared to lose as long as they achieve their objectives.
A team like England has had an easy run in thus far having only lost against South Africa having beaten Argentina and Fiji. The English face Australia and New Zealand which they will struggle against. Scotland and France are the form teams so expect the tables to remain the same come finals weekend.
The Northern Hemisphere has an inferiority complex with them always comparing themselves against the Southern Hemisphere teams and losing out. They are not in the same standard or level as New Zealand or South Africa and focusing on this alone is their weakness. SA and NZ see it differently and is a form of disgrace or embarrassment to lose in the Northern Hemisphere so the thought process could not be so different. A fear of losing against the likes of England, Scotland or France raises their game to another level and why this rarely happens yet it can happen because this is sport and on the day anyone can win.
Tonight Ireland play Argentina and have no clue how this will end up as I have not been following these teams. I expect it to be close as Ireland do not have a strong pack and throw in Argentina's aggression leading to cards this should be close. Scotland host New Zealand and expect the hosts to lose by 12. Italy host SA and again expect the hosts to lose by 12-20 points. Still it is a great weekend for those sitting at home as there are some decent games to view.