Competitive Rugby Championship delicately poised

The Rugby Championship has mostly been a New Zealand-led procession in recent years but this season it resembles a genuine competition going into round three with all four teams having notched a win apiece.

New Zealand and South Africa would appear best placed to stamp their authority on this weekend's fixtures but the fluctuating fortunes of the southern hemisphere powers this year make predictions a little trickier than usual.

Argentina, so often the tournament whipping boys, top the standings after thrashing Australia two weeks ago but face a tough clash against the All Blacks, who revived their season with an impressive victory over South Africa last time out. The world champion Springboks, meanwhile, would be strong favourites to hand the struggling Wallabies a fourth defeat of the season at Adelaide Oval on Saturday were it not for their woeful record on Australian soil. South Africa have won only four of 29 away tests against the Wallabies since the championship began as the Tri-Nations in 1996, the last coming in Brisbane in 2013. "It's a strange one, it's not that we underestimate them or treat them differently to New Zealand," lock Lood de Jager said. "Maybe it is the style of play, but we have an opportunity to not look back in history, but rather look forward and do something that not a lot of Springbok teams have managed in the past."

Coach Jacques Nienaber has cut a member from his famous 'Bomb Squad' bench to bring in an extra back but with Faf de Klerk returning at scrum-half, the Wallabies are expecting the usual bombardment of high balls mixed with stifling defence. Reece Hodge, safe under the high ball and with a prodigious boot of his own, has been brought into the Australia team at full-back in one of