RWC in sight as Rugby Championship kicks off: All Black's off colour, history not on Eddie's side

A shortened Rugby Championship - to accommodate the World Cup - starts on Saturday with southern hemisphere teams honing their game plans ahead of the showpiece tournament in France.

AFP looks at how each team is tracking:

Jones put to the test

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones faces his first test since replacing the axed Dave Rennie against world champions South Africa in Pretoria.

The master tactician, renowned for his innovative thinking, has been charged with revitalising a struggling team to give them a shot at once again lifting the World Cup.

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He has vowed to instill a gritty, and winning, mentality by making them more aggressive in attack while defending like "mongrel dogs", what he calls "the Australian way".

Adaptability has been another buzzword, with veterans Michael Hooper and James Slipper sharing the captaincy in an Australian first.

But history is not on Jones's side in Pretoria, with Australia yet to win at Loftus Versfeld Stadium over seven games stretching back to 1963.

All Blacks dominance on line

The All Blacks are coming off one of the worst years in their history, winning just eight of 13 Tests and setting firsts by losing a home series against Ireland and going down on home soil against Argentina in 2022.

Despite this, they still managed to clinch the Rugby Championship, for the eighth time in its 10 editions. Nevertheless, the spotlight will be again shining sharply on coach Ian Foster in Mendoza this weekend.

The World Cup in France will be his swansong, and he has demanded the team be "dominant from Test one" this year, in contrast to their sluggish start in 2022.

While questions linger over his leadership, Sam Cane has