Australia and Argentina will both be looking to bounce back from disappointing defeats when The Rugby Championship continues this weekend with a repeat of the opening round fixtures against New Zealand and South Africa.
Blown away by a five-try masterclass from New Zealand in the first half last week, Australia will be determined to halt their run of five consecutive test defeats which stretch back to the RWC 2015 final loss to the All Blacks and banish the memories of their last outing.
Argentina, meanwhile, will hope for only their third win in The Rugby Championship after seeing victory slip through their fingertips in the final 10 minutes against South Africa in their opener last weekend.
There is one other match which will impact the World Rugby Rankings this weekend with Kenya facing Hong Kong in a one-off test in Nairobi on Saturday.
New Zealand v Australia, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Tournament-ending injuries to Matt Giteau and Rob Horne and the concussion suffered by Matt Toomua means that Bernard Foley shifts out one to inside centre to partner Samu Kerevi with Quade Cooper getting the nod at fly-half. Coach Michael Cheika has also rung the changes in the forward pack with Adam Coleman handed his first test start in the second-row with Scott Fardy returning to the back-row in place of Ben McCalman.
New Zealand have their own injury worries with Ryan Crotty having become the latest centre unavailable, meaning Anton Lienert-Brown - a World Rugby U20 Championship winner in 2015 - will make his test debut alongside Malakai Fekitoa. Julian Savea, who scored his 40th try in 44 tests last weekend, replaces Waisake Naholo on the wing, while Joe Moody comes in at loose-head prop and Dane Coles will start at hooker.
In brief
- Kieran Reid has won his first 13 tests as New Zealand captain, one behind the record of All Blacks legend Sir Brian Lochore
- Australia have lost five tests in a row for the first time since a run of seven consecutive defeats in 2005. The fifth defeat in that sequence also came against New Zealand
- New Zealand have won their last 18 matches in a row on home soil against Australia - the last time the Wallabies crossed the Tasman and won was way back in August 2001
- The Wallabies have conceded 40 points in their last two matches and will want to avoid becoming the first Australian side to do so in three consecutive tests
- Australia missed 40 tackles in their record 42-8 loss to New Zealand in Sydney last weekend, more than three times as many as the All Blacks
- New Zealand have occupied top spot in the World Rugby Rankings since 16 November, 2009
Rankings predictor
New Zealand are unable to improve their 6.81 rating point cushion over England at the top of the World Rugby Rankings irrespective of how well they fare in Wellington on Saturday. Australia stand to gain plenty, though, as even the narrowest of wins would be enough for the Wallabies to climb above South Africa into third place in the rankings if the Springboks fail to beat Los Pumas in Salta. Such a victory would be worth two full points. An extra point is on the line if they record a resounding victory by more than 15 points, which would move the Wallabies to within just over two points of England in the rankings and above the Springboks unless Allister Coetzee's side manage a similarly big margin of victory in Salta.
Argentina v South Africa, Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena, Salta
Two years ago almost to the day the two sides met at the same venue with South Africa breaking Argentine hearts with a 77th-minute penalty from Morne Steyn to snatch a 33-31 victory and deny Los Pumas their first victory since joining The Rugby Championship in 2012. Argentina will hope to write some happier memories in Salta with coach Daniel Hourcade naming an unchanged starting XV, giving the likes of young number eight Facundo Isa another opportunity to enhance his growing reputation.
South Africa coach Alister Coetzee has made only one change to his starting line-up, an enforced one with Julian Redelinghuys sidelined with the hamstring injury suffered in the 30-23 victory in Nelspruit last weekend. Vincent Koch fills the void in the front row with his fellow prop Tendai Mtawarira set to equal Os du Randt's record as the most-capped Springbok prop with his 80th cap.
In brief
- South Africa are yet to lose away to Argentina having won 10 and drawn one of their 11 trips to face Los Pumas, despite trailing at half-time in three of their last fixtures in South America
- Argentina's last test at home was a 27-0 loss to France in June - the first time they had failed to score a point at home since 1952 and anywhere since 2000
- Santiago Cordero scored his seventh test try in Nelspruit last weekend but is still waiting for his first on Argentinian soil
- The Springboks are two tries away from reaching 100 test tries against Argentina
Rankings predictor
Argentina blew their chance of making big ground in the rankings last weekend after letting a 10-point lead slip with 10 minutes to go. Victory then would have moved Los Pumas up three places to sixth in the rankings. Saturday's match in Salta provides them with a second opportunity, however, as a win by more than 15 points would move them above Scotland, France and Ireland. A smaller margin of victory would guarantee them a boost of 1.32 points and seventh place, with Ireland only just out of their reach. South Africa stand to gain between two-thirds and just over one point depending on the margin of victory, but cannot climb any higher than their current position of third.
Kenya v Hong Kong, RFUEA Grounds, Nairobi
Hong Kong's first 15s tour outside of Asia since 2012 has brought them to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi for two matches, one a representative match and the second a test match between two sides sitting close to each other in the World Rugby Rankings. The tourists are missing a number of players who are training ahead of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series kick-off next month, allowing coach Leigh Jones the chance to run an eye over some promising young players and members of the new Elite Rugby Programme, Hong Kong's first professional programme for 15s rugby.
In brief
- The two sides have met only once before, Hong Kong winning 44-17 in their Emirates Airline Cup of Nations match in Dubai back in December 2011
- Kenya A edged a tight battle with a Hong Kong Select XV on Tuesday, two tries from Cyprian Kuto helping the hosts battle back from 11-3 down to win 24-18
- Hong Kong's touring squad includes a number of players who have represented the nation at the World Rugby U20 Trophy in recent years and could make their test debuts in Nairobi
- Both sides currently occupy their highest ever positions since the World Rugby Rankings were introduced in October 2003
Rankings predictor
Hong Kong come into the match as the higher ranked side, sitting two places above their hosts in 22nd. However, a Kenyan victory will see the two sides swap places, regardless of the winning margin, and lift the African side to a new high in the rankings. Hong Kong could also slip below Belgium if they lose by more than 15 points. Hong Kong cannot improve their best-ever position of 22nd even with an emphatic victory over Kenya as they would still sit just over one rating point behind Russia. A home defeat would prove costly for Kenya with a three-place fall to 27th.
The World Rugby Rankings update every Monday at 12:00 UK time