The unofficial curtain raiser will be between the Nude Blacks and The Springbox which will be made up of touring South Africans. They won't have the luxury of a covered stadium.
In the main game, it is difficult to know who the indoor stadium benefits with it being an escape from the cold weather, but the All Blacks have the far more fluent ability to play with width in the backs and so it could well suit the home team, although the Springboks have compared it to playing at altitude. You have to love the mind games!
In the other match, the touring Pumas who were so hard to beat in Wellington last week play a Wallabies team who may struggle to contain the Argentinan forward pack. The Wallabies may struggle with leadership without usual skippers like Will Genia, James Horwill and David Pocock. The Argies must be a decent shot against the Wallabies who won a tight match against the Springboks. Given the odds on Argentina winning are $4.50 at the TAB, then it could be worth putting some money on them.
Game One - New Zealand vs South Africa
The All Blacks have made four changes to their starting lineup following their match against Argentina. Andrew Hore will start on his original home ground, while Sam Whitelock, Liam Messam and Piri Weepu will also join him in the front row. They all provided some impact off the bench last week. Weepu's inclusion over Aaron Smith is because of a breach of protocol after last Saturday by Aaron Smith, but I think that it isn't a bad move given Weepu's bulk which will help against the physical Springboks, allowing Smith to provide impact off the bench.
The Springboks have retained faith in the "hand-brake" Morne Steyn who seems to stifle any backline fluency that they have. They have included Francois Louw from the cold in place of the in-form Marcell Coetzee because of his ability on the ground. Flip van der Merwe comes in to replace the suspended Eben Etzebeth. I wonder what has happened to Heinrich Brussouw who would have been an ideal replacement, or is he injured?
Game Two - Australia vs Argentina
The Wallabies have been forced to make changes with big lock Sitaleki Timani and legendary halfback Will Genia both out injured. These are massive losses for the Wallabies and their replacements Kane Douglas and Nick Phipps have massive shoes to fill. Berrick Barnes gets moved to fullback in place of the erratic Kurtley Beale who has been missing in action this season. Pat McCabe comes into the centres.
For Argentina they have changed their halfback and fullback. I have fond memories of hot stepping Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino scoring against Scotland at the Rugby World Cup 2011 and he will start at fullback along side halfback Martin Landajo. All Blacks by 15 points.
My picks - The All Blacks will beat the Springboks by 15 points.
I think that the Pumas will give the Wallabies a fright and represent great value paying $4.50 at the New Zealand TAB. I think Australia will probably sneak a victory, but it will be close. Australia by 3 points.
As for the Nude Blacks vs the Springbox? The Nude Blacks have far more experience and have been in training drinking pints, so should be good enough to win on home soil. The cold weather is a great leveller though!
Who are you picking?
New Zealand vs South Africa
ALL BLACKS: Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Julian Savea, Aaron Cruden, Piri Weepu, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (c), Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Charlie Faumuina, Brodie Retallick, Victor Vito, Aaron Smith, Beauden Barrett, Tamati Ellison.
SPRINGBOKS: Zane Kirchner, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers (c), Frans Steyn, Francois Hougaard, Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts, Francois Louw, Juandre Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Jannie du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss, Tendai Mtawarira. Reserves: Tiaan Liebenberg, Dean Greyling, Andries Bekker, Marcell Coetzee, Johan Goosen, Juan de Jongh, Patrick Lambie.
Australia vs Argentina
Australia: 15-Berrick Barnes, 14-Dom Shipperley, 13-Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12-Pat McCabe, 11-Digby Ioane, 10-Quade Cooper, 9-Nick Phipps, 8-Radike Samo, 7-Michael Hooper, 6-Dave Dennis, 5-Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4-Kane Douglas, 3-Ben Alexander, 2-Tatafu Polota Nau, 1-Benn Robinson.
Reserves: 16. Saia Fainga'a, 17. James Slipper, 18. Scott Higginbotham, 19. Liam Gill, 20. Brett Sheehan, 21. Anthony Fainga'a, 22. Kurtley Beale.
Argentina: 15-Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14-Gonzalo Camacho, 13-Marcelo Bosch, 12-Santiago Fernandez, 11-Horacio Agulla, 10-Juan Martin Hernandez, 9-Martin Landajo, 8-Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (captain), 7-Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6-Julio Farias Cabello, 5-Patricio Albacete, 4-Manuel Carizza, 3-Juan Figallo, 2-Eusebio Guinazu, 1-Rodrigo Roncero.
Reserves: 16. Agustin Creevy, 17. Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18. Leonardo Senatore, 19. Toms Leonardi, 20. Nicolas Vergallo, 21. Martin Rodriguez, 22. Juan Imhoff.
http://www.superrugbytips.com/2012/09/the-rugby-championship-round-4-preview.html