Ian Foster was declared safe in his job as New Zealand head coach following the win over South Africa at Ellis Park, and now Argentina await the All Blacks.
Foster had overseen five defeats in six Tests before his team gritted out a 35-23 Rugby Championship win over South Africa two weeks ago.
Uncertainty had swirled over his future, and that will be held at bay providing New Zealand do not slip up on Saturday in Christchurch and next week in Hamilton.
Argentina, who drubbed Australia last time out in San Juan, will have just a second win in 34 meetings with New Zealand as their objective.
The first game of the weekend comes at the Adelaide Oval as Australia take on South Africa.
After two rounds of games, all four teams have won once and lost once. Here, Stats Perform previews the weekend clashes using Opta data.
AUSTRALIA v SOUTH AFRICA
FORM
Australia have won their last two Tests against South Africa, both in the 2021 Rugby Championship, and have not won more than two successive games against the Springboks since a five-game stretch from September 2010 to September 2012.
The omens are not great for South Africa, who are winless in their last seven Tests against the Wallabies in Australia (D1 L6). The games have typically been tight, though, with all but one decided by a margin of six points or fewer on the day. The Boks last beat the Wallabies in Australia in September 2013, when they enjoyed a 38-12 success in Brisbane.
Adelaide is rarely on the Wallabies' schedule, with this just the third men's Test to be played in the city and likely to be the toughest test they have faced there. Australia's previous Tests in Adelaide saw them beat the Pacific Islanders 29-14 in 2004 and Namibia 142-0 at the Rugby World Cup.
ONES TO WATCH
South Africa have shuffled their team but Lukhanyo Am keeps his place at centre. He has made six line breaks in this year's Rugby Championship, which is twice as many as any other player in the competition.
Australia wing Marika Koroibete pranked Jake Gordon in the opening match of this year's competition, claiming he and not Gordon would be captaining the Wallabies in the closing stages against Argentina after Nic White and James Slipper came off. Away from the playfulness, he is a serious player and has made four offloads so far in this Rugby Championship, second only to New Zealand's Rieko Ioane.
NEW ZEALAND v ARGENTINA
FORM
Over the long term, this has been a wholly one-sided rivalry, with New Zealand winning 31 of their 33 past meetings (D1 L1). The draw came in 1985, but Argentina's victory came only two years ago in Sydney. Since then, New Zealand have beaten the Pumas 38-0, 39-0 and 36-13, reasserting their supremacy in the rivalry. They have won all 15 of their previous matches on home soil against Argentina.
New Zealand have plenty to prove to their public as they arrive in Christchurch, having lost their last two Tests on home turf, each by 10 points or more at the hands of Ireland. They have never lost three consecutive games in New Zealand.
Argentina have won four of their last seven Tests after losing seven in a row beforehand.
New Zealand (3.7) and Argentina (3.3) have scored the most and second most points per attacking 22m entry in the 2022 Rugby Championship, more than one point per entry more than either Australia (2.1) or South Africa (1.9).
ONES TO WATCH
Argentina coach Michael Cheika will be hoping goal-kicking wing Emiliano Boffelli continues to pile on the points, having scored 53 across his last three Tests. In that time he has managed two tries, 11 conversions, and seven penalties, and he knows the way to the try line against the All Blacks too. Boffelli has crossed for a try in four of his last six Tests against New Zealand.
Wing Will Jordan has scored 10 tries in six Tests on home soil for New Zealand, crossing for at least one try in every one of those six Tests. Expect Jordan to again be a threat for an All Blacks team who have carried for 12.1 metres per possession on average in this year's Rugby Championship, the most of any team and more than three metres per possession more than last-ranked Argentina (8.9m).
Foden: De Bruyne the best in the Premier League
Phil Foden hailed Manchester City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League's best player after the pair both netted in the 4-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
De Bruyne opened the scoring in Thursday's contest at Amex Stadium before Foden took over with a couple of goals of his own before half-time.
Julian Alvarez rounded off the scoring just after the hour in a one-sided contest as an Erling Haaland-less City moved to within a point of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.
Belgium international De Bruyne now has four goals and six assists in just 13 league appearances for City this season.
Speaking to Sky Sports News after the win over Brighton, Foden said: "I think when he is at it, he is the best player in the Premier League."
Foden's first goal came via a deflected free-kick that he himself won, although replays showed he slipped rather than being fouled.
The England international doubled his personal tally with a composed finish after Brighton were caught in possession at the back.
Asked about playing more centrally, Foden said: "I have always said that I see myself there. This year I have moved inside and it has helped me massively.
"I enjoy it in the middle. It's where I want to be. At the moment, I am just enjoying my football and playing with freedom."
De Bruyne had earlier opened the scoring with a brilliant opener - his first headed goal for City in the Premier League - as City made it 30 games unbeaten in normal time across all competitions.
Alvarez then went on to round off the scoring in a game that not only saw the reigning champions close the gap on Arsenal, but also narrow the goal difference margin to eight.
"It was a good game," De Bruyne said. "I think we played really good in the first half and every game is a lot of pressure. All we can do is prepare as we did today and win the game that is in front of us.
"We just want to win game-by-game and push for the title. We don't get ahead of ourselves. Now the next game is coming quickly. Try to recover and we go again."
Kyle Walker assisted the De Bruyne and Alvarez goals - the first time the defender has set up two goals in a single Premier League game in what was his 390th appearance in the competition.
Reflecting on his rare headed goal, De Bruyne said: "It doesn't happen too much. Kyle gave a good cross and I think the only way I could reach it is by jumping to it. I will take it but it's not something I am good at."
City have rather ominously won four Premier League games in a row and travel to strugglers Nottingham Forest next up at the weekend, knowing victory in their remaining five games will secure an unprecedented fourth straight title.
"I trust my team. All respect to Liverpool and Arsenal, they are amazing," De Bruyne added. "Arsenal are doing what they need to do and we are also needing to do it. Work hard and be humble enough to keep pushing."
New Zealand take unassailable series lead after hard-fought victory over Pakistan
Pakistan slumped to a four-run defeat at the hands of New Zealand despite the efforts of Abbas Afridi and Fakhar Zaman.
The Black Caps took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series, thanks in the main to Tim Robinson (51) and bowling duo William O'Rourke (3-27) and Ben Sears (2-27) on Thursday.
Set a target of 179 to win, Pakistan looked on their way to victory when Fakhar Zaman got going, but he was eventually dismissed on 61 by Sears.
Abbas took three wickets in New Zealand's innings, yet he could only contribute a single run to Pakistan's cause as the hosts fell just short in Lahore.
Data Debrief
Shadab Khan did not bowl a single delivery for Pakistan, which is the first time that has happened in a completed T20I innings.
He did take an exceptional catch to dismiss Mark Chapman, but it was not enough to inspire Pakistan.
Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement
Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.
Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.
Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.
The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.
Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.
The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."
Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.
Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.
The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.
Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term.
As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.
Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.
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