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• The Rugby Championship: Springboks targeting revenge with glory on the line

  South Africa had the chance to clinch their first Rugby Championship title since 2019 last Saturday, only to be edged out by Argentina, setting up a grandstand finish.

  Rassie Erasmus' side had a perfect record to that point, but that narrow 29-28 defeat now means the Pumas have a slim chance of getting their hands on the trophy for the first time.

  Argentina will be backing themselves for another upset after impressing in the tournament, and they will look to overturn the odds with one more big win.  

  Meanwhile, Australia will be aiming to finish their underwhelming tournament on a high, though they face another stern test against the All Blacks.

  Ahead of the final round of fixtures, we look at the best Opta facts and figures to preview both games.

  NEW ZEALAND V AUSTRALIA

  After succumbing to the record-breaking 67-27 defeat against Argentina in the fourth round, Australia failed to turn their luck around despite a spirited fightback against New Zealand last time out.

  Joe Schmidt will endeavour to finish the tournament on a high after seeing his side struggle for much of it, though they face an uphill task having won only one of their last 13 Tests against the All Blacks (D1 L11).

  The Wallabies have also won only one of their last five Test matches (L4), and have lost their last two, though they have scored more points in those defeats (55) than they managed in the three Tests prior (39 – W1 D2).

  New Zealand will still feel fairly confident though, having won their last eight matches against Australia, although their last two victories in that run have come by a three-point margin.

  In Wellington, the All Blacks are undefeated in five Tests against their hosts (W4 D1), conceding only 10.8 points per game in that streak.

   

  However, overall, they have won just one of their last seven trips to the city (D2 L4), beating France 26-13 in June 2018, going winless in their last five Tests since in Wellington (D2 L3).

  It is likely that Australia will need to take advantage of any opportunity they get, with their success of stealing opposition line-outs an obvious strength.

  They have won the joint-most of any team in the tournament so far (nine, level with New Zealand), though they will need to improve on the one they managed against Scott Robertson's side in the last match.

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  New Zealand – Rieko Ioane

  Rieko Ioane has made dominant contact on 64% of his 35 carries (18/35) in the Rugby Championship – the best rate of any player in the tournament (min. 10 carries).

  He has made three line breaks across his last three Test matches, more than he logged in his seven games prior for the All Blacks (two).

  Australia – Hunter Paisami

  Hunter Paisami has scored three tries in his last four Test matches, including one against New Zealand last time out.

  He had not crossed the try line in his 26 career appearances for the Wallabies prior to that run.

  SOUTH AFRICA V ARGENTINA

  South Africa had one hand on the trophy last weekend, and though they have opened the door for Argentina, they still have a great chance of winning the trophy.

  The Springboks will be confident they can bounce back from that loss, having won 17 of their 18 Test matches against Argentina on home soil (L1), with their only such defeat coming back in August 2015 in Durban.

  Their record in Nelspruit is even stronger, winning all four of their Tests in the city, overcoming half-time deficits in three of those victories. South Africa defeated New Zealand 26-10 in their last match there, which is their largest margin of victory at Mbombela Stadium.

  However, Argentina's confidence will be sky-high after snapping an eight-match losing streak against South Africa – they have never won back-to-back games against them before.

  The Pumas have also won their last two Tests against Tier One opposition, as many as they managed in their seven such fixtures before that (W2 L5). If they can beat South Africa again, they will register their longest such winning streak since the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

  And Felipe Contepomi will be urging his side to maintain their high discipline level as they aim to overturn the odds.

  Argentina are the only team yet to receive a red or yellow card in the tournament and have conceded the fewest penalties (50) of any team in the campaign. In fact, they have not received a red or yellow card across their last 12 Test matches.

  Only a win by a bonus point, without South Africa picking up one of their own, will be enough to hand Argentina their first title, but they have scored 96 points in their last two outings, so they cannot be overlooked.

   

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  South Africa – Ruan Nortje

  Ruan Nortje has won 31 lineouts (including two steals) in the Rugby Championship – seven more than any other in the tournament.

  In addition, he has been the first to arrive at 63 of the Springboks' rucks, the second most of any player for a team in the campaign (Carlo Tizzano – 64 for Australia).

  Argentina – Mateo Carreras

  Mateo Carreras has been directly involved in six tries in his last six Test matches (five tries, one try assist), including two tries and a try assist in his last two Tests.

  He has scored a try in each of his two career appearances against South Africa, as well as a try assist in his most recent meeting against the Springboks.

• Contepomi hails 'beautiful' Pumas play after South Africa win

  Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi hailed Los Pumas for combining "beautiful" attacking play with resolute defensive work as they kept their Rugby Championship hopes alive with a dramatic victory over South Africa.

  Having won their first four games of the 2024 tournament, the Springboks knew a win in Santiago would have clinched their fifth Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship crown with a match to spare.

  They raced into an early lead with tries from Aphelele Fassi and Jesse Kriel, only for Mateo Carreras, Pablo Matera, Joel Sclavi and Tomas Albornoz to go over in response for the hosts.

  The visitors later re-established their lead in the second half, only for Albornoz's penalty to put Argentina 29-28 ahead, which remained the final score following a late penalty miss from South Africa's Manie Libbok.

  After the win, which preserved Argentina's hopes of overhauling the Springboks in matchweek six, Contepomi said: "The victory could have been a defeat in the last minute. 

  "Beyond the result, which is obviously welcome, the important thing is what we were able to do at times, which is to impose our game.

  "At times it came out and we shot ourselves in the foot, because we gave them an entrance into the game with penalties and unforced errors.

  "South Africa are predictable, but it's not easy. You know what they are going to do, but they do it so well that it is very difficult to stop. Every centimetre counts.

  "The attacking play is what is easiest to see, or the most beautiful, but I think a lot about our work on defence."

   

  Argentina go to Mbombela for their final game next Saturday, sitting five points behind the world champions in the standings.

  "We have many areas to correct," Contepomi said, looking ahead to that rematch. "There are small mistakes that allowed them into the game. 

  "It's about trying to minimise the ones you can control, the unforced errors. We are going to work on that to continue growing."

• Australia 28-31 New Zealand: All Blacks withstand Wallabies' impressive fightback

  New Zealand maintained their grip on the Bledisloe Cup with a 31-28 victory over Australia, but only after withstanding a spirited fightback from the Wallabies.

  The All Blacks scored four first-half tries at the Accor Stadium, as they bounced back from their narrow defeat by South Africa last time out.

  New Zealand came flying out of the blocks and were 21-0 to the good inside the opening 16 minutes, with Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clarke all crossing.

  Fraser McReight got Australia on the scoreboard, while Matt Faessler also went over, but Ardie Savea's converted try kept New Zealand in control at half-time at 28-14.

  Damian McKenzie kicked the visitors further in front early in the second half, but Scott Robertson's side were made to cling on towards the end.

  With Clarke and Anton Lienert-Brown sin-binned inside the final quarter of an hour, the Wallabies launched a late rally.

  Hunter Paisami reduced the deficit, and the hosts closed the gap to a single score when Tom Wright went over in the final minute, but it proved too little too late for Joe Schmidt's side.

  Data Debrief: Slipper out on his own as Savea surpasses McCaw

  It was an historic day for Slipper, with the veteran prop becoming Australia's most-capped player when he ran on for his 140th Test early in the second half.

  Ultimately, it proved a bittersweet day as he was forced off with a head injury just 21 minutes later, but he now stands alone on the Wallabies' all-time list.

  However, the match belonged to New Zealand, who retained the Bledisloe Cup as they have done every year since 2003.

  Savea created his own piece of history when he scored his 28th international try, surpassing the great Richie McCaw as the most by any All Blacks forward.