England, Ireland, and Wales will face off against Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand respectively in a 3 match series over the next 3 weeks. This will be the first time the southern giants make an appearance on the international stage since dominating the Rugby World Cup eight months ago.
England vs Australia
England will play the Wallabies in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney on the 11th, 18th, and 25th of June and will be led by Grandslam winning captain Dylan Hartley whilst the Wallabies will be skippered by World Cup captain Stephen Moore.
England team: 1. Mako Vunipola, 2. Dylan Hartley, 3. Dan Cole, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. George Kruis, 6. Chris Robshaw, 7. James Haskell, 8. Billy Vunipola, 9. Ben Youngs, 10. Owen Farrell, 11. Marland Yarde 12. Luther Burrell, 13. Jonathan Joseph, 14. Anthony Watson, 15. Mike Brown; Replacements: 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Matt Mullan, 18. Paul Hill, 19. Joe Launchbury, 20. Courtney Lawes, 21. Danny Care, 22. George Ford, 23. Jack Nowell.
Eddie Jones has selected a physical match day 23 for the first test, indicating the English are likely to play a tight game utilizing their powerful forwards to carry in midfield whilst trying to create space for the likes of Anthony Watson and Mike Brown. Jones has opted for the in-form Owen Farrell at 10 ahead of George Ford.
Australia team: 1. Scott Sio – 2. Stephen Moore (c), 3. Greg Holmes, 4. Rory Arnold, 5. Rob Simmons, 6. Scott Fardy, 7. Michael Hooper(vc), 8. David Pocock, 9. Nick Phipps, 10. Bernard Foley, 11. Rob Horne, 12. Samu Kerevi 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Dane Haylett-Petty, 15. Israel Folau; Replacements 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17. James Slipper, 18. Sekope Kepu, 19. James Horwill, 20. Dean Mumm, 21. Sean McMahon, 22. Nick Frisby, 23. Christian Leali’ifano.
Wallaby Coach Michael Cheilka has picked 4 debutants in his match day 23 in Rory Arnold, Samu Kerevi, Dane Haylett-Petty and Nick Frisby. The Wallabies biggest strength will be their work rate around the breakdown. Their back row combination was the most effective through the World Cup with Fardy, Hooper, and Pocock all forcing turnovers of the Wallabies. The Wallabies are expected to play a more open brand of rugby with the likes of Folau and Kurindrani exploiting any space out wide.
Series Prediction- Australia 2-1
Ireland vs South Africa
South Africa will front up in Cape Town on the 11th, Johannesburg on the 18th, and Port Elizabeth on the 25th. Both teams will be led by their hookers, Adriaan Stauss for the Springboks and Rory Best for the Irish.
South Africa team: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (captain), 1 Tendai Mtawarira. Replacements: 16. Bongi Mbonambi, 17. Trevor Nyakane, 18. Julian Redelinghuys, 19. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20. Warren Whiteley, 21. Rudy Paige, 22. Elton Jantjies, 23. Jesse Kriel
Allister Coetzee has taken over the reigns as the coach for the Bokke and has opted for a young side. The South Africans are missing numerous senior players due to injuries and retirement. However, they will stick to their tried and tested structure with a lot of physicality up front. Their massive forwards will look to give them the go-forward ball with hard carries while the likes of le Roux and Pietersen will look to create space out wide.
Ireland team: 15. Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13. Robbie Henshaw, 12. Luke Marshall, 11. Keith Earls, 10. Paddy Jackson, 9. Conor Murray, 8. Jamie Heaslip, 7. Jordi Murphy, 6. CJ Stander, 5. Devin Toner, 4. Iain Henderson, 3. Mike Ross, 2. Rory Best (captain), 1. Jack McGrath. Substitutes: 16. Sean Cronin, 17. Finlay Bealham, 18. Tadhg Furlong, 19. Ultan Dillane, 20. Rhys Ruddock 21. Kieran Marmion, 22. Ian Madigan, 23. Craig Gilroy.
Joe Schmidt also fields a young squad with the likes of Johnny Sexton, Sean O’Brien, and Rob Kearney missing out. The Irish will rely a lot on their 3rd row with Murphy, Stander, and Heaslip looking to give them go forward ball. They will also look to Conor Murray to control the backline as the most experienced player among the backs.
Series Prediction- South Africa 3-0
New Zealand vs Wales
The Welsh will face the world champions in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin over the next three Saturdays with hopes of challenging a relatively new look All Blacks team. The All Blacks are led by Kieran Read whilst Sam Warburton will lead the Welsh.
New Zealand team: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea; 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith; 1 Joe Moody, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Owen Franks; 4 Luke Romano, 5 Brodie Retallick; 6 Jerome Kaino, 7 Sam Cane, 8 Kieran Read (c). Replacements: 16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Seta Tamanivalu.
The All Blacks will stick to their fast paced structure with a lot of interplay between the forwards and backs. The Kiwis also field some youngsters with Ryan Crotty and Fekitoa combining in the centers and Naholo returning to the wing. Their defensive structure will be impenetrable whilst the likes of Barrett and Ardie Savea will come off the bench to add impact late in the game.
Wales Team: 15. Liam Williams, 14. George North, 13. Jonathan Davies, 12. Jamie Roberts, 11. Hallam Amos, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Rhys Webb, 1. Gethin Jenkins, 2. Ken Owens, 3. Samson Lee, 4. Bradley Davies, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 6. Ross Moriarty, 7. Sam Warburton(c), 8. Taulupe Faletau. Replacements: Scott Baldwin, Rob Evans, Tomas Francis, Jake Ball, Ellis Jenkins, Gareth Davies, Gareth Anscombe, Scott Williams.
Wales field a good blend of experience and youth and will be very close to a full strength side. Their tight five will be rock solid in the set-pieces whilst the back row will be effective around the breakdown. Their center pairing is one of the most tried and tested in the world and the battle between George North and Julian Savea on the wing is absolutely mouth watering.
Series prediction- All Blacks 3-0.
