2014 Rugby Championship

Format and standings

The format for the 2014 tournament was the same as that for the 2012 and 2013 editions. Each side played the other once at home, and once away; giving a total of six matches each, and twelve in total. A win earns a team four points, a draw two points, and a loss no points. A bonus point can be earned one of two ways: by scoring four tries or more in a match, or by losing within seven points. The competition winner is the side with the most points at the end of the tournament, however if two sides finish equal on points the side with the most wins is placed higher.

Summary

The first match of the championship was between New Zealand (also known as the All Blacks) and Australia (the Wallabies) in Sydney, Australia. The fixture doubled as a Bledisloe Cup match, and ended as a 12–12 draw. The All Blacks started stronger, and led 9–3 at half time, but Australia were much better in the second half. New Zealand had two players temporarily sent-off after being awarded yellow cards, but Australia were unable to capitalize on that advantage during their late dominance. All points were scored from penalties – four from each side. The draw ended a 17-match winning streak by the All Blacks. The following week both side met in their second Bledisloe Cup match of the Championship (the third is played following the tournament), but this time at Eden Park in New Zealand. The match was comfortably won by New Zealand 51–20, whose scored six tries to Australia's two. The All Blacks were regarded as the more physical of the two teams, and scored two tries from mauls. The win meant that New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup (Australia needed to win the three-match series to regain the cup).

The second match of the tournament was between South Africa (the Springboks) and Argentina (the Pumas) and played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. South Africa won 13–6 and scored the only try of the match, which was played in wet and raining conditions. The following week the two teams met again, this time at Estadio Padre Ernesto Martearena in Salta, Argentina. The Springboks won again, but were considered lucky to get the 31–33 victory. At one stage Argentina were winning by 12 points, and were leading with five minutes remaining, but Springbok Morné Steyn kicked a penalty in the 76th minute to give South Africa the lead and the win.

In weeks three and four, Argentina and South Africa both travelled to Australasia for two away matches. Argentina played the All Blacks in Napier where they lost 28–9, before facing Australia on the Gold Coast where they lost 32–25. The Pumas loss to the All Blacks was played in wet conditions, with New Zealand scoring four tries, and Argentina three penalties. Argentina's loss to Australia was much closer than their defeat in New Zealand. Despite leading by 16 points after 60 minutes, Australia conceded twelve points in the final quarter. Argentina trailed by seven points, the value of a converted try, when they had a scrum deep within Wallabies' territory, but Australia were awarded a free-kick after the Pumas' scrum-half fed the ball too early and the game ended. In the third week the Springboks played Australia in Perth, where the Wallabies won 24–23. The Wallbies had trailed 23–14, but scored ten unanswered points after Springbok wing Bryan Habana, who was playing in his 100th test match, was yellow carded for a high tackle. The following week South Africa played the All Blacks in Wellington. The match was won 14–10 by New Zealand, but only after they resisted repeated South African attacks on their try-line late in the game. The win was the 36th consecutive victory for the All Blacks in New Zealand – a record stretching back to 2009.

The last two weekends of matches were played in South Africa and Argentina. First up the Wallabies faced the Springboks in Cape Town, where South Africa won 28–10. The victory came after a ten-minute period at the end of the match where the Springboks scored three-tries. The same weekend Argentina faced the All Blacks in La Plata. For the New Zealanders the match was overshadowed by the omission of Aaron Cruden, who had missed the flight to Argentina, and was subsequently dropped from the squad for the last two weeks of the Championship. The All Blacks won 34–13, and with the bonus-point win took an unassailable lead in the Championship – giving them their third Rugby Championship, and 13th overall since the inception of the Tri-Nations Championship in 1996.

Despite New Zealand having secured the Championship title a week earlier, the final week of matches proved historic. The first match was the Springboks hosting the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. All Blacks' captain Richie McCaw played his 134th match for the side, surpassing the national record held by Colin Meads. However the New Zealanders 22-match unbeaten run (going back to December 2012) was ended after a 55 metres (180 ft) penalty kicked by South African Patrick Lambie in the 78th minute gave his side a 27–25 win. The last match of the tournament was between Argentina and Australia at Mendoza. The test was won 21–17 by the Pumas – their first win in the Rugby Championship since joining the competition in 2012. Australia led 14–0 within the first 15 minutes after scoring two early tries, however Argentina slowly accumulated points to overhaul their opponents.

Sponsorship

The 2014 Rugby Championship was also known, for sponsorship reasons, as The Castle Lager Rugby Championship in South Africa, The Investec Rugby Championship in New Zealand, The Castrol Edge Rugby Championship in Australia and The Personal Rugby Championship in Argentina.

Week 1

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Week 2

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Week 4

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Week 5

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Week 6

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Warm-up matches

On 25 July and 2 August, Argentina played two uncapped matches against French Top 14 side Grenoble in preparation for the tournament. This was the third year in which Argentina had played two warm-up matches pre Rugby Championship; New South Wales Waratahs Barbarians in 2013 and Stade Français in 2012.

Summary

Note: Ages, caps and domestic side are of 16 August 2014 – the starting date of the tournament.

Argentina

Argentina 30-man squad for the Championship was announced on 23 June. In addition to the 30-man squad, a further 9 players has been invited to train with the squad and will act as stand-by players should a call up be necessary. Those players are: Hookers Julián Montoya (Newman) and Santiago Iglesias (Uni. Tucumán), Lock Guido Petti Pagadizábal (San Isidro), Number 8 Benjamín Macome, Scrum-half Felipe Ezcurra (Hindú), Fly-half Patricio Fernández (Jockey Club), Centres Matías Moroni (CUBA) and Javier Rojas (Uni. Tucumán) and Winger Ramiro Moyano (Lince R.C.)

On 15 July, Marcos Ayerza was added to the squad to provide further options in the front row.

On 10 September, Benjamín Macome was promoted to the main squad as cover for Tomás Lavanini, who was unable to play in the fourth round.

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.