There is no doubt that this has been one of the most entertaining and competitive Rugby Championship tournaments of all time, with all teams having won two games and lost two after four rounds.
It’s been a great advert for the quality of southern hemisphere rugby, particularly considering the vast improvements made by the Wallabies and Argentina.
The Springboks have blown hot and cold over the first rounds, before ultimately lighting up the Sky Stadium this past weekend in one of their greatest performances.
New Zealand have been typically dangerous at times, but certain flaws have also been clear to see in defeats to the Pumas and South Africa.
The competitive nature of the tournament makes it an extremely challenging job to try and pick a team of the tournament so far when looking at player from all four teams.
Ultimately we have gone with seven Springboks, predominantly up front, while only three All Blacks players actually crack the nod.
There are three from Australia, and two from Argentina, in our ‘mixed’ selection from the first rounds of play.
OUR TEAM OF THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FROM THE FIRST FOUR ROUNDS
15 Will Jordan (New Zealand), 14 Max Jorgensen (Australia), 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (Australia), 12 Andre Esterhuizen (South Africa), 11 Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa), 10 Santiago Carreras (Argentina), 9 Grant Williams (South Africa), 8 Harry Wilson (Australia), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa), 6 Ardie Savea (New Zealand), 5 Ruan Nortje (South Africa), 4 Scott Barrett (New Zealand), 3 Wilco Louw (South Africa), 2 Julián Montoya (Argentina), 1 Ox Nche (South Africa).
All to play for
Only two points separate all four teams on the log. The Wallabies lead the standings on 11 points, followed by the second-placed Springboks and third-placed All Blacks (both on 10 pts), and Argentina (9 pts). Australia and New Zealand play each other home and away on the same dates.
For the Springboks specifically, with two matches remaining in the Rugby Championship against the Pumas – in Durban on Saturday 27 September and at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in London on 4 October – the competition is still wide open.
