Is New Zealand v Argentina on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Rugby Championship fixture

New Zealand look to kickstart their Rugby Championship campaign in Auckland as they aim to make amends for last week’s defeat to Argentina.

The All Blacks fell to a surprising 38-30 home defeat in Wellington last week, with an impressive performance from the South American side giving them just their third ever win over the hosts.

With the Springboks winning 33-7 in Brisbane last week, New Zealand already face an uphill task as they hunt their fifth Rugby Championship crown in a row.

Nevertheless, a comeback win over the Pumas would be a good way to get their campaign back on track, while Argentina will look to prove their tournament credentials as they look for unprecedented back-to-back wins in New Zealand.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Rugby Championship clash:

When is it?

New Zealand v Argentina kicks off at am 8.05am BST on Saturday, 17 August, and takes place at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.

How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action, with coverage starting at 8am BST. Subscribers can also stream the match via Sky Go, or purchase a pass for NOW TV. If you’re not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Team news

Scott Robertson makes four alterations to his starting All Blacks side, including three in his outside backs, where Rieko Ioane, Will Jordan and Caleb Clarke all start. Giant prop Tamaiti Williams replaces the injured Ethan de Groot and former skipper Sam Cane returns to the bench as he prepares to bow out from international rugby later this year.

Argentina welcome back captain Julian Montoya from his rib injury, squeezing Ignacio Ruiz out of the starting side and Agustin Creevy, last week’s hero, out of the squad entirely. Joaquin Oviedo is promoted from the bench in a back five reshuffle that sees Juan Martin Gonzalez shift to the openside and Marcos Kremer into the second row, while Lucio Sordoni starts at tighthead prop.

Confirmed line-ups

New Zealand XV: 1 Tamaiti Williams, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Tyrel Lomax; 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Sam Darry; 6 Ethan Blackadder, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 8 Ardie Savea (captain); 9 TJ Perenara, 10 Damian McKenzie; 11 Caleb Clarke, 12 Jordie Barrett, 13 Rieko Ioane, 14 Will Jordan; 15 Beauden Barrett.

Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Sam Cane; 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele’a.

Argentina XV: 1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 3 Lucio Sordoni; 4 Marcos Kremer, 5 Pedro Rubiolo; 6 Pablo Matera, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 8 Joaquin Oviedo; 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 10 Santiago Carreras; 11 Mateo Carreras, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 13 Lucio Cinti, 14 Matias Moroni; 15 Juan Cruz Mallia.

Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Tomas Lavanini; 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Bautista Delguy.

Odds

New Zealand 1/8

Draw 33/1

Argentina 5/1

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Prediction

Lightning rarely strikes twice when it comes to All Blacks’ losses, especially not within the same week. New Zealand should have learned their lesson last time out, so they should bounce back against what will no doubt be a spirited Argentina side. New Zealand to win.

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