CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The Rugby World Cup is only two months away, and while European teams are in training camps getting ready, the world champion, New Zealand, is getting set to defend another crown: the Rugby Championship.
Welsh players are being put through their paces in the Swiss Alps, and England has arrived in Denver for its World Cup preparations. But on Friday night, New Zealand defeated Argentina, 39-18, in chilly Christchurch, and Australia will host South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday to open the Rugby Championship, an annual Southern Hemisphere tournament formerly known as the Tri-Nations.