July 4, 2026 — 9:30amIn the spirit of the Nations Championship format, it is time to choose a camp.North or south? Or, more accurately, the Rugby Championship versus the Six Nations, as for the purposes of the Rugby Championship, Japan have somehow jumped the equatorial line into the southern hemisphere.Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt address his squad ahead of Saturday’s Test against Ireland in Sydney.Getty ImagesIt will be a clean sweep for South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina (SANZAAR) in round one of the Nations Championship, followed by another in the World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia.No pressure Wallabies or Junior Wallabies, but by the middle of next week SANZAAR nations could be 4-0 up in the Nations and all through to the semifinals of the juniors.Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies team to face Ireland has rewarded form in most selections, and the bench looks strong.Chris Whitaker’s Junior Wallabies have been impressive and the French under-20s, whom they will play in the semi-finals next week, don’t look as strong as previous iterations.Wallabies talk in a huddle during a training session at North Sydney Oval.Getty ImagesAs for Ireland, their under-20s were put to the sword 62-40 by our Argentinian comrades on Thursday night, and Andy Farrell’s senior side is at the end of a long season without key individuals.The presence of Tadhg Beirne and Nick Timoney on Ireland’s bench should give the Wallabies a case of the cold sweats, especially with no Carlo Tizzano to counter them at the breakdown. But the injury-enforced absence of No. 10 Jack Crowley is a big one after the Munster playmaker reclaimed the jersey ahead of Sam Prendergast during the Six Nations.Farrell has also cleverly compensated for the Japan-bound James Lowe in the No. 11 jersey by picking Jamie Osborne, who has a similarly big left boot, while Hugo Keenan is one of the best players in the world to watch, in any position.Yet, new Wallabies No. 9 Ryan Lonergan was arguably the best Australian player in Super Rugby this year and the fit and in-form No. 10 options of Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson are a big upgrade from the corresponding period last year, when Schmidt lost Noah Lolesio in the Fiji Test in Newcastle and was forced to turn to a not-yet-ready Tom Lynagh.Incoming Wallabies half Ryan Lonergan had a great Super Rugby season.Getty ImagesIncidentally, the Wallabies owe Ireland captain Dan Sheehan one for his horrible clean out on Lynagh during the British and Irish Lions series last year. Hopefully, that incident has been stored on the memory sticks of some Wallabies.Turning to the other games, the All Blacks take on Brumby/Waratah-turned-Frenchman Tom Staniforth in Christchurch, where France’s depth will go under the microscope as much as new All Blacks No. 10 Ruben Love.We keep hearing how many good players the French have, so they should cope without their Toulouse players unless their depth has been over-hyped.They certainly have developed an appetite for Australian players to plug the holes in their development systems. So, it will be an All Blacks win in the south island, possibly by 13 plus.In Johannesburg, the locals haven’t bothered to turn up for the visit of England, saving their money for the All Blacks later in the year.With plenty of empty seats predicted at Ellis Park, the Springboks should thump the English, who are without their warrior-captain Maro Itoje and have a couple of key injuries in the front row. Good luck with that against the Springboks’ mighty scrum.Jetting over to Cordoba in Argentina, the Scots will fancy themselves to fly the Six Nations flag against the Pumas. However, they are missing their brilliant No. 10 Finn Russell, while Argentina will be run by the outstanding Tomas Albornoz and the dangerous Mateo Carreras and Rodrigo Isgro on the wings.If they get a roll-on in front of their passionate home fans, they will be hard to stop.In Cardiff, where Fiji are playing their “home” game against Wales, the Fijians have been installed as warm favourites - and deservedly so. Their backline is outrageous, and the crisis-torn Welsh will do well to contain the likes of fullback Salesi Rayasi.The “south” might even go 6-0 as Japan host Italy in Tokyo. Eddie Jones has named a university player at No. 10, Ryunosuke Ito, but Japan’s advantage might be in the grunt provided by Warner Dearns, Harry Hockings and Ben Gunter.The SANZAAR sweep will probably rest on the Wallabies getting the job done in Sydney. Australia has a poor recent record against Ireland and has no right to go into the Test with high expectations.But with a home Rugby World Cup not too far away, it is time Australian rugby started to throw some punches.Paul Cully is a rugby columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners