New Zealand vs Uruguay Predictions - All Blacks to be challenged by Uruguay

These two sides have not met recently.

New Zealand look set to claim second spot in Pool A of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. That is unless Italy produce an upset against France in which case the All Blacks can top the pool.

The All Blacks lost their World Cup opener to France but have been pretty imperious since. They swiped aside Namibia in a 71-0 win before thrashing Italy 96-17 last time out.

That last result could go down as the shock of the tournament. Most were expecting a victory for New Zealand but there was talk of a possible upset result. But to win by that margin was a massive statement to not write the three-time champions off just yet.

With a two-week break a week and a half break to the quarter-finals, the All Blacks won’t pick a completely second-string outfit. They will still need some game time for key players.

Uruguay have been one of the surprises of the tournament thus far. They have produced excellent performances and were very close to a major upset on a couple of occasions.

In their first game, Uruguay pushed France to the brink, only for the hosts to pull away late on and win 27-13. The South Americans then held a decent half time lead against Italy, but again fell away in the second half.

Last time out Uruguay perhaps produced their worst performance, beating Namibia 36-26. However, they were well behind at half time before taking advantage of a couple cards to Namibia to win.

Uruguay will want to go out on a high. No one is giving them a chance but they will fight at every opportunity with a full-strength side.