Each 2015 Rugby Championship Team's Biggest Strength

The Rugby Championship gets under way next weekend.

The tournament takes second billing this year to the Rugby World Cup, but it is a good chance for sides to hone their game plans and assess weaknesses in others before they all arrive in England.

Each coach will want to turn up at the World Cup clear on how his team will play in order to make the most of their biggest assets.

Tearing up the blueprint and starting again now would lead any of them down a path to disaster, so it's a good time to look at each nation's major strength for a clue as to how they will go about contesting the title won last year by the All Blacks.

Argentina: Forward Unit

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The Pumas’ scrum has long been the cornerstone of their most successful sides, and it will prove to be the case again in this tournament.

Spearheaded by the effervescent Agustin Creevy and anchored by the vastly experienced Marcos Ayerza, their front row is competitive against anyone.

And in the back row they boast truly world-class talent in Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon.

With fly-half Nicolas Sanchez a year older and wiser, and the sprightly Tomas Cubelli joining him to form a competent half-back partnership, if the Pumas pack can provide them with a platform to play off, Argentina can start to broaden the horizons of their game plan.

Australia: A Dazzling Back Line

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How does this sound for a back line? Quade Cooper, Matt Giteau, Tevita Kuridrani, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Adam Ashley Cooper and Israel Folau.

Other options include Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale.

That ensemble should be causing English and Welsh supporters restless nights if they find their teams facing it come the Rugby World Cup pool stage.

Australia coach Michael Cheika has a pleasing mix of youth and experience, with Waratah Naiyaravoro the only uncapped player as yet.

A 10/12 axis of Cooper and Giteau oozes quality, with the power of Kuridrani outside them providing perfect balance between brains and brawn.

Adam Ashley-Cooper has been Mr. Consistent for years in the green and gold and Israel Folau provides the X-factor.

And they are now being honed by Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham, who piloted the Wallaby back line to 1999 World Cup success and the 2003 final.

Former full-back Matt Burke wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald:

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Attack from starter plays and their try-scoring ability will hopefully get an injection with Stephen Larkham coming on board. Traditionally the Brumbies have been innovative and courageous in moving the ball. Stress the opposition by playing wide and short with decoy runners. We haven't seen deception for some time and perhaps Larkham's arrival may bear fruit in this area.

Individual game breakers are part of any great team. They turn nothing into something. Israel Folau fits that category. So many times this season he beats the first defender and usually the second to create opportunity for other players.

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If this combination clicks, Australia will cause anyone problems. They just need their often-fragile pack to hold up their end of the bargain.

New Zealand: Wealth of Playmakers

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The All Blacks pack can go head-to-head with any unit, and their wingers are deadly.

But the way New Zealand have begun to operate in the last couple of seasons has increased the number of shot-callers on the field.

This has been done by using the full-back, usually Ben Smith, as a second playmaker.

Dan Carter looks to be cruising back into top gear in time for the Championship, but the burden on the man in the No. 10 jersey to spark everything they do is no longer a singular duty.

Smith’s ability to sum up a situation and decide how to attack means he comes into the line for his franchise, the Highlanders, on a regular basis to orchestrate a move.

Transferred into All Black colours, this provides New Zealand with an added strength, and one that opposition defences are going to have to work out quickly.

Former New Zealand scrum-half Justin Marshall spotted this earlier in the Highlanders’ title-winning Super Rugby season, describing Smith in the New Zealand Herald as "Brilliant at injecting himself at first receiver in midfield to three-quarter field positions." He added:

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He can spot a weakness in the defensive line and exploit it. When he does this he generally causes havoc. From here, his physical and mental attributes come to the fore.

Physically he is good on his feet and can beat players clean. If he is stopped, for a guy that doesn't look that big, he is still very strong in the tackle and can either offload or set up phase play with quick ball.

Mentally, Smith's best attribute is decisiveness. He has great body language and makes quick, decisive decisions as to whether he runs, kicks or passes.

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Allied to this is the invention of whoever will were the No. 13 jersey. Conrad Smith’s qualities as a space-creator and master distributor are well known.

But Steve Hansen also has the luxury of calling on Malakai Fekitoa to play in that outside-centre channel. His swiveling hips and added dexterity are a real handful for defenders who can freeze to the spot in trying to second guess his next move.

This abundance of creativity in the New Zealand back line is truly their best weapon, and one no other team can boast.

South Africa: The Pack

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The Springboks are enduring an injury nightmare at present.

But however many bodies are being nursed back to health, you can be sure that a forward pack with the Springbok emblem on its chest will be nothing less than ultra-competitive.

At hooker, the competition between Bismarck du Plessis and Adriaan Strauss has propelled both men into the top five hookers in world rugby.

In the second row, Victor Matfield’s advancing years have not dulled his ability to rule the lineout with an iron fist, and Eben Etzebeth’s energy and muscle are a major asset.

The back row has its injury concerns, but a side that can lose Duane Vermeulen, Willem Alberts and the recovering Schalk Burger, and still field Francois Louw and Marcell Coetzee, has depth any side would envy.

In South Africa’s win over a World XV on Saturday, Supersport’s Brendan Nel wrote:

"Marcel Coetzee stood out like a colossus in the loose, making devastating tackles when needed and terrorising the opposition breakdown at will. In fact, it was hard not to see Coetzee at almost every ruck, and his work rate astounded on a night where he needed to be seen."

South Africa's forward unit remains the key to their success.