The Autumn Internationals take on an added hue of colour this year as the European teams, as well as Argentina, Samoa and Fiji, look to see how far they’ve traveled under the new law interpretations compared to their experienced SANZAR colleagues.
And it’s always good preparation for the Six Nations in the New Year, which looks likely to be one of the most hotly contested championships for some time.
By the look of this year’s Tri Nations, the signs are promising for the host nations to grab some psychological bragging points.
Only New Zealand look the real deal with their end of year tour seeking to match their clean sweep of their SH brethren. Australia and South Africa are the more likely targets for getting some points on the win register. Argentina, Samoa and Fiji are likely to be in the mix as well.
Who knows if France will have the wobbles or Wallabies on their minds when they meet up in the final game of the tour. First, they’ll be focusing on Fiji and Argentina.
No doubt the French will be planning some revenge for their disastrous tour to South America in the summer, and given they know most of the Argentine team from their club rugby each week, it should be a tasty and tempestuous affair. Argentina can run with the ball when they want to as they showed in their last match against France.
Felipe Contemponi will likely set the pace for this one, if he plays.
England play New Zealand first up. The Hong Kong dead rubber on the previous week against Australia will have little bearing on the outcome. A loss against the Wallabies will see the All Black unbeaten run record broken.
And the All Blacks seeking revenge as a result. Or a likely win for the men in black, and the All Blacks juggernaut rolls on – nearly unstoppable – into London. Neither result is a heartening prospect for MJ and the team.
Still Johnson has taken to making some more positive chest-beating noises of late, claiming that England’s players are up for the task in terms of fitness and stamina. The Premiership has certainly been enlivened this season with tries flowing in most matches. Whether they have the skill set to match is the challenge, he believes.
Of their four matches – Australia, Samoa and South Africa are the others – Johnson could be targeting this one for a result. With the All Blackss reported as saying they want a real match against England this time – a wind-up comment that should have every red-blooded English player on his toes.
Wales need a win – badly. Australia at the Millennium will be their first task. After their June hammerings by the All Blacks, some Welsh pride needs to be restored in the team and Warren Gatland has a long road to travel towards the World Cup next year to deliver some welsh wizardry. If WC pools work out as many predict, the Wallabies are who they’ll face in the quarter-finals. The Welsh clubs have been running hot and cold in the Magners to date, and there mightn’t be enough time to get them gelling for this first match.
Scotland wrecked one Grand Slam tour last season, and a Triple Crown. Andy Robinson will be looking to build on their successful Argentina tour by bloodying the noses of another Grand Slam hopeful. South Africa’s recent tours up north have been less than domineering given their IRB ranking and Tri Nations’ success last year. Peter de Villers is a coach under a lot of pressure, and with signs that a less than full Bok squad will once again tour up north, he shouldn’t be surprised if the Boks come unstuck again. It may not happen at Murrayfield, but the chances of them working through the Home Nations with four wins out of four are slight.
The Boks face Ireland at the revamped Lansdowne Road, and the Irish will be mindful of making the inaugural test for the new stadium a memorable one and keeping South Africa 0 from 4 at home.
Whilst Declan Kidney will no doubt want to name his strongest squad for the match, if he’s picking on form then the Leinster squad may have a lot of time on their hands or continue playing Magners club rugby in November. At the moment, only Luke Fitzgerald and Cian Healy (out of necessity) would make the team. Ulster (4th in league) and a resurgent Connacht (5th) would have better claims to complement the usual rump from Munster who lead the Celtic/Italian league unbeaten after first four matches.
On their current form, Munster should be able to put out a strong side for one of Australia’s midweek matches which promises to be a humdinger in Thomond Park.
Fiji and Samoa have set themselves up to play three test matches each. If both sides can get their full complement of players released from their clubs, these matches could have a lot of attractions. Wales are one of Fiji’s pool opponents next September, and both sides will be looking to lay down a marker when they meet in the only Friday night test match in round three. Wales will already have played another pool opponent in South Africa the previous week. Victories here would put a fair wind in their sails for the Six Nations in February.
Samoa no doubt will be targeting the Irish front row when they meet up. Whether Ireland, without long-term injured Paul O’Connell and Leo Cullen, will be able to stand up remains a critical question for their success in the 6N and the World Cup. They’ll arrive battered and bruised from their opening encounter with the Boks.
Italy will be looking to take their measure of World Cup pool opponent, Australia, in the third round. Presumably, their team will be more full of Treviso players rather than Aironi given their respective performances in the Magners League. Treviso have already pulled off two surprising but well earned victories, including hapless Leinster. Showing a willingness to run with the ball might rescue this match from being a mismatch between grunting forwards and a fleet-footed Wallaby backline who could run riot.
All in all, with 22 ‘friendly’ tests involving the top 12 teams in the world, the November Internationals promise a feast of rugby – and some surprises – before they all meet up again in New Zealand in 12 months time.
November Schedule:
Sat, 6 Nov Wales v Australia
Sat, 6 Nov Ireland v South Africa
Sun, 7 Nov England v New Zealand
Sat, 13 Nov Wales v South Africa
Sat, 13 Nov Scotland v New Zealand
Sat, 13 Nov Ireland v Samoa
Sat, 13 Nov Italy v Argentina
Sat, 13 Nov France v Fiji
Sun, 14 Nov England v Australia
Tue, 16 Nov Munster v Australia
Fri, 19 Nov Wales v Fiji
Sat, 20 Nov Italy v Australia
Sat, 20 Nov Ireland v New Zealand
Sat, 20 Nov Scotland v South Africa
Sat, 20 Nov France v Argentina
Sun, 21 Nov England v Samoa
Sat, 27 Nov France v Australia
Sat, 27 Nov Italy v Fiji
Sat, 27 Nov Scotland v Samoa
Sat, 27 Nov Wales v New Zealand
Sat, 27 Nov Ireland v Argentina
Sun, 28 Nov England v South Africa
Hammer
Guest
Wallabies will win all their games and they will beat the all blacks in hong kong hopefully
Grandpabhaile
Guest
The point is that of the SH teams, Aus and SA's away form is not as consistent, A Ruka. South Africa are tied 3-3 against Ireland in the last ten years - home and away. England and Australia are at 8-7 in England's favour - home and away France and SA are 6-3 in France's favour - home and away Ireland and Australia are 3-6 in Oz favour although Ireland have won 2 and drawn 1 in their last three home games, That's three NH teams and three SH teams. England, Ireland and France are the teams that have played June tests more than the other 6 Nations teams in the last ten years. Wales have started to again under Gatland. It would be more accurate to say that SANZAR teams are consistent at beating NH teams in the June tests. NZ have a much better record than anyone, and have rarely lost - home or away. If you want to compare Sh v NH properly, it would be more balanced to compare 6 NH teams against 6 SH teams since they're all playing in Autumn Internationals. Thus bring Fiji, Samoa and Argentina into the picture, rather than cherrypicking the results of the top 3 teams.
Ben S
Roar Guru
'Are you suggesting that Australia has good strength in depth? I was specifically referring to Daley, Saa Faingaa, Edmonds, Ma’afu, Mumm, Brown & Horne, and then you have completely untried players like Higginbotham, Hodgson, Slipper and Simmons. If Australia had good strength in depth then the scrum would not have been butchered when Robinson was not there, and the attack would not have been completely one-dimensional when Cooper was not there.' This is a copy and paste job from ... ooohhh... 30 centimetres upward, johnno.
Ben S
Roar Guru
I did state that I was listing the top 4 sides, A.Ruka, and the matches listed took place in both hemispheres. If I list Wales then I might as well list Argentina, and Argentina has an atrocious record against every NH side bar France, which would only further undermine your initial assertion. It's not correct to suggest the other sides struggle, 'besides England', as the numbers prove.
A.Ruka
Roar Rookie
Not as consistent as the All Blacks true, but besides England I think the SH teams are fairly consistent at beating the NH teams.
A.Ruka
Roar Rookie
Just out of curiousity, are these stats games played in the NH or both? To me personally besidees England the rest of these sides seem to struggle no? And where is Wales in this comparison? They are a part of the NH aren't they?
johnno42
Guest
no pothale i keep the beers on a table to the left and lower down than the keyboard...one gem i picked up at the college of hard knocks. the "yeah nahh" is a quote from some of our exhalted sporting heros (cracks me up every time i hear it).
Derm
Roar Guru
“Author: Seiran Comment: Shallow strength in depth? Do tell, where is the shallow strength in depth?” yeah nahhh… i wonder too – and they blunder on regardless" Have you been drinking at the keyboard again, johnno?
johnno42
Guest
"Author: Seiran Comment: Shallow strength in depth? Do tell, where is the shallow strength in depth?" yeah nahhh... i wonder too - and they blunder on regardless
Colin N
Guest
Up front, just generally. 9, 10 and 13 also. Back three's well covered though.
Derm
Roar Guru
I actually don't understand the use of the phrase "struggle against" in this context. Australia struggle against New Zealand, don't they? As do SA. A ten game losing streak for Aus would seem to indicate that. And even if they win in Hong Kong, it would still be true per se. Home and Away, the only consistent winning team is New Zealand. Australia and South Africa are not as consistent away from home. And there have been very few hammerings handed out by them in recent times - the gap is not that great.
Ben S
Roar Guru
Are you suggesting that Australia has good strength in depth? I was specifically referring to Daley, Saa Faingaa, Edmonds, Ma'afu, Mumm, Brown & Horne, and then you have completely untried players like Higginbotham, Hodgson, Slipper and Simmons. If Australia had good strength in depth then the scrum would not have been butchered when Robinson was not there, and the attack would not have been completely one-dimensional when Cooper was not there.
Seiran
Guest
Shallow strength in depth? Do tell, where is the shallow strength in depth?
Ben S
Roar Guru
'All of the NH teams struggle against their SH counterparts.' That's not actually true, A.Ruka.Since 2000 this is the breakdown between the 'top' 4 teams. Btw, I am purposefully ignoring New Zealand for obvious reasons: France & Australia - 11 games - France 3:8 Australia France & SA - 9 games - France 6:3 SA Ireland & Australia - 9 games - Ireland 2:6 Australia (1 draw) Ireland & SA - 6 games - Ireland 3:3 SA England & Australia - 15 games - England 8:7 Australia England & SA - 14 games - England 7:7 SA Aside from France v Australia & Ireland v Australia the match-ups have been comparatively even, and it is worth remembering that the percentages have been weighted with the pointless two Test summer series that we've seen through the past decade.
Intotouch
Guest
Thank you Pothale! Yes, i loved that Munster game! Hopefully the team will still be strong enough to give Australia a challenge. If the midweek games are voluntary on the unions part that's great. The reciprocal old style visits sound . . . i don't know, i'm trying to think of the right word here. Grim? Disastrous/? Embarrassing?The eight remaining fit rugby players from the Ireland squad at the end of the season join some promising youngsters for a wonderful/humiliating tour of lovely New Zealand where the NZ public turn up to laugh, then yawn, get bored, then don't go to the last game but show up to throw garbage at what's left of the team at the airport. Then they'll never be asked back again. Fun! That's the word i was trying to think of. Yes. fun!
Colin N
Guest
"NZ played Munster two years ago in a pre-agreed memorial match – I don’t know what their level of commitment is to playing club sides, though Steve Tew is on record as saying that they want to bring back annual tests to around the 12/12 mark each year after the 4N begins." That Munster haka was one my favourite moments I have ever seen since I started watching rugby union. The game was good too!
Derm
Roar Guru
Intotouch The IRB hasn't issued a directive per se around club games, but the SANZAR unions have agreed with the NH unions about the June test window whereby three test series against one of Sanzar will become the norm. Thus Ireland for example, is set to play a 3-test series against New Zealand in June 2012 (cue hysterical laughter) and possibly some midweek games. In the November tests, club sides have started to appear on the touring menu again after a long absence. South Africa played three club sides on their last northern tour - they lost all three unfortunately. Australia played two or three last year. SA have got the Baa-Baas as a fifth test on top of their Grand Slam attempt so maybe they think that's enough. NZ played Munster two years ago in a pre-agreed memorial match - I don't know what their level of commitment is to playing club sides, though Steve Tew is on record as saying that they want to bring back annual tests to around the 12/12 mark each year after the 4N begins.
Intotouch
Guest
I know that everyone is going to think that i'm an idiot for asking but i still don't get the situation with the mid week games. So i'll be more specific in my questions and would really appreciate it if someone could explain this to me. Please excuse me for asking. Is this something that the IRB wanted brought back and if so why is South Africa not playing any club sides? Are the touring sides happy to include them in the itinerary or not? Who decides what clubs to play what country or how many? Do the unions of both countries have to agree on this or is this just between the club and the touring union? Both Leicester and Munster lose a ton of players to their respective national sides so i'm wondering why those particular clubs have been chose rather than say Ulster and Saracens who would have a stronger team at this time of the year. Ulster look to lose only Wallace and Best (Ferris is injured) and have cover for both these positions. Ulster could also do with a game like this to help boost the popularity of the side whereas Munster has to turn fans away from half their games. So why is Australia playing a weak Munster instead of a strong Ulster?
Holty
Guest
Go Gecko, Of course we "can" win all six..... This may not happen, but yes we must go in optimistic!!!
A.Ruka
Roar Rookie
Just my opinion, but I think England will struggle against the Boks. The only guarantee in my eyes is Samoa. All of the NH teams struggle against their SH counterparts. Hope I don't breed hostilities!!