The Thursday Two-up: A week (or two) to wrap up 2022

The spring tour, the November internationals, the autumn nations series is well on the downhill run now, and as it runs down we edge closer to putting a pin in the 2022 rugby season.

For some teams, the end can’t come quickly enough, and in fact it’s is still another week away. For others, they’d quite like to extend their season for another few weeks yet and make the most of the momentum they’ve quickly built this month. Their coach would definitely like that, their clubs maybe not so much.

But what it does all mean is that teams need to finish the series well, whenever that final game is.

And that will certainly be harder for some teams than others.

Question 1: Some teams have just one Test match left in 2022, others have two. But what does your team need to do well in the remaining games to finish the rugby year off well?

Digger

For New Zealand, I would really like to see a repeat of the Welsh performance, particularly patience with ball in hand and sound decision-making at the breakdown.

Discipline will also be key, the All Blacks do not want to give away like last weekend and allow their opposition easy territory and attacking opportunities they may not be able to cope with this weekend.

As much as the All Blacks would likely be looking at this England match as their pivotal game of this tour, I suspect the English will also value this match just as highly.

NZ will need to be ready for what I suspect will be an onslaught up front and a set piece scrap, a great test for the young front row likely to be selected this weekend and a test that may tell us just where the All Blacks sit after such an inconsistent season.

(Photo by Kenta Harada/Getty Images)

Geoff

It’s a pretty simple equation for New Zealand.

Put in a consistent 80-minute effort against England, where the focus remains on uncompromisingly probing forward through incisive running and accurate cleanout, better discipline, more connected defence and choosing the right moment to move the ball into space, then the score will take care of itself and folks all across the shaky isles can celebrate Christmas by focusing on the Black Ferns World Cup win and not fretting about Ian Foster.

Australia is a more complex beast. The definition of doing something ‘well’ is far more difficult to define.

Does that mean only giving away 12 dumb penalties instead of 16? Or throwing straight to a few lineouts in a row?

Realistically, nobody was expecting a win against Ireland before the tour started and nobody should be expecting one now. But a competitive, more joined-up performance with a sense that all players are singing from the same hymn sheet, free of the schoolboy errors that too often mark their play, would be a good place to start regardless of the score line.

One major concern is the midfield defence. The issues exposed last week by Italy will only be magnified if they allow Ireland’s second-wave runners to pick and choose which hole to run into.

And then, whatever happens this week, without getting too far ahead of things, a win next week in Cardiff, by hook or by crook, is a must.

Harry

The Springboks have done valuable work on tour, opening up a few tactical doors, finding depth in the back three, giving third stringers a run and giving the Nos.1 and 2 sides in the world a real go for their money.

But two wins are needed for a 6-5 team or the season will be a loss.

Thankfully, the Bok selectors have named a strong team to face Italy, with the only suspect position being the second row, where Marvin Orie and Salmaan Moerat are decidedly not scary.

However, the ‘bomb squad’ of forwards is a proper rescue team, with familiar faces.

Beat Italy well. Win at Twickenham. The season will get a C or B grade but might actually give South Africa an A in the World Cup because so many questions were answered.

Nobes

The Pumas just must be competitive and be in the game the 80 minutes to finish the year well against a rival who lost the series in Argentina but proved to be a very good team against the All Blacks this past weekend.

Against Wales, the Argentinian players were both mentally and physically fatigued and could not beat a team that, without many lights, managed a well-deserved victory. Last week I suggested a rotation in the team, but I knew that Michael Cheika was not going to make me happy.

My reasons for such a suggestion are that it was already evident in New Zealand during the Rugby Championship that the effort to beat teams of great calibre taxed the players in such a way they cannot recover in a week.

I saw Los Pumas without freshness, not being able to break the advantage line, and they played very badly with kicks that took too much energy from the already tired players. Several in this forum, including some experts, downgraded the victory at Twickenham arguing that the English team is very weak. I do not agree so much, and after seeing what they did against Japan, I agree even less.

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images

I think that the Pumas have a problem like that of the Wallabies in terms of their flyhalf.

Santiago Carreras does not feel comfortable in the position, in my opinion, and should play as a winger on the opposite end of Emiliano Boffelli where he could perform at his full potential.

The question then is who plays flyhalf? I would settle for a player familiar with the position and perhaps not as technically gifted as Carreras.

Just like last week, Cheika is not going to listen to me and instead will listen to those who have been filling his head with the selection of players and, worse, with game strategy.

Brett

It’s easy for the Wallabies in Dublin this week: they just need to hit the breakdown in attack and minimise ruck turnovers and run good lines and kick well and chase better and find their targets with crisp and clean passes.

And they need to be accurate in the lineout as well and also maintain their strong maul defence, get the attacking maul moving, keep scrummaging well, communicate well in defence and maintain a strong line.

And they need to be way more disciplined than they have been – obviously – and stop giving away the silly penalties on their own side of halfway within kicking range. And above all else they just need to be prepared to tackle for 80 minutes against an Irish side that will pepper their line for fun with the ball under the arm because they discovered that they just can, and it works rather well.

But all that said, they again just need to start well – same as it ever was for the Wallabies, really.

They can’t afford to get stuck on the back foot against Ireland, where chasing the game is even less likely to end well.

So start well. And don’t do everything that went south last week again.

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Question 2: Who has been the standout side this autumn nations series?

Digger

It’s a difficult question to answer, really, as I am unsure there has been a clear standout and perhaps a week or two early.

I would have to suggest France at this point, as while they have not perhaps been as authoritative or commanding as perhaps many would suggest they should be, they have done enough to win their games, including overcoming adversity and scoreboard pressure to do so.

Considering the opposition faced while also taking into account that some of their big names have not been at their best, I would promote France as the standout side so far.

Though a good performance from the All Blacks against England this weekend would change my overall view.

Geoff

The answer to this one, genuinely, is none of them.

Certainly not the World Rugby panel who got completely muddled in their world player of the year nominations, forgetting about Ardie Savea and Eben Etzebeth. But, you know, Henry Arundell and all that…

Every side has had their moments but none have been truly convincing. France has won twice when they could (should?) have lost, so they’re doing something right at least. Ireland has their win over South Africa but need to back that up against Australia. And as good as New Zealand was against Wales, the bigger portion of their match against Scotland last week was painful to watch.

Is it too big a cop-out to say that the two best sides this autumn/spring have been the Black Ferns and the Red Roses?

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Harry

Ireland – with Johnny Sexton – seem the best team at the moment.

Adaptable, deep, clever and hard enough. Their skill level is very high. But they also have the grunt.

It’s close, but I have them still a bit ahead of France, South Africa and New Zealand.

Nobes

I think that so far the two teams that have done things the best are France and New Zealand.

The French managed to pull off two close victories, one against the ‘good old’ Wallabies and the other against none other than the world champions. The latter have been far from being able to demonstrate their power throughout the year where they have already been defeated several times and are already resorting to strategies off the field to see if they return to the winning path.

The French pack of forwards must be one of the biggest I’ve ever seen, and they rose to the occasion against the well-known front eight (seven) of the Boks.

The All Blacks, despite a couple of unworthy performances, have managed to win all their games so far.

I think these two teams are a small step above the rest, but they can lose to anyone too. Neither has shown overwhelming superiority thus far.

Brett

I’ve done it again. Asked a question on Sunday night that seemed easy but was actually bloody hard by Thursday.

So that standout team during this series… you know, it might just be New Zealand.

Ireland and France have got the jobs done each week and have not been terrible by any stretch, but have they played like the best two teams in the world? Maybe.

South Africa have been mostly pretty good despite two losses to the top two, and England have been a bit up and down. Or down and up, I suppose. Scotland and Argentina have certainly had their moments, and I guess even Australia has a few moments here and there over three games to date.

So it might be New Zealand, because they started strongly against Wales, as they should have, and then got the job done despite being challenged pretty well by Scotland, and now they seem in a pretty good spot ahead of a date this weekend at Twickenham. But then it’s hardly stopped the talk about Ian Foster, has it?

I don’t know, maybe Kiwis are mad. I mean, imagine gunning for your coach and winning games!

Over to you.

How does your team finish off the rugby year on a high? What do they need to do this week (or next)?

And which team has stood out most for you these November internationals?