Autumn Nations Series: How will England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales get on?
The Autumn Nations Series can be a super tonic for the sport as titans clash from both hemispheres across Europe, writes Ollie Phillips.
November internationals are always an odd time of year: you have neither the bitter rivalries the Six Nations and Rugby Championship generate over their own two hemispheres, nor is there the excitement of a Test series down at the home of one of the big three – New Zealand, Australia or South Africa.
But what the Autumn Nations Series does is offer countries the chance of playing the best teams from the other side of the world – who often have very different styles of play – back-to-back-to-back. So what does each of the home nations need to get out of the next month of rugby? Well, as you’d expect, my expectations vary depending on the team.
An autumn thorn in England’s side?
Steve Borthwick’s side will be gagging to get back to south west London, albeit their beloved Twickenham is now the Allianz Stadium.
Just two of their last 15 Test matches have been at home – wins against Wales and Ireland in this year’s Six Nations.
They reached the last four of the World Cup and impressed in defeat away to New Zealand in the summer, but their schedule is a brutal one this November.
England are the one home nation facing all of the southern hemisphere’s big three, and they’re doing it in consecutive weekends before a closer against Japan.
For all the good their performances in New Zealand – and beating Andy Farrell’s Ireland – will have done for Borthwick, he needs wins against these major overseas teams. England’s last home meeting saw a 25-25 draw against the All Blacks a month before previous head coach Eddie Jones was given the boot.
It’s vital for fans to feel they can get behind a side who have been rocked by coaching problems and selection dilemmas. November is arguably more important for England than it is for any of the other home nations.
Why, why, why… Wales
What to say about Wales? They’ve shown some promise but were well beaten in Australia over the summer and come into this autumn a year on from their bitterly disappointing quarter-final exit to Argentina at the World Cup.
They should manage a victory over the coming weeks, but I wouldn’t put it past Warren Gatland to lead the side to three losses given his comments about prioritising the future of the Welsh game rather than his own job prospects.
They take on Fiji, South Africa and Australia across three Tests where eyes won’t just be on the field. The Principality Stadium has spare tickets aplenty for all three fixtures in a worrying sign for Welsh rugby, which isn’t exactly bouncing at the moment.
Scotland the brave
Autumn internationals have always been fun north of Hadrian’s Wall, notably Scotland’s so-close moments against the All Blacks, a team they’ve never beaten.
Credit must go to Scotland’s marketing team because they’ve shipped an impressive number of tickets for their fixtures against Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia.
I like how they’ve divided their fixtures between Tests in which they’ll be right up against it and those which they should win comfortably, allowing for a little more experimentation with player combinations, tactics and game style ahead of the Six Nations.
They’re a team everybody likes to watch – even the English will admit Finn Russell in full Finn Russell Mode is exciting.
And for a bunch of players who have big chances at making it into the British and Irish Lions squad next year, the huge match against world champions South Africa will be one that Lions coach Farrell watches intently.
Ireland needing opening night luck?
In what is Farrell’s last competition before his Lions sabbatical, Ireland’s autumn kicks off with one of the great fixtures of the next five weeks: a home tie on a Friday night against New Zealand.
After Ireland’s impressive Test series victory down there and the All Blacks’ revenge at the World Cup, this clash of titans is bound to be great viewing.
Ireland were undone at times against England earlier this year and still seem to be finding the perfect combinations for a game plan that no longer revolves around Johnny Sexton. It is an end game that will take time to perfect.
But their fixtures against Argentina, Fiji and Australia should give them the chance to do just that.
The Autumn Nations Series is always good viewing for the neutral – and even more so for those who have skin in a game between their side and some of those who shift rugby’s tectonic plates.
It promises to be competitive. I don’t think any of the home teams, besides maybe Ireland, will be unbeaten come the end of November.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance. Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11