Almanac Rugby: The November Tests

The annual visits of the Southern rugby powerhouses to the brisk climes of Europe have just concluded. Now known as the Autumn Nations Series, the November tests have been a fixture on the rugby calendar for many decades.

 

Each of the Six Nations hosted tests over three consecutive weeks. The Wallabies tacked on matchups with Scotland at the beginning and Wales at the end, making them the only team that played five tests in the series. An epic battle between England and South Africa concluded proceedings to make them the teams with the next fullest schedules.

 

I’ll run through the form of some teams rather than go over each and every result. With the World Cup less than a year away it’s only fitting we do a form guide.

 

Firstly, it should be noted that the favourites to lift ‘Bill’ at the start of the series, remained so at its conclusion. The All Blacks and Springboks had successful tours and Ireland and France were the only undefeated hosts. This run of results confirmed these four are the ones most likely to go deep into October.

 

The Wallabies lost three and won two. One of the losses was to Italy, the first in 30-odd years. That was a one-point defeat that shouldn’t have happened. A gimme conversion was missed after the siren to hand the Azzuri their second win on the trot. This is a pretty rare phenomenon and they came crashing back to Earth when the Springboks thumped them in their third test.

 

The combined margin for the five Wallabies tests was 11 points. Each game was close and could have gone either way. They put 24 unanswered points on the Welsh to steal a win. They matched it with both the French and the Irish. Considering the lineups changed from week to week, I would rate the tour as positive overall.

 

Dave Rennie is a good coach. There is some really exciting talent coming through. Australian rugby fans should get behind this team. We are not good enough to win the RWC but there is no reason we couldn’t make the semis if we get lucky in the knockout stage.

 

The All Blacks let the English snatch a draw by giving up three tries in the last 10 minutes. They will be disappointed in such a rare lapse but they played some sparkling rugby on tour. They may go into the RWC outside the first line of betting for the first time, but anyone writing them off is delusional.

 

The current World Champions, South Africa, put on a clinical display at Twickenham on Saturday. Their bruising, relentless hustle over the ball is the type of game that will put fear into opponents in France next year.

 

The hosts of next year’s event, France, were magnificent. They beat the ‘Boks by a bigger margin than the Wallabies. They will probably go in as favourites. Bridesmaids thrice, I’m expecting Les Bleus to go very, very close once again.

 

Finally, my spiritual homeland has a great team and is currently ranked number one in the world. Ireland played three solid games, despite the one against the Wallabies being the most boring game of the entire series. Still, many Irish eyes are smiling at the moment.

 

It was a good November, mostly. The way the game is being adjudicated was a constant talking point. That aspect is inevitable these days. Nonetheless, I’m pleased with the state of the game. Georgia beat Wales. Italy beat us. Most of the games were true contests.

 

November kicks off with All Saints Day. For the game played in heaven, throughout this month we have seen both saints and sinners. May God bless them all.

 

 

 

 

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