As one comment on social media wryly noted: “There’s a fine line between winning and losing in rugby. It’s called the equator.’’
Argentina, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa all claimed wins against Northern Hemisphere opposition – a happy return for the touring sides, with the Springboks the only clear favourite going into their fixture.
France were the sole Six Nations side to taste victory, with their sweeping rout of Japan on Saturday night in Paris ensuring one of Europe’s leading six sides had something to smile about.
It could be argued that four of those visiting teams have come into the Autumn Nations Series freshly battle-hardened from The Rugby Championship, while Fiji had competed in and won the Pacific Nations Cup.
But only the most rose-tinted of glasses would see this as an excuse. So, can the Northern Hemisphere bounce back in Round 2 this weekend? Let’s take a look at their chances.
Ireland v Argentina, Fri 15th November (20:10)
Friday night in Dublin was a dispiriting result for Andy Farrell’s team, who justifiably would have had high hopes of defeating an All Blacks side still finding their feet (and against whom they had won three of their last five meetings). Argentina are coming in off the back of their best-ever Rugby Championship, beating every one of the traditional Southern Hemisphere big three for the first time ever in the competition. The Pumas rarely looked flustered against Italy on Saturday night - in fact, their air of superiority was palpable - meaning the Irish will be on full alert as they look to reimpose themselves after losing their world number one spot.
Scotland v Portugal, Saturday 16th November (15:10)
Gregor Townsend’s men went toe-to-toe with back-to-back world cup winners South Africa on the weekend, and yet still went down 15-32 come the full-time whistle. Scotland may look to experiment against Portugal, or retain the bulk of the starting side from the Boks match with an eye to building momentum for the Wallabies match a week later. Portugal are ranked in the mid-teens, but a shock win against Fiji and a draw with Georgia at the 2023 World Cup mean they are not to be taken lightly.
England v South Africa, Saturday 16th November (17:40)
A match that has taken on added significance after England’s defeat to Australia in London in Round 1, this replay of the 2019 World Cup final and the 2023 semi-final is about as full-blooded a Test match as you could wish for. Both sides are in the process of developing their attacking game but, ultimately, we all know where their true pride lies: in the meat-grinding forward battle. Steve Borthwick’s side can change the entire complexion of the narrative with a win, while for the Boks a loss would be an ego-denting catastrophe. The visitors are the undeniable favourites here, but everybody said the same thing about Ireland when they headed to the Allianz Stadium back in March…
France v New Zealand, Saturday 16th November (20:10)
Just uttering ‘France’ and ‘New Zealand’ in the same sentence is enough to conjure vivid images of Test-match nirvana. Les Bleus, the only Six Nations team to win on the weekend, have Antoine Dupont back at the helm and the abiding memory of beating the All Blacks at the same venue in the World Cup opener in 2023. The thing is, New Zealand now have wins against England and Ireland under their belt, so for France to stop them would top Australia beating England in terms of the greatest feat of this Autumn Nations Series so far.
Italy v Georgia, Sunday 17th November (13:40)
If this fixture doesn’t have the star power of France v New Zealand, it certainly makes up for it in intrigue. When the two teams last met in 2022 in Batumi, a city on the Black Sea, it was the hosts who powered to what some described as a ‘statement win’. Italy have had their share of statement wins since then too, though, including against Australia, Scotland and Wales, so this is a tough one to call. Georgia’s social media team have been known to call out teams in the past, so be prepared to hit refresh on their feeds should they win in Genoa.
Wales v Australia, Sunday 17th November (16:10)
After losing to Fiji in Cardiff, Wales’ Autumn Nations Series campaign got a whole lot harder. Early projections were that they were likely to end their nine-match losing streak against Fiji and go up against fellow strugglers Australia full of beans. Instead the opposite has happened: a Welsh record-equalling losing streak, and a game against a tails-up Wallabies team. With the Springboks also to come for Wales, Sunday’s game has become that most dreaded of things for any coach: a must-win.
Every game of the Autumn Nations Series is being shown live on TNT Sports.
