All six Guinness Men’s Six Nations teams were in action and got plenty out of their exploits across the globe.
Not back in action until the Autumn Nations Series comes around in November, let's take a look at how they all fared in June and July.
England
While England did not finish with a winning record this summer, Steve Borthwick will have fresh confidence in his team.
Battling hard in two Tests against New Zealand, and only losing narrowly, is not to be sniffed at.
You then combine that with a comprehensive 52-17 win against Japan in Tokyo and there is much to be pleased with.
The two games against the All Blacks were won and lost in the finest of margins.
Damian McKenzie’s 66th minute penalty kick was enough to beat England 16-15 in Dunedin, although you are left wondering what could have happened if Joe Marler hadn’t left the fray with less than 20 minutes on the clock.
Even in the disappointment of losing Marler so early, Fin Baxter stepped up on Test debut to prove himself a handy option at loosehead prop long term.
New blood was the theme of England’s summer.
After a number of years as one of Sale Sharks’ top performers Tom Roebuck made his Test debut against Japan, Baxter made his bow and Gallagher Premiership Rugby’s top try-scorer for the 2024/25 season, Ollie Sleightholme, also won his first cap in Auckland as England fell 24-17 at Eden Park.
It is a trio of fixtures that can provide England supporters with confidence going into the Autumn Nations Series.
To kick-start a four-match series at Twickenham Stadium, England will meet Scott Robertson’s New Zealand again in the autumn, before encounters with Australia, South Africa and Japan.
Another testing run of fixtures for England as they continue to build on last year’s third-place finish at the Rugby World Cup, the remainder of the year will prove to be a pivotal time for Borthwick’s squad.
Wales
Warren Gatland’s Wales will have learnt much in spite of three Test losses this summer.
Starting with a 41-13 loss to South Africa at Twickenham Stadium, the team were not able to recover from their sixth-place finish in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
Then heading Down Under to take on Australia in Joe Schmidt’s first matches as Wallabies boss, Wales again came unstuck.
A penalty try and kicks from Ben Thomas provided Wales with their points in a 25-16 loss in Sydney, before turning in an improved performance in the second Tets.
The pack carried Dewi Lake to a brace of scores in Melbourne, with Liam Williams and Rio Dyer also dotting down.
But four tries for the Wallabies and the laser-guided kicking of Noah Lolesio helped Australia to a 36-26 victory in Melbourne.
There was a glimmer of joy for Wales as a Regan Grace try secured a mid-week 36-35 win over the Queensland Reds in a representative game.
In the Autumn Nations Series Wales will continue to be challenged.
Fiji, Australia and South Africa will all come to Cardiff with victory on their minds, while Gatland is on the lookout for a first Test win since the Rugby World Cup.
Italy
A tour of the Pacific Islands was on the agenda for Gonzalo Quesada's improving Italy.
Finishing their Guinness Men’s Six Nations campaign with the high of beating Wales in Cardiff, their summer exploits started with a 33-25 loss to Samoa.
It was the Islanders’ first win over Tier 1 opposition since 2014, the last time they hosted Italy, Ava Moleli’s late try in Apia spelled out victory for the hosts.
A week later, there were more reasons to cheer.
Jacopo Trulla, Monty Ioane, Michele Lamaro, Alessandro Garbisi and a penalty try catapulted the touring side to a 36-14 victory against Tonga.
That loss to Samoa disappeared even further into the rearview mirror in their final match of the summer.
Beating Japan 42-14 the Azzurri consigned Eddie Jones’ Japan to a first winless run of mid-year Test for the first time since 2016.
On tour, Italy were able to hand a Test debut to Matt Gallagher.
Joining Benetton Rugby from last season's Gallagher Premiership finalists Bath Rugby, the full-back will act as the perfect foil to Ange Capuozzo, who has missed significant playing time with injury in recent years.
Playing internationals against Argentina, Georgia and New Zealand in the Autumn Nations Series will offer a series challenge for Quesada’s men.
Each of those matches will pose different questions to the squad.
Argentina will bring a balance of power and flair, while Georgia offer a significant physical challenge and the All Blacks are who they are.
Another challenge for this fast-improving Italy side, the side will reap the rewards of their summer exploits and head into November with the desire to impress in front of their home supporters.
Ireland
Ireland’s trip to South Africa will forever be remembered for Ciaran Frawley’s 80th minute drop goal to win the game 25-24.
After losing the first Test to the Rugby World Cup winners a week prior in Pretoria, a highly attritional encounter took place in Durban.
Leicester Tigers’ Handre Pollard was in emphatic form from the kicking tee and slotted all eight of his shots at goal.
The Springboks controlled the fixture for the most part and it was only in the final quarter that momentum began to swing their way.
In those closing moments, Frawley finally got the opportunity to showcase himself at fly-half after coming on for Jack Crowley in the 59th minute.
Given his first Test start in this year’s edition of the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, the 26-year-old primarily saw himself used as a replacement in South Africa.
It is a drop goal that could already be a defining moment in the Leinsterman’s career.
Frawley will be looking for some more of those moments later this year too.
Andy Farrell’s Ireland will be playing four games in the Autumn Nations Series, as New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia all roll into Dublin.
A gauntlet of fixtures that are sure to pose question marks to the current Six Nations champions, the belief shown on the South African coast can carry the men in green to positive results.
France
Two wins for France add up to a successful tour of South America.
Beating Argentina 28-13 in their opening match of the two-match series was an impressive start to their campaign.
Fabien Galthie used the tour as an opportunity to blood a number of young players.
In the first Test against Argentina in Mendoza, the France coach gave eight players their debuts, with Antoine Frisch making the most of his opportunity by scoring a try on his maiden France appearance.
Four days after that first game, France were on the pitch again as Uruguay hosted them for the first time.
Putting a much-changed side on the pitch, the side still scored four tries and relied heavily on the kicking of Lyon’s Leo Berdeu to register a 43-28 win in Montevideo, before ending with a 33-25 loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires.
A late Thomas Gallo brace of tries was enough to down France that day and the two teams will do battle again before the year is out.
France’s final game of the Autumn Nations Series see Argentina visit the Stade de France.
By then, Galthie’s side will have already played host to Japan and the All Blacks.
There will be a hotly anticipated return to TVs for gold medal winning Antoine Dupont that will get the blood flowing in Paris and ignite the memories of an emotional summer in the French capital.
Scotland
Gregor Townsend will look back fondly on his team’s tour of the Americas this summer.
His team won each of their four games, handed debuts to a number of promising talents and saw records broken.
Beginning in Ottawa, Scotland saw debutantes Arron Reed and Gus Warr both score braces in their 73-12 win.
A week later in Washington DC, there was more cause for celebration as Duhan van Der Merwe dotted down in the opening exchanges to draw level with Stuart Hogg as Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer in a 42-7 win over USA.
Dispatching Rugby World Cup sweetheart’s Chile a week later in Santiago with an eight try onslaught, the Scots concluded their trip across the Atlantic with a 31-19 win over Uruguay.
It was against Los Teros that Van der Merwe pipped his former captain to become his country’s lead try-scorer.
Crossing the try line to extend Scotland’s lead to 19-0, the 29-year-old wrote his name into the record books in a highly competitive affair in Montevideo.
With four matches coming up this Autumn Nations Series, that additional depth can come in handy.
Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia will all be coming to Edinburgh in November for a series of matches that will offer a variety of challenges.
