The Lineout

November Internationals – Europe

It’s another exciting weekend ahead for Test Rugby as the November

Internationals continue and we look at three upcoming fixtures:

France vs Argentina – Paris
Wales vs New Zealand – Cardiff
Ireland vs Australia – Twickenham

It will be a bit of brief post this week as yours truly is on his way to be amongst the masses at Dublin this Saturday at the Aviva Stadium for what should be the fixture of the weekend  – Ireland vs Australia.  So I apologise that I won’t be reviewing the previous weekend’s outstanding games by South Africa and France as well as not looking at South Africa’s fixture this weekend with Italy.

Fixtures this weekend

France vs Argentina
Saturday, November 22nd
Paris

Expect a battle royale this weekend in Paris.  There was plenty of French flair on offer last weekend in Paris against Australia as we finally saw a French unit starting to click and which managed to hold on against Australia who aside from disciplinary lapses which ultimately cost them the game, fought hard to try and close France out of the game in the last quarter.

There has been enough said of the spectacular Teddy Thomas, and obviously not much more I can say.  The man is an electric talent; raw on experience which clearly shows but as his game develops he will be a major international star.  Slot him into a well organised team that knows how to use his strengths and cover for his weaknesses and suddenly France has some attacking prowess they have not had for a long time.

Argentina will recognise this and you can be sure that Nicolas Sanchez will be working hard to make sure that Thomas does not get the space he needs, while Argentina’s ferocious forwards will have to work really hard to deny their French counterparts quick front foot ball.  There is no doubt that the Pumas will consider this match to be THE test of their November campaign and I think it unlikely that they will show the same complacency and lack of composure that cost them the match in Scotland and caused them to have to work far harder than they should have in Rome.  Although they carried the day in Rome, they were far from convincing at times and certainly not the polished outfit we saw during the Rugby Championship.

However, as he has for Clermont Auvergne, Camille Lopez will match Nicolas Sanchez in every department and this will be one of the key battles of the match.  It was heartening to see France’s performance in the forwards department in the match against Australia and they will have to step up a notch if Argentina show up in form in this area on Saturday.  Furthermore, the French were extremely impressive in defence and missed very few tackles effectively shutting down the likes of Folau and Kuridrani, the latter in particular was not allowed any room at all to the point where he hardly featured in Australia’s game.

Be assured that as Argentina’s last game together of the year, they will want to end on a high.  It will be a tough and gritty contest, but if Argentina stay focused and use the best scrum in the world to full effect, I am willing to bet that it will be incredibly close but Argentina will just squeak past Les Bleus.  Either way expect a dramatically improved performance from Los Pumas than we have seen this November and a spirted performance from a French side finally showing the world why they are considered one of the sleeping giants of world rugby.

Wales vs New Zealand
Saturday, November 22nd
Cardiff

Given the way New Zealand are playing at the moment I think there are few of us who are doubting a comprehensive win by the Men in Black in Cardiff on Saturday.  This is not to be disrespectful to Wales, but let’s be honest the All Blacks are in a league of their own and as their last game of the year, you can be assured that they will finish in style and be keen to make a statement and set the benchmark.

So Wales, will go into this as massive underdogs, which will mean that they will either play the game of their lives and shock the world or simply reinforce rugby’s status quo.  Let’s all remind ourselves of what happened to Ireland as the team that everyone had written off when they went up against the All Blacks on their final game of the year.  However, I can’t see the same happening this year.  The wakeup call New Zealand got in Dublin last year is unlikely to be repeated again this year.  New Zealand have shown conclusively that they learn from their mistakes better than any other team in the world.

Wales have the skill as well as individual and collective talents to take on New Zealand where it matters, but this year they have consistently been unable to close out games against the big teams.  Therefore as much as I expect to see a spirited Welsh performance that will make the previous weekend’s lacklustre effort against Fiji seem like ancient history, expect a fired up New Zealand to walk away with this one comfortably.  For Welsh rugby let’s hope we’re proved wrong!

Ireland vs Australia
Saturday, November 22nd
Dublin

And so we come to THE BIG ONE of the weekend, and which yours truly will be luckily attending in person.  As Ireland and Australia duke it out to see who really is the world’s third best team if the IRB rankings really mean as much as we would like them to mean, both sides have sensibly tried to detract attention from this and focus instead on the task at hand.  Ireland at the moment are on a high and are discovering an exciting life post Brian O’Driscoll as well as realising that there is now some serious depth developing in Irish rugby.

Australia will have everything to prove and everything to lose.  There is no doubt they are smarting from being pipped out of third by the Irish however temporary it may be.  Furthermore, the rumble in Paris has no doubt been a rallying point and one which will make them work even harder to re-establish themselves in rugby’s pecking order.  Just like the wounded Springboks proved so devastating against England, I fear that the Irish will be up against a similar scenario with the Wallabies this weekend in Dublin.  Australia continue with experimentation in the midfield by starting Henry Speight at 11, which given such a high pressure game I feel is a tad risky.  Whatever their faults the current Wallabies side has a considerable amount of time in together over the last few months and I would argue is worth sticking with.  Speight although brilliant has not had that luxury and if anything may be lacking in game time especially at such a high level.  Much has been said of the possible impact of Cooper, Beale and Genia as they are brought off the bench towards the end of the game – I think it is safe to say that it will either prove an enormous asset to Australia or a serious handicap depending if this trio bring their A game or another questionable round of nervy decision making.

Ultimately, this contest will be won in the battles of the halves, and for the first three quarters of the match I expect to see Ireland have the ascendancy in this department.  The Sexton/Murray partnership has more technical savvy than that of Foley/Phipps.  If Ireland win this battle and build a convincing lead in the first three quarters and manage to shut down the danger men of Kuridrani and Folau, then the pressure may cause Cooper/Genia to crack and have one of their throwaway games once they are brought on.  Ireland’s forward pack should be able to put enough pressure on their Australian counterparts to cause them to have the lapses of discipline we have seen all too often in the Wallabies.

In the end I would argue this the hardest of all the November Internationals to call.  Michael Cheika knows Irish rugby well through his time at Leinster and is likely to have his charges well prepared for whatever the Men in Green can throw at Australia.  Ireland are on a high and the Dublin faithful will be a powerful sixteenth man, ably led by one of International Rugby’s talismans Paul O’Connell.  It is going to be close – so close – but wearing my heart on my sleeve I am putting a bet on Ireland to take the spoils by a mere point or two.  Hang on to your seats people!

November Internationals – Europe

It’s another exciting weekend ahead for Test Rugby as the November Internationals continue and we look at four upcoming fixtures:

Italy vs Argentina – Genoa

England vs South Africa – Twickenham

Scotland vs New Zealand – Edinburgh

France vs Australia – Paris

First up we’ll review the previous weekend’s action by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Wales vs Australia
Final Score – Aus 33/Wales 28
Cardiff

As predicted a tight physical battle was the order of the day with some spectacular line breaks from both sides, but a contest that once again ultimately ended in heartbreak for the Welsh.  Make no mistake Wales brought their A game but in the end it was all about finishing and in this department Australia provided their Welsh hosts with a classy demonstration of this fundamental principle of Test Rugby.

Wales fought valiantly for the full eighty minutes but it was clearly obvious that for the last ten minutes the majority of Welsh players were starting to look exhausted despite fresh legs off the bench.  Australia also looked as though they had been put through the ringer, but still nevertheless managed to hold their composure better and ultimately hold up in defence and attack.  The Welsh cause wasn’t helped by some critical injuries and the loss of Leigh Halfpenny before half time with his replacement Dan Biggar soon to follow.

Australia can take great heart from their first performance under new coach Michael Cheika, with Bernard Foley at fly half doing a superb job of marshalling his troops for the full 80 minutes, leaving us all wondering why there was ever any debate about making him Australia’s first choice number 10.  Israel Folau was immense in this match and showed off his full range of running and attacking skills, while at the same time showing some big improvements in his defensive skills.  Tevita Kuridrani continued to impress and is a serious threat to any defence in world rugby and one France will need to work hard to contain this weekend.  Michael Hooper, although his usual argumentative self, was outstanding and continued to put in a 110 percent effort for the full 80 minutes.

Welsh scrum half Rhys Webb opened the Welsh account with a superb try that had the Millennium crowd feeling that this could finally be Wales’ day against the Wallabies.  Sam Warburton was inspirational and deserves being singled out as Planet Rugby’s best number six of the weekend.  George North provided the crowd with ample demonstrations of his potential and skill set lining Alex Cuthbert up for another superb Welsh crossing of the Wallaby white line in answer to a superb Folau try set up by Michael Hooper.  As predicted last week the first half of this match provided us with some magic moment tries from both sides.

The second half however was much more a war of attrition for both teams.  Although both sides made some exciting line breaks, it was a much tighter and defensive game as Wales and Australia sought to wear each other down and force mistakes.  In this regard Wales seemed to have the edge over Australia as after multiple resets, ill-discipline by Australia resulted in Wales being awarded a penalty try.  However, the moment Wales has been waiting for so long against Australia was not to be, as Australia’s Bernard Foley calmly took control of Australia’s tactical game and nudged Wales aside as they left him uncovered in front of the Welsh goal allowing him to take a drop goal.  Ill-discipline from a Welsh side looking dead on their feet at the end cost them the penalty efficiently taken by Foley who was flawless with the boot all match, and Wales had too much to do with too little time to deny Australia the win.

It was close, it was exciting but sadly just not enough once more for Wales against their World Cup Pool opponents next year.  Wales played well but Australia ultimately were better at going the distance.  If Wales can take this performance and build on it going up against the All Blacks then expect next year’s repeat of this fixture at the World Cup to be close – very close.  Australia under new management will be confident going up against a French team this weekend that has talent but lacks structure, and relish some excellent preparation for two tough challenges from Ireland and England.

England vs New Zealand
Final Score – NZ 24/Eng 21
Twickenham

The big fixture of the weekend provided much of the spectacle predicted, although the second half of the match was sadly marred by atrocious weather which New Zealand were more effective at mastering.

England started the match with flying colors with a spectacular individual try from Johnny May which showed that England has plenty of attacking power and line speed in the backline.  May kept this level of performance up throughout the match and was constantly looking for gaps and opportunities in New Zealand’s defense.  In the battle of the fullbacks, Mike Brown seemed slightly off form and was not as impressive as his All Black counterpart Israel Dagg.  However, New Zealand showed that they were more than capable of soaking up England’s continuous pressure despite a rapturous  and deafening Twickenham crowd.  On that note I must say that the English crowd did not do themselves any favours throughout this match, and we were forced to bear witness to one of the most loutish spectacles of crowd behaviour I have seen in a long time in International Rugby.  It was unsportsmanlike and showed the English public as being arrogant and very poor losers.   The deafening booing of New Zealand Captain Richie McCaw at his post-match interview was shameful.  England need to actually become the team their misguided fans so obviously believe they already are first, and such fan behaviour will not help England’s cause and it was clear that it was an embarrassment to the English players at times.

In the first half, England could feel proud of their performance they matched up to New Zealand in every facet of the game and at half time England were deservedly in front against a slightly off color All Black side.  However, the second half was a completely different game in which New Zealand showed how they are masters at adapting their game plan to changing conditions, whereas England essentially lost the plot.  There is no doubt that the second half was marred by appalling weather conditions and some bizarre referring by Nigel Owens, who once was one of the best referees in the game in my opinion but in recent times I feel   has become a law unto himself, which had an effect on both teams’ performance.  However, Nigel Owens did give England the upper hand by sin binning Dan Coles for a nasty kick which had been triggered by the equally temperamental Dylan Hartley.  It was here where the difference between the two sides came to the fore.  New Zealand even with a man down completely outplayed England and had them on the back foot for the entire 10 minutes.  At this level of rugby if you cannot capitalise on the other team being a man down, and actually get outplayed by them then the end result is going to be inevitable which England found to their cost.  New Zealand got ahead on the score line and kept England pinned in their own half.  Instead of looking like a fifteen man team, England looked nervous and disorganised against a relentless and clinical New Zealand.

A game that should have been England’s ultimately slipped away, and that has been the standard headline for all of England’s meetings with New Zealand in the last year.  There was much to take heart from in England’s performance but as I said last week,  New Zealand are very much the finished product while England still looks far too experimental.  With a huge game ahead of them against a wounded Springbok side with everything to prove, it is not going to get any easier for England.   As next year’s World Cup looms on the horizon, if England want to lift the Webb Ellis trophy in their own backyard, the time is running out to find solutions.  If they don’t put in a convincing performance against South Africa this weekend, then I question how much home advantage next year’s World Cup really will be for England.  We continue to wait and see!

Ireland vs South Africa
Final Score – Ire 29/SA 15
Dublin

This ultimately was THE fixture of the weekend, particularly in terms of us understanding where the Northern Hemisphere is in relation the Southern Hemisphere.  As the second best team in the South took on the second best team in the North, rankings were at stake and the world pecking order looked set to be determined.

South Africa came into this game full of promise, fresh off two spectacular wins against Australia and New Zealand.  Ireland as Six Nations champions looked good but riddled with injuries were lacking several key players.  Add to this the fact that this was Ireland’s first outing without the ‘Great One’, Brian O’Driscoll and the bookies were all favouring a comprehensive win by South Africa.  How wrong they were and how delighted Irish fans were to be.

Of all the performances we saw this weekend, there is no question that from a Northern Hemisphere perspective Ireland played the most clinical game and were the team of the weekend.  They outplayed South Africa and played a brilliant tactical game ably marshalled by Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray who is playing out of his skin at the moment.  Ireland did make some mistakes, I thought their lineout was weak at times and their scrum could have been better, but overall this was a huge Irish performance that provided us with a thrilling spectacle and a well-deserved win for the Men in Green.  In short, a great start to Ireland’s season which also showed that despite their injuries Ireland is blessed with some serious depth and has enormous potential.

South Africa on the other hand it must be said played poorly.  In particular, Handre Pollard, Francois Hougaard and Willie le Roux around whom South Africa build much of their game did not play well.  Le Roux’s passing and handling skills were well below form, Pollard was effectively kicked into corners by Sexton and had a woeful kicking game while Hougaard had a shocker of a game.  I have always said that Hougaard is a very poor choice as South Africa’s first line scrum half and this was borne out in his performance in this match.  Admittedly he was put under enormous pressure from Ireland at the breakdown who were all over their South African counterparts in ferocious numbers.  You could see that such intense pressure from Ireland knocked the confidence out of both Pollard and Hougaard causing them to make far too many errors reminiscent of a school playing field than an International Test Match.

Ireland effectively silenced Habana and Hendricks on the wing, providing them none of the room and space they are accustomed to working with.  South Africa’s bizarre decision making to not take points on offer and instead to kick for touch, smacked almost of arrogance but more of foolishness when looking at how rock solid and well organized Ireland’s defence was proving to be.

Every single Irish player stood up and was counted, and what was encouraging was Rhys Ruddock in his first cap for Ireland crossing the Springbok white line in a brilliantly executed try.  For any rugby fan watching Conor Murray surgically kick to the touch line to find a waiting Tommy Bowe to then race over for Ireland’s second try was pure magic.  Ireland were brilliant and South Africa simply did not match up to them where it mattered.  If this was Ireland’s second string team, we have much to look forward to once a more full strength side matches up against Australia in a fortnight.

South Africa I am sure will pick themselves up from this and dust themselves off in readiness for their encounter with England this weekend.  There is no question that this was a bad day at the office for one of the world’s top sides.  There was no hesitation from South Africa’s players and management admitting in defeat that they were outplayed by a tactically superior Ireland.  This does not mean that they are down and out though.  This is a good Springbok side which has a strong blend of exciting young talent and experienced old hands.  If they can fix the problems at scrum half which I see as their biggest Achilles heel, then expect them to be a completely different team a week later against England.  They have merely suffered a setback and a prudent England will hopefully realise this in their planning.

Scotland vs Argentina
Final Score – Sco 41/Arg 31
Edinburgh

It would seem that Scottish rugby is finally out of the doldrums – spearheaded by the exceptional Gray brothers and Greg Laidlaw.  Throw in a dash of Vern Cotter Top 14 experience at the coaching level and it would seem that watching rugby north of Hadrian’s Wall may once more be an enjoyable experience.

Many predicted that with Argentina’s consistently improved performances in the recent Rugby Championship the result of this game was a foregone conclusion, particularly given the woes of Scottish rugby in recent years.  However, there were many, myself included, who felt that Glasgow Warriors’ outstanding efforts in European competition so far this year would form the base of a solid Scottish effort that could certainly put the Pumas to the Test.  We were not proved wrong.

Scotland came charging out of the blocks in this match and showed serious intent.  A new coach, some serious new talent and a will to win have finally taken Scotland out of the depths of their recent miseries.  Argentina on the other hand, looked half asleep for much of the match and when they really did start taking the game to Scotland it was too little too late.  They will have to shape up dramatically if they expect to come away with a positive result in Paris.  Argentina seemed to lack confidence and their discipline which had been so impressive in the Rugby Championship was often seriously lacking particularly at scrum time and the breakdowns.  The legendary Pumas scrum was often pushed around by Scotland which was not helped by the departure of Captain Agustin Creevy early on.

Scotland on the other hand were clearly enjoying themselves and played an expansive and exciting brand of rugby which left the Murrayfield faithful dancing in the stands.  While their new found adventurism may need to be tempered when they come up against New Zealand this weekend it was heartening to see this once proud rugby nation seizing every opportunity that came their way.  What particularly impressed me was Scotland’s speed at the breakdown and corresponding quick ball and line speed.  Coach Vern Cotter has obviously studied the Pumas who have been particularly effective at this this year as well as taking notes from Ireland’s skill set in this area.  However, all credit must go to a Scottish team that was well prepared and took their chances well.

The Gray brothers were truly immense in this game and will strike fear into any opposition that has to deal with them.  Richie Gray brings a well-known pedigree to the Scottish forward pack but his younger brother amply showed that he is not just in his brother’s shadow by being first to crash across the white line for Scotland.  Both brothers were tireless and were the backbone of Scotland’s defence and attack, effectively closing out opportunities for Argentina to get good quick front foot ball and helping Scotland push the fabled Argentine scrum around the park.  The halfback pairing of the experienced and exceptionally talented Greg Laidlaw playing as Captain at scrum half, and newcomer Finn Russell at fly half was exceptionally effective in picking open space for Scotland to use and get behind Argentina’s defences, while Scotland’s backline were no slackers either.

Argentina had moments of brilliance and in the last ten minutes of the game seemed to dig deeper and find some of the recent Pumas magic.  Their opening try in the match was also worth noting as they counter-attacked from deep within their own territory.  However, there was no real spark or apparent game plan in Argentina’s performance and they often seemed disorganised and confused in defence.  Perhaps this is a result of not having played together for a few weeks since the intensive time together during the Rugby Championship, and for many of Argentina’s key players having to quickly readjust from hectic club schedules in Europe since the Rugby Championship.  Who knows?  However, by the time they face France I am fairly certain that what we saw against Scotland will be a distant memory.  This is a quality Pumas side that simply needs to find the glue that bonded them all so effectively into a complete team during the Rugby Championship.  I still hold that Argentina will be one of the dark horses of next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Fixtures this weekend

Italy vs Argentina – Genoa

 This fixture has been wisely moved from Saturday to Friday to prevent injury to players as a result of the torrential rains predicted to hit the area on the weekend.

As Italy’s first big match up of the month after an impressive performance against a demoralized Samoa, many people will be interested to see how this season’s version of Italy shapes up against a Puma side still reeling from their defeat to Scotland.

With Italian stalwarts like Sergio Parisse and Martin Castrogiovanni in the line-up there will be some experienced and stable heads in a team with lots of promising new talent.  However, Italy has had a lacklustre run of it so far this year, with poor performances for the most part, especially in the Six Nations.  Argentina meanwhile will be without Augustin Creevy and instead Tomas Cubelli at scrum half steps into the Captain’s shoes.  Despite the loss to Scotland, Daniel Hourcade has chosen to give some of his less experienced players a chance to shine, which surely must be some indication of the Pumas expectations and confidence going into this match.  Nevertheless there are still enough names in the squad that impressed all and sundry during the recent Rugby Championship to provide Italy with a significant challenge.

Italy has strengths in the scrum and should be able to stand up to the Pumas in the forward battles as long as they can match Argentina’s pace at the breakdown, which with Sergio Parisse in the line there is certainly the potential to do.  The question marks for Italy remain in the mid and back field areas.  Although not playing in the starting fifteen Argentina’s Nicolas Sanchez is on the bench and you can be sure he will be called in as soon as it is felt Italy is winning the midfield battle.  Argentina has more proven class in their centres and backline than Italy and it is here combined with solid forward pressure that Argentina should progressively start to pull away from Italy as the match wears on.  Expect Italy to start fast and full of intent, but ultimately the solid foundation Argentina has built over the last few months, despite the hiccough at Murrayfield should see them come out on top.

South Africa vs England – Twickenham 

This is THE fixture of the weekend.  The stakes here for both sides are huge as they both seek to turn failure into success.  There is no question that England took their narrow loss to the All Blacks hard, while South Africa were left without answers as Ireland left them in the dust in Dublin.  A loss for either of these two teams on Saturday will have catastrophic consequences on morale and confidence.  Therefore we can expect an epic battle as these two teams seek to get their November campaigns back on track.

England have made few changes to a side that narrowly lost to the All Blacks and for the most part the side that stepped up last weekend is the same this weekend.  The major difference being Owen Farrell starting at number ten instead of on the bench and Semesa Rokoduguni starting this match on the bench after his quiet but impressive start against New Zealand last week.

South Africa meanwhile have made some significant changes, mainly to their midfield pairing.  The young but experienced Patrick Lambie replaces Handre Pollard at fly half, although Pollard will be keeping the bench warm.  As impressive as Pollard was in South Africa’s last two games of the Rugby Championship, he lacks the presence of mind and experience under pressure that Lambie is capable of showing.  Lambie’s nerves in South Africa’s final game of the Championship against New Zealand as he slotted a penalty from almost halfway were the stuff of legends, and I think Meyer is making the right call for such a critical game.  Much debate has been rightly centred around South Africa’s key weakness at scrum half.  Hougaard had a woeful game in Dublin, and even though he is more experienced than Cobus Reinaach I still think it is worth the risk of putting Reinach in at number nine.  I have consistently in the last few months voiced my reservations about Hougaard and he has done little on the field to change that opinion.  Reinaach on the other hand has shown some serious speed and solid handling of the ball under pressure as well as having a respectable kicking game that can complement Lambie’s skills in this area.  If given the right opportunity to develop his skill set in big games like this I certainly think he is more than capable of delivering when it matters in a year’s time at the World Cup.

I have reservations about Meyer selecting JP Pietersen over Cornal Hendricks at 14, despite the value added of Pietersen’s physicality in the match against Ireland and his resulting try when he came off the bench.  It was not that Hendricks played badly last weekend, it was just that Ireland were devastatingly effective in shutting him down.  Hendricks will start this game on the bench and it will be interesting to see when and under what circumstances Meyer will choose to use him.  Also of note Mohoje will start the match on the bench while Schalk Burger gets the start at flanker.  Although Mohoje is an impressive stock for the future, Burger is playing some of the best rugby of his life at the moment after a few cold years and his experience will help add some stability to the Springbok pack as they face a solid English challenge.

Discipline for both sides will be key as well as hanging on to good possession and resisting the temptation to kick needlessly.  If frustration sets in expect to see plenty of yellow cards with the likes of Dylan Hartley leading the charge.  If this does happen then expect to see both sides trading penalty kicks to determine the winner of the match. Should this be the case my money is on Patrick Lambie rather than Owen Farrell to carry the day and the Springboks walk away the winners.  Either way we are in for a really close and fascinating encounter. 

Scotland vs New Zealand – Edinburgh

Let’s be honest, as heartening as it was to see Scotland raise their game against Argentina after so long in the wilderness, this is a tall ask.  Expect a solid and spirited challenge from Scotland which will make the All Blacks work hard.  However despite all Scotland’s considerable talent, it is unlikely they will be able to contend with the powerhouse of the All Blacks.  I hope to be able to eat my hat, and we see an upset of the year take place but I somehow doubt it.

Although New Zealand have chosen to rest some of their big guns for this match and preserve them for the match against Wales, there is so much depth in New Zealand that even their C team could be any other country’s A team.

Scotland will take the game to New Zealand and expect the dynamic Gray brothers to be at the forefront of a stiff Scottish challenge.  However, this new and exciting looking Scottish side has yet to face the kind of pressure that the All Blacks can put on teams.  Expect a tight and gritty first half, but I am fairly sure we will see New Zealand pull effortlessly away in the second half.  It won’t be a whitewash or a thrashing but anything less than a comfortable win for New Zealand is unlikely. 

France vs Australia – Paris

The question on everyone’s lips for this game is which French team will turn up?  We have a pretty good idea by now of what we can expect from Australia, but what does France have to match it?  France’s outing last weekend against Fiji showed some promise, but at the same time against a weak opposition France still looked shaky and at times did not control the game as one would expect them to do.  Against Australia this will be a concern.  Australia were challenged by Wales last weekend, make no mistake but they ultimately were able to do what was necessary to win against a strong Welsh team.

France has definite potential in key areas.  Scott Spedding was impressive at fullback especially when teamed up with rising star Teddy Thomas on the wing.  Camille Lopez as he has so far this season in Europe was consistent at fly half and played well with the boot.  However, their forward pack for me has too many questions around it.  With Toulon’s Maxime Mermoz and Mathieu Bastareaud on the bench further devastating firepower is available in midfield should Coach Saint-Andre choose to use it.  This match sees the return of the always impressive Thierry Dusatoir who although slightly off form always has the ability to raise his game when big occasions demand it.

Australia meanwhile have a solid side that is essentially unchanged from that which ultimately put Wales to the sword last weekend.  While it is unlikely they will underestimate the difficulty of playing France at home, it has to be said their track record against Les Bleus this year after a convincing 3 match series win in Australia in June will surely leave them feeling anxious but confident about what they will be up against in Paris on Saturday.  Barring a French Renaissance, I think it is safe to expect to see Australia get past a still experimental French side and use this to prepare for the serious challenges that lie in store for them with Ireland and England.

November Internationals – Europe

It’s an exciting weekend ahead for Test Rugby as the November Internationals get into full swing with four great encounters to get us started this Saturday:

Wales vs Australia – Cardiff
England vs New Zealand – Twickenham
Ireland vs South Africa – Dublin
Scotland vs Argentina – Edinburgh

Expect full throttle contests in all four matches as with a year to go before the World Cup, the next month will provide a fascinating insight into what to watch for in next year’s global showdown.

Wales vs Australia
Saturday, November 8th
Cardiff

As Australia start with their third coach, Michael Cheika in the space of a year, all eyes are on the Wallabies to see if the change in coaching management will finally bring a sense of stability to an Australian side bursting at the seams with potential and thus allow them to really shine. There have been numerous articles written about the “problem attitude” in the Wallaby camp and a clash between players’ egos and management and so it will be interesting to see if Cheika’s tenure will be able to gel a talented Wallaby side and allow them to play as the world class fifteen we all know they are capable of being.

Wales on the other hand, are desperate for a win against Australia and a vocal Millennium stadium crowd will expect nothing less. Wales have walked away winless from their last ten encounters with the Wallabies.  Coach Warren Gatland will be keen to show that much like Australia, the off-field dramas surrounding Welsh rugby in the past year have not compromised Wales’ ability to field a world class side capable of lifting the trophy at next year’s World Cup.  The roller coaster fortunes of Wales in the last few years have been frustrating for Welsh supporters – Grand Slam winners in the Six Nations one year only to battle it out for the wooden spoon the following year.  When Wales dig deep and play well they are exceptional, the problem is they have become like the French – you never know which Welsh team you are going to get on any given day.

Wales should be able to match Australia up front; the question marks will arise around the battles in the midfield and backline. Although Wales has some world class players in these areas, with the exceptional Leigh Halfpenny set to match up against the danger man of Israel Folau from Australia, I can’t help feeling that Australia has the edge here.  As mentioned above, one of the key battles here will be Halfpenny versus Folau, and I personally feel that the Welsh fullback has a better tactical game than his Australian counterpart.  However, although Wales have quality players from 9 to 14, I ultimately think Australia’s powerhouse in this area will ultimately win them the game.  The phenomenal Tevita Kuridrani alone should cause Wales all kinds of problems in defence and Australia have serious quality at centre and on the wings that I feel will ultimately outclass Wales as the game progresses.

Both teams will go into this with everything to prove and expect no quarters to be given, especially as this will be a dress rehearsal for their pool game in next year’s World Cup. Despite Wales having plenty of quality, I can’t help feeling that Australia ultimately has greater depth and will start to pull away from Wales in the last quarter.  The Millennium Stadium crowd will definitely be a strong 16^th man but it remains to be seen whether this will provide Wales with sufficient momentum and motivation to see them squeak past Australia for the full 80 minutes.  Therefore, I predict a tight, physical defensive game with Australia eventually figuring out the key strike areas to break through and ultimately walk away with the win.  Despite the physical and defensive nature of the game expect to see one or two magic moment tries from both sides.  Either way I think we are in for a thrilling opener to the November Internationals.

England vs New Zealand
Saturday, November 8^th
Twickenham

No question that this is the most eagerly anticipated game of the weekend. The Northern Hemisphere’s heavyweight meets the best team in World Rugby.  Despite many thinking that England have the potential to knock the All Blacks off their pedestal especially after New Zealand’s loss in the final game of the Rugby Championship to South Africa, I for one don’t see it happening.  Having watched English teams’ opening salvoes in the European Championship I didn’t see anything that could match up to the depth and quality the All Blacks have on their books at the moment.  England will have everything to play for especially as many feel this could be a dress rehearsal for next year’s World Cup final at Twickenham and a good showing with a year to go will give them enormous confidence.  However, the All Blacks have been playing together as a unit now for the last six months and this time together and consistent track record will simply be too much for a still slightly experimental England.

New Zealand are unquestionably the finished product while England are still putting the last touches on the squad they will take to next year’s World Cup. Furthermore New Zealand have tried and tested depth of at least two players in every position on the field whereas the same cannot be said of England injuries withstanding.

Nevertheless, this match will offer plenty of excitement and there is no question that England will throw everything they have in their playbook against the All Blacks for the full 80 minutes. It is going to be close but I can’t help feeling that New Zealand will eventually pull away the winners especially in the last quarter.  One thing we have seen this year is New Zealand’s remarkable ability to learn from their mistakes while playing a match and quickly adapt and rectify the situation before the final whistle.  No other team in world rugby has the ability to do this consistently week in and week out.  England may during the course of the half time beak be able to adjust their playing style to address any weakness or errors they may have encountered in the first half, but watch New Zealand then get the measure of this with 20 minutes to go and pull away leaving England once more scratching their heads.  England is a good team, but New Zealand have shown us at the moment they are in a league of their own.  With a year to go before the World Cup, England will relish the opportunity of taking on the world’s best and use the next 12 months to figure out what they have to do to win the most important match of their careers against the All Blacks just once in 2015, but it won’t happen this year.  Either way, this Saturday’s contest at Twickenham will provide plenty of spectacle and showpiece the best our glorious game has to offer to the world.  Enjoy!

Ireland vs South Africa
Saturday, November 8^th
Dublin

This is unquestionably the other big fixture of the weekend. Ireland as reigning Six Nations champions up against the second best team in the world.  This is a Springbok side that is growing in confidence after their last two games of this year’s Rugby Championship which saw them demolish Australia and finally break the All Blacks’ winning streak.

For Ireland there are simply too many question marks around their squad to be able to predict anything other than a win for the Springboks. There is no doubt that Ireland boast a strong side that like the Springboks has an exciting mix of youth and experience.  However this is not the Irish team that almost took down the All Blacks last November and went on to lift the Six Nations trophy.  The biggest question on everyone’s lips is how will Ireland play without the legendary figure of Brian O’Driscoll?  Furthermore add to this an injury list from hell that sees Ireland without the wrecking ball form of Cian Healy, Rory Best and Sean O’Brien. I don’t think anyone expects a miracle against a Springbok side that is finally starting to look like a complete outfit and one that can take the All Blacks on at their own game.

Joe Schmidt has proven himself to be a superb coach and is doing excellent work in preparing the Men in Green for next year’s World Cup, but Ireland’s first game of the season against the current powerhouse form of the Springboks is a tall ask. The untried centre pairing of Jared Payne and Robbie Henshaw, while boasting plenty of promise for the future is unlikely to click as smoothly as the tried and trusted combination of youth and experience in South Africa’s Jean de Villiers and Jan Serfontein.   While impressive,  I can’t see Tommy Bowe and Simon Zebo outclassing the legendary Bryan Habana and as far as I am concerned the winger of the year Cornal Hendricks.  The battle between Rob Kearney and Willie le Roux at fullback will be a fascinating contrast of styles as two of the world’s best number 15s go head to head.  Johnny Sexton’s experience at number ten will be something that Ireland will be banking on provided he can keep his head in such a high pressure game and he may just have the edge over the extremely impressive Handre Pollard who really came into his own in the Springboks last two games against Australia and New Zealand.  Pollard is better with ball in hand but Sexton has a better tactical vision of the game, though Pollard is catching up fast.

The one area where Ireland will definitely have the edge over South Africa is at scrum half. There is no question that Conor Murray is a contender for the world’s best number nine along with New Zealand’s Aaron Smith.  His physicality and eye for how play is unfolding is on a par with his New Zealand counterpart and in my opinion far superior to that of South Africa’s Francois Hougaard.  Hougaard is no slacker but not the finished product that his Irish counterpart has proven himself to be.

Up front, Ireland has some definite strengths and the lineout battles between the talismanic figures of Paul O’Connell and Victor Matfield will be the stuff of legends while Devin Toner versus Eben Etzebeth will provide another thrilling contest. Meanwhile the spectacular Duane Vermuelen will battle it out at number eight with the always reliable form of Ireland’s workhorse captain Jamie Heaslip.  Add  Peter O’Mahony and Jack McGrath to Ireland’s forward mix and despite the absence of Cian Healy, Sean O’Brien and Rory Best, this Irish forward pack is not to be taken lightly.

So the question remains can a new look Irish team go the distance against a proven Springbok side bursting at the seams with confidence and talent? Even though I will wear my heart on my sleeve and admit that I am a hard core Irish supporter, I can’t see the Men in Green getting past the Springboks on their first outing of a new season.  The only thing that could sway things in Ireland’s favour is that South Africa have yet to prove that they can be a world class side away from home this year.  Add to this the fact that wet and windy conditions caused the Springboks to come rather unstuck tactically on several occasions this year and there is a very remote outside chance that Ireland could end up putting in a performance on par with that against the All Blacks last November.  However, I can’t help feeling that Heineke Meyer and the Springboks have learnt too many painful lessons this year to fall into such traps again, therefore a thrilling contest awaits us but ultimately one that will benefit South Africa on the day.  What Irish fans can hope for is that their team goes the distance with the Springboks for the full 80 minutes and can take this into a winning performance against Australia in a fortnight’s time.

Scotland vs Argentina
Saturday, November 8th
Edinburgh

If you are a Pumas or Scottish supporter there is much too look forward to in this fixture. Scotland have shown enormous promise at a European level so far this season as Glasgow Warriors have produced some spectacular performances in the Pro 12 and European Champions Cup tournaments.  Scotland has talent and with a new coach who can hopefully get the most out of his players, Scotland’s time at the bottom of the European rugby tank is rapidly coming to an end.  Meanwhile Argentina arrive at Murrayfield having shown the world during the recent Rugby Championship that they are one of the world’s most improved sides and are on the verge of great things to come – in short the perfect place to be in your preparation for a World Cup with a year to go.

There is no question that Argentina at the moment have a world class side capable of upsetting anyone, and as a result Scotland will need to dig deep to get past this South American powerhouse. Argentina really have no weaknesses at the moment.  Their forward pack is the stuff of legends, their halfback pairing is solid and Nicolas Sanchez was one of the most outstanding fly halves of the Rugby Championship this year.  Add to this an electric backline boasting the talents of Juan Hernandez, Marcelo Bosch,  Joaquin Tuculet and Juan Imhoff and you realize that Argentina has a complete team with a solid bench to back them up.  Even without the inspirational figure of Juan Martin Hernandez Lobbe barking at the back of the scrum, Augustin Creevy’s solid leadership and quiet confidence will provide strength and composure to Argentina’s efforts.  Argentina have at last proved that they can play for the full eighty minutes as well as showing they are masters of all types of weather conditions, and thus the omens look good for them at Murrayfield this weekend.

Scotland however can go into this game with confidence, despite some gaps in experience when matched up against their South American counterparts. New Scottish coach Vern Cotter brings with him a wealth of experience from his time at Clermont and understands how to develop winning ways in a team.  The Scottish line up for Saturday boasts a healthy presence of Glasgow Warriors players especially in the backline.  In the forwards, one of the world’s best when he is in form is represented by the towering form of Richie Gray.  If Scotland rise to the support of a vocal home crowd and weather the onslaught of relentless Argentine pressure at the breakdown they could pull off an upset.  However, as much as I think we all want to see Scotland lift themselves out of the drudgery of their last few years, I can’t help feeling that up against an extremely impressive and highly motivated Pumas squad it may be too much to ask.  Daniel Hourcade has done a fantastic job with the Pumas in the last six months and they are definitely showing signs of being the giant slayers they were at the 2007 World Cup.  As a result in a potentially thrilling match with lots to look forward to for both sides, I predict Argentina ultimately will edge out Scotland in a gritty and hard fought contest.