Following another blockbuster weekend of Autumn Nations Series action, here are the seven things we learned from the six games.
France are back
The biggest takeaway from the weekend is arguably the rousing return of France, who proved they are back to their best with their 30-29 win over the All Blacks. It’s been a strange year for Les Bleus, both on and off the pitch, but Saturday’s classy win showed the world they are back to the force they were in 2022.
Their attack was fast, fluid and expansive, but importantly it was accurate too which they’ve not fully been able to do up to now, and they also packed a serious punch in defence to boot.
The pleasing thing is, whilst they looked back to their best for the most part, they still have room for improvement. The scrum wasn’t firing at its best, and New Zealand were still able to make decent inroads in the tight too; but on the whole, Fabien Galthie will be licking his lips ahead of the Six Nations.
The Joe Schmidt effect in full swing
We knew Joe Schmidt would eventually turn the Wallabies around, but not this quickly. Australia came into the autumn largely written off after a bleak Rugby Championship, but they look a team reborn this month and are playing some silky ‘Wallabies rugby’ again. The increased time the squad have spent together this tour has clearly aided with the on-pitch connections, which has really helped them take up a gear or three.
On the pitch, they have developed their game plan to bring in their explosive back-three, but it’s come from typical Schmidt-esque play that made Ireland such a force in his tenure there. On the whole, it’s pretty simple even with some nice flashes of flair thrown, but it’s incredibly effective.
Schmidt has also got the pack firing too, particularly in the scrum, which has contributed to their overall improvement. They are certainly making some people eat humble pie at the moment.
Where do Wales go from here?
This is a two-part takeaway, but the defeat to the Wallabies has heightened the crisis in Welsh rugby. On the pitch, the side just look devoid of any confidence – as you would expect after a run of 11-straight defeats – but it’s just seeping into every aspect of their game.
This run has also brought the future of boss Warren Gatland into doubt, and it almost seems a certainty he will leave his post after the South Africa game no matter the result.
Away from the pitch, this defeat brings into question the current state of the game on the whole. The Principality Stadium has a capacity of 74,500, but against the Wallabies, it only pulled in a 54,000 crowd, and most of the fans had left by the time the full-time whistle went.
The torrid run is clearly turning people away from the national side, as they almost expect a defeat, but then that is having a drip-down effect on the already struggling regions. The Welsh national side, and the Principality Stadium itself, is the lifeblood of the game in Wales, and if it struggles then the whole game struggles.
Rugby is also the national sport in Wales, but if the team struggles it genuinely brings the future of the sport into doubt, as people will simply lose interest; especially with the growth of football in Wales too.
It’s a full-blown crisis, and the defeat to Australia just brought it to the forefront of the rugby world.
All too familiar defeat for England
Steve Borthwick believes his side are moving in the right direction, but the defeat to South Africa was an all too familiar one for his side. They once again held a solid lead heading into the final quarter, before letting the game slip away from them and falling to defeat. This has simply been the tale of England’s year, with the two fixtures in July also getting away from them just as they looked like clinching some historic wins, but they need to find a way to fix it.
The subs Borthwick makes almost seems pre-prescribed, which is a thing in the modern game, but he needs to just keep his best-performing players on the pitch when they are doing well.
Marcus Smith and Sam Underhill have both been hooked at around the 60th-minute mark despite playing incredibly well, and their departures have coincided with the team’s slump.
Elsewhere, there also seems to be a leadership void created when Jamie George goes off, again around that 60th-minute mark, and that could easily be a factor behind the final quarter slumps.
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Either way, Borthwick and his players need to figure out a way to manage that last block if they want to clinch a much-needed win.
Argentina consistent beast
Los Pumas have never been able to back up a win with a good performance, and whilst they didn’t get a win against Ireland, they certainly proved they can put two good performances together. Felipe Contepomi’s side looked threatening and sharp against Ireland and gave Andy Farrell’s side a really good run for their money at the Aviva.
Contepomi is also now keeping a core of players together back-to-back in games as well, which has also been a serious thorn in their side in the past. For some reason, Argentina have always changed several players between games, but now the likes of Tomos Albornoz, Luca Cinti, Juan Cruz Mallia, Gonzalo Bertranou and Rodrigo Isgro are all regularly starting together in consecutive games and forming a deadly unit as a result.
This could be the spark that allows them to then back up more good wins, and turn them into the serious competitors they’ve threatened to become since the 2015 World Cup.
What to make of Ireland
On the flip side of this, we still don’t quite know what to make of this Ireland side. Farrell’s men just haven’t been the same side they were in 2024, even with their Six Nations title and series draw with the Springboks, and that is certainly most evident during these autumn fixtures.
Ireland, to their credit, looked a lot better in that first-half against Argentina, but on the whole, they’ve appeared clunky and not as accurate as we usually expect to see.
This also brings into question the aging squad at Farrell’s disposal. Conor Murray, Peter O’Mahony and Cian Healy are all in the twilight of their careers, but they are still yet to find their long-term replacements, and it’s showing.
Competitive Tier Two
A major positive to take away from this weekend was the competitive performances from the Tier Two nations. Georgia gave Italy a huge scare in Genoa, and crucially combined their usual brand of powerful work up front with some dazzling, counter-attacking rugby from the backline to good effect.
This is the latest solid performance from Los Lelos under new boss Richard Cockerill, and again proves the point that they could easily compete if given a shot in the Six Nations.
Elsewhere, whilst Portugal conceded another heavy defeat, they still put in an enjoyable, fun display against Scotland and notched three tries as a result. This might just seem like cheerleading for the sake of it, but Murrayfield is a tough place to go, especially in November, and play the sort of game Portugal like to play but yet they found ways around the strong Scotland defence and scored some lovely tries.
Finally, the USA also secured their first win over Tonga since 1999, again showing the progress they have made this past year, and Spain gave Fiji a decent go too in front of a bumper 20,000 crowd.
Tier Two has been in a tough spot recently, but it seems the gap between them and the Tier One nations is starting to close.