Autumn Nations Series: England end with win as Wales suffer historic defeat

The Autumn Nations Series is all but over and rugby fans couldn’t have asked for a better weekend of action. There were surprise results, historic defeats and high-scoring games – plus, England finally managed to secure a victory.

France continue form against Argentina

France 37-23 Argentina

The hosts were pretty much out of sight at half-time thanks to tries from Thibaud Flament and Gabin Villiere, while Thomas Ramos was on form with his boot. France followed up their dramatic win over New Zealand with another victory to end their campaign with a perfect record.

Argentina attempted a fightback in the second half and converted tries from Thomas Gallo and Ignacio Ruiz made the scoreline respectable but they didn’t quite have enough in the end. They end their series with a win and two defeats.

Ireland on fire against Fiji

Ireland 52-17 Fiji

It was a triumphant win for Ireland in their penultimate game as they brushed Fiji aside. The hosts scored four tries either side of half-time, with one of those coming from Gus McCarthy on his debut.

Like Argentina, Fiji improved in the second half and looked to mount an unlikely comeback, scoring twice through Kitione Salawa and Setareki Turagacoke. But they couldn’t stop Ireland and they finished their European tour with two wins and two defeats.

Wales make history in miserable defeat

Wales 12-45 South Africa

South Africa piled more misery on Wales in a rampant victory in Cardiff that secured them the Prince William Cup. Wales lost all of their Autumn Nations Series games to become the first side to lose every single match in a calendar year since 1937.

They could do nothing to stop South Africa, who scored seven tries in a dominant performance. Rio Dyer and James Botham scored tries to save some face but it was a day to forget for the hosts, who need a serious overhaul ahead of the Six Nations next spring.

On the other hand, South Africa enjoyed a successful series in Europe, having also recorded victories over Scotland and England.

New Zealand bounce back in Italy

Italy 11-29 New Zealand

New Zealand finished their Autumn Nations Series with a routine win in Italy to put their narrow defeat to France firmly behind them. The All Blacks will be delighted with their tour, having won three of their four games.

Italy will be less pleased, with their only win coming against Georgia. Beauden Barrett was the star of the show for the visitors in Torino, scoring 14 points. Italy were lacklustre throughout, with their solitary try not coming until the 75th minute through Tommaso Menoncello.

Scotland stun Australia in Edinburgh

Scotland 27-13 Australia

An unlikely win for Scotland over Australia in their final game secured them the Hopetoun Cup and set a new record for the most Test wins in a calendar year. Duhan van der Merwe was also back in the record books – he reclaimed his spot as Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer, notching their second.

Aussie wing wizard Harry Potter worked his magic to score a try on his debut for the visitors but it wasn’t enough to rescue a result for the visitors. Scotland end their campaign with three wins out of four, while Australia will be looking to bounce back against Ireland this weekend.

England finally secure win against Japan

England 59-14 Japan

After losing their first three games to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, England bowed out of their Autumn Nations Series campaign in style against Japan. They were out of sight after half an hour thanks to tries from Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and a double from Jamie George.

Ollie Sleightholme added a fifth before the break – his fourth in his last three games. Further tries from George Furbank, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Tom Roebuck piled the misery on Japan to wow a jubilant crowd at Twickenham.

With their young stars more than proving worth despite being on the wrong end of a few defeats, England will be full of confidence heading into their Six Nations preparation.

Autumn Nations Series fixtures

Saturday 30th November
Ireland v Australia: 3:10pm – Aviva Stadium, Dublin

In the final game of the Autumn Nations Series, former Ireland boss Joe Schmid returns to Dublin. The Kiwi led Ireland to three Six Nations titles but he’ll be looking to get the better of them with his Australia side.

The Aussies are still reeling from their surprise defeat to Scotland and they’ll be hoping to bounce back in style. But Ireland will take some beating and could make it three wins on the trot having strolled past Fiji and Argentina in successive games.

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