Time to start the fine-tuning two years out from Japan
BRENDAN GALLAGHER sets the scene for another intriguing autumn and picks his stars to watch
Suddenly it’s November again and another round of autumn internationals which, two years out from the 2019 World Cup, will mean different things to different teams. Not everybody will have the same agenda.
Most – but not all – are safely qualified for the World Cup and with the draw already done and dusted for Japan, and world ranking points no longer of absolute importance, there is perhaps a chance for bold experimentation in some quarters.
But the pressure is rarely off. Eddie Jones might want to play a few shots and, hopefully, he will, but for all the goodwill he has banked over the last two years, defeats against Argentina and Australia in England’s first two matches would not play out well among fans or media.
England’s priority is winning those games well and then perhaps experimenting a little against Samoa in their last match.
Wales face a brutal month of matches against all three Southern Hemisphere giants and Georgia although, of course, the Welsh, who always seem anxious to play a fourth match outside of the approved Test slot every autumn, had the option of not extending their commitments into December when they play the Springboks.
That is their call but let’s not be hearing any whinging about player workload and fatigue-type injuries if they incur a run of serious knocks. Already they have some big names sidelined but there seems plenty of young talent waiting in the wings and, given the schedule, Warren Gatland will certainly be able to quickly see who is made of the right stuff.
Scotland face a testing time with matches against New Zealand and Australia, as well as Samoa first up, but you rule nothing out for Gregor Townsend’s men if they play in the image of their boss. Townsend already has an away Test win over Australia under his belt and fears nobody, although as he discovered during the final match of Scotland’s summer tour when they lost to Fiji, things can go pear-shaped very quickly at Test level.
Irish rugby seems in a good place at present but then again we’ve said that before and quickly regretted it. They are, however, fourth in the world rankings – a true reflection in the opinion of most – and appear angst-free and still on an upward trajectory with a good generation of players moving through to replace recent past legends.
There can be no complacency, though, they must hit the ground running first up against South Africa and, assuming Joe Schmidt opts to rest a few against a dangerous Fiji side, those reserves must prove their worth before the finale against Australia, a side they usually play well against in Dublin.
One eye-catching segment of the November programme is what amounts to a long weekend in France featuring the best rugby players from that nation and New Zealand. It kicks off in Bordeaux on Friday November 10 when the French Barbarians will face a strong New Zealand Maori squad who will have warmed up for that encounter with a match against Canada in British Columbia.
The Barbarians might exercise their right to include a couple of overseas players currently playing in the Top 14 – although getting the clubs’ permission is always an issue – but essentially it will be an interesting mix of young tyros and old stalwarts from the French club scene. Perhaps we might even see a few individuals plucked out of the Pro D2.
Just 24 hours later in Paris comes the main event with France playing New Zealand for the Dave Gallaher Cup on Armistice Day, barely a month after the centenary of Gallaher’s death. Not that France–New Zealand games ever need any hype, but that really should be something to savour.
And then comes a nice twist. Just three days later down in Lyon the two great nations will go head to head again when a France XV will tackle the All Blacks in an intriguing one-off game that is clearly designed to give the respective second string players from both squads a meaningful high profile game and start.
The Kiwis are travelling to Europe with a 37-man squad so given injuries and possible illness it is more than likely that one or two of the Maori squad might be invited to prolong their visit and get over to Lyon to provide cover and protect the Test team for their game in Scotland on the Saturday.
There is just a hint of old-style touring about all this and fair play to France and New Zealand for making it happen. Meanwhile, expect to bump into hundreds of itinerant Kiwis doing the Bordeaux-Paris-Lyon gig. There are worse ways of spending Le Weekend in France.
It also revives memories of Six Nations weekends not so very long ago when there would be A matches and Student internationals on the Friday night and Saturday morning before the main event. Why was that ever allowed to disappear? You could add the women to that list now and make it a real jamboree.
What else is there to look forward too this autumn? After years of inconsistency and under-performance, Fiji seem to be putting a bit of distance between themselves and other Pacific Island teams Tonga and Samoa.
The Fijians qualified for RWC2019 with the minimum of fuss when winning the Pacific Championships in the summer and can now start planning for a campaign that will see them facing Wales and Australia – old rivals from 2015 – Georgia and either Uruguay or the USA.
Thus far, coach John McKee has been successful in securing the release of his senior players as and when he wants them although let’s see how that develops. The fearsome Nemani Nadolo is currently only listed as a standby this autumn
although he seems in full working order for Montpellier at present.
Fiji’s recent efforts have seen them rise above Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Tonga and Italy in the world rankings and their minimum aim this autumn should be to defend that hard-won ninth place.
That will require a win over Canada in Montpellier – their banker – and possibly a victory over Italy in Catania in their opening game. That match in Sicily is the key to their mini campaign. Win that and they can relax a little and give it a whirl against Ireland at the Aviva where their forwards’ resilience and technique is sure to be tested to the full.
Talking of Italy and Catania, according to my records Italy have never lost a Test in that southerly outpost in four games so clearly Conor O’Shea will be hoping that trend can continue. There have been definite signs of Italian rugby sparking back into life recently with a very fine performance in defeat against Australia in the summer and some decent results and performances from Benetton and Zebre in the PRO14 and Europe.
What Italy need more than anything is to string a few wins together. Fiji first up is probably their best opportunity if they can dominate up front as they once did not so many years ago, while Argentina in Florence could be interesting especially if the Pumas are licking their wounds after the England game.
South Africa in Padua also has possibilities although Italy know that the Springboks will be a different proposition than the sorry outfit they defeated last year.
Georgia have made significant strides in recent years but need to be at their best over the coming month. The home crowd in Tbilisi will expect wins over Canada and USA and on form the Lelos should prevail in those games which are important in maintaining their momentum. But ultimately everything will pale into insignificance placed alongside their first ever Test against Wales, and at the Millennium Stadium at that.
While rightly pleading for more games against Tier One nations, Georgia are mindful that they didn’t do themselves justice in recent years against a strong Ireland XV in Dublin and then last season against Scotland at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock.
In neither match were they at full strength as coach Milton Haig tries not to upset his delicate relations with the French clubs who employ most of his best players, but they really do need to throw the kitchen sink at Wales this time and give a good account of themselves.
And remember for the first time in over a decade Georgia won’t have Mamuka Gorgodze in the heart of their pack.
The last and only time Georgia have played at the Millennium Gorgodze picked up the MoM award against New Zealand in their World Cup pool game. The Lelos stuck to their task excellently that night. There are many remaining from that squad who will know that such an arena can inspire as much as they can intimidate and come November 18 they need to demonstrate that.