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The Autumn Nations Cup concluded with a narrow victory for England on Sunday, and it brought the curtain down on a patchy November for the Home Nations. Having gone unbeaten across October, November and December, and picking up the Six Nations and ANC along the way, England were the best team from the four. Ireland finished third, Scotland fourth and Wales fifth, which is probably a fair reflection of where each country stands.
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But with the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa on the horizon, this was the penultimate international window for players to impress for their country ahead of the Six Nations in the spring.
There are of course injured personal to return for each country, but based on this autumn alone, this is the form Lions XV:
1 MAKO VUNIPOLA
Mako Vunipola’s output is freakish for a loosehead prop, and he was a vital cog in England’s relentless defence over the autumn.
2 JAMIE GEORGE
England’s Jamie George was probably the favourite to start against South Africa going into the autumn, and after opening his ANC with a hat-trick against Georgia, did nothing to damage his case.
3 ANDREW PORTER
Ireland’s Andrew Porter took advantage of the injured Tadhg Furlong this autumn, and showed the work he can get through on top of being a rock in the scrum.
4 MARO ITOJE
A man of the match performance against Ireland, and a consistently high performer for England, Maro Itoje’s defensive contribution is the cornerstone of his team’s success and he seems certain to start against the Springboks.
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5 JAMES RYAN
Itoje’s Irish counterpart James Ryan was equally at his best throughout the autumn, and even captained his country for the first time. Though Alun Wyn Jones will be in the reckoning based on his reputation, Ryan is one of the form locks in the world, let alone in the Britain and Ireland.
6 TOM CURRY
Nomination for the ANC player of the tournament for his effervescent performances, Tom Curry continued to dominate in all aspects of the game as one half of the ‘Kamikaze Kids’.
7 SAM UNDERHILL
Sam Underhill’s place may have been under threat going into this international window given the welter of loose forwards England have, but he proved why he is still Eddie Jones’ first choice and a leading contender for the Lions. He not only has a defensive workrate that is virtually unrivalled, but it is his percentage of dominant tackles that makes him unique.
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8 TAULUPE FALETAU
Wales’ Taulupe Faletau showed he is nearing his best again after an injury-ravaged few years, and capped off his autumn with a man of the match display against Italy. His power and ability to make hard yards has never been questioned, but his subtle hands could be needed to unlock a watertight South African defence.
9 BEN YOUNGS
In an autumn that was defined by kicking, Ben Youngs is one of the leading exponents of the box kick and executes Jones’ game plan for England with aplomb.
10 JONATHAN SEXTON
This autumn was a chance for Finn Russell to impress after reconciling with Gregor Townsend, but he managed just over a half of rugby in total before succumbing to a groin injury. With no standout fly-half in the tournament, Ireland looked far more comfortable when captain Jonathan Sexton was on the field, despite missing two matches with a hamstring injury.
11 JONNY MAY
Having scored one of the great tries in recent years against Ireland at Twickenham, Jonny May is at the top of his game. He may not get a huge amount of ball given how England play, but his kick chase is supreme, and he is always dangerous when in possession.
12 OWEN FARRELL
Although Owen Farrell had an uncharacteristically ropey day off the tee against France, the England captain is another player who was pivotal in the way his team played.
13 ROBBIE HENSHAW
With the likes of Garry Ringrose and Manu Tuilagi injured, and Jonathan Davies still working his way back after a knee injury, Robbie Henshaw showed he is an option in the No13 shirt.
14 DUHAN VAN DER MERWE
A controversial call but Scotland’s Duhan van der Merwe managed three tries in his first five Tests, including a brilliant solo effort against Ireland last weekend. The powerful winger could be a potent weapon against the country of his birth.
15 STUART HOGG
Will be pushed all the way by Liam Williams who is struggling to overcome injury issues, but Scotland captain Stuart Hogg always carries a threat from fullback, although it was not necessarily a season of free-flowing rugby.
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
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