Weekend Round-Up: Thriller At Thomond Park

Catch up on the best of the weekend’s games on Rugby Pass as England got their Autumn Internationals campaign underway at Twickenham and Munster hosted the Maori All Blacks in a belter at Thomond Park.

Autumn International: England vs South Africa
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England hadn’t beaten the Springboks in ten years, but was anyone betting against them  heading into Saturday’s match at Twickenham? On this year’s form – England nine wins from nine, South Africa nearly losing a home series to Ireland before finishing third in the Rugby Championship – you’d have been mad to. But South Africa led for much of the first half through a trio of Pat Lambie penalty kicks, and England only led at halftime courtesy of what the Guardian described as a “Charlie Chaplin try” finished by Courtney Lawes. Down 20-9 at the break, the Springboks had it all to do, and England halfback Ben Youngs was just getting started.

Autumn International: Scotland vs Australia
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General consensus on the Rugby Pass Facebook page this week was that the Scottish rugby team had about as much chance of beating the Wallabies at Murrayfield this weekend as they did getting a suntan;certainly there was no way would they get as close as last year’s one-point last-minute loss in the World Cup quarterfinals. But clearly nobody told Vern Cotter’s band of merry men and they raced to an early 10-0 lead through a belter of a try from centre Huw Jones. Reece Hodge struck back for the Wallabies soon after with an even better try, but Scotland kept fighting and after Jones’ second went to the break with a 17-10 lead. Were they headed for World Cup revenge, or were Australia about to administer another dose of heartbreak?

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Autumn International: Munster vs Maori All Blacks
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It has been a hell of a month for Munster Rugby. Since losing their talismanic coach Anthony Foley on October 16 they have gone unbeaten in the Champions Cup and Pro12 competitions; now, without a slew of their internationals, they faced a Maori All Blacks side teeming with Super Rugby experience. This promised to be a special occasion from the moment Maori All Blacks captain Ash Dixon laid down a jersey with the initials ‘AF’ on the halfway line before the haka, and the game itself didn’t disappoint. In front of a sold out Thomond Park the home side struck first through Niall Scannell before two tries in two minutes gave the visitors the halftime lead. But as they have done all month, Munster kept up their ferocious intensity in the second half, and kept inching towards what would be a famous win.

Autumn International: Wales vs Argentina
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Wales rung the changes for their return to Principality Stadium after their shellacking at the hands of the Wallabies last week, their fifth test loss in a row. One of those changes, Liam Williams, was responsible for the game’s first try, which didn’t come until early in the second half. Perhaps more important than the new faces was the fact that Wales seemed to be playing with a game plan this time, and they hung with it for a 6-3 lead at halftime. But the creativity of the Argentineans was a constant threat; Wales would have to fight hard for their first win in six games.