The Autumn Nations Series – aka the Spring Tour to Aussie fans – kicks off with a belter this weekend with England hosting the All Blacks at Twickenham.
Australia, with star signing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on board in the 34-player squad, arrive on Friday for their grand slam tour of four Tests against England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
The Springboks and Argentina are also on their way north while Fiji will face Scotland in the second of the two games in week one.
Every match of the Autumn Nations Series will be shown live on Stan Sport.
Teams will be added as they’re named.
England vs New Zealand, Twickenham, London, Sunday Nov 3, 2.10am AEDT
England: Ellis Genge, Jamie George (c), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl, Ben Spencer, Marcus Smith, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Furbank.
Replacements: Theo Dan, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Ben Curry, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford.
New Zealand: TBC – announcement is scheduled for 10.30pm AEDT Thursday
Talking points: New Zealand have already played a Test on their tour and easily accounted for Eddie Jones’ Japan last week.
England centre Henry Slade will start despite playing only 54 minutes of club rugby this season after shoulder injury, and Steve Borthwick’s team is facing injuries on several fronts.
Ben Spencer, whose previous six caps were as a replacement, replaces Alex Mitchell at No.9 with Bristol’s Harry Randall on the bench.
Tom Curry is included in the back row alongside Chandler Cunningham-South and Ben Earl, with brother Ben Curry taking his place in a 6-2 bench split.
(Photo by Dan Mullan – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
George Ford returns after a quad injury to make the bench with Marcus Smith in the No.10 jersey.
Joe Marler, another player who will miss out through injury, called the All Blacks haka ‘ridiculous’ in the lead up – and that’s likely to add some feeling to the pre-game exchange.
The All Blacks have had injuries of their own but will be boosted by two wins over England in New Zealand in July.
Prediction: The All Blacks have played the bigger games recently and should be better for the run in Japan. This one is going to the southern hemisphere side 27-20.
Scotland vs Fiji, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Sunday Nov 3, 4.40am AEDT
Scotland: TBC
Fiji: TBC
Talking points: Australia’s own Sione Tuipolutu will captain Scotland for the first time while his brother Mosese, straight from a disappointing season for the Waratahs, was in the wider squad ahead of the team announcement.
Both teams will be hard hit by the match falling outside the designated release window – meaning players from the English Premiership and France can’t be considered.
It’s particularly tough on Fiji coach Mick Byrne with key players such as Waisea Nayacalevu, Semi Radradra, Josua Tuisova, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Inia Tabuavou, Eroni Mawi, Sam Matavesi, Temo Mayanavanua and Albert Tuisue all set to miss out.
Finn Russell and Blair Kinghorn are among the Scotland players set to miss out.
“Their identity is that ‘banana skin’ thing, where they can beat anyone in the world or lose to anyone in the world on any given day,” said Scotland forward Jack Dempsey – another Aussie in Townsend’s team.
“That’s the funny thing about them and what makes it a tricky one to start our campaign with.
“They’ll likely be without a few key leaders and it might be a game where there are a few new caps as well. That’s always one element to the first game of the autumn and it’s exciting, because those new guys bring energy and everything else.
“But against Fiji, above all you need clarity, you need structure, and you need execution. Those are all things that we’ll look to, and it’s also a matter of not looking too far ahead. We know the Springboks are coming [on November 10], we know Australia are coming [two weeks later], but you can’t start off poorly.”
Prediction: Scotland will have the cohesion and talent to make this a very difficult match for Mick Byrne, stepping up after promotion from Fijian Drua. He’ll have mostly Super Rugby players for the game. Scotland to win 35-7.
Upcoming games
(All times AEDT)
Ireland vs New Zealand, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Saturday Nov 9, 7.10am
England vs Australia, Twickenham, London, Sunday Nov 10, 2.10am
Italy vs Argentina, Stadio Friuli, Udine, Sunday Nov 10, 4.40am
France vs Japan, Stade de France, Paris, Sunday Nov 10, 7.10am
Wales vs Fiji, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Monday Nov 11, 12.40am
Scotland vs South Africa, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Monday Nov 11, 3.10am
Ireland vs Argentina, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Saturday November 16, 7.10am
Scotland vs Portugal, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Sunday Nov 17, 2.10am
England vs South Africa, Twickenham, London, Sunday Nov 17, 4.40am
France vs New Zealand, Stade de France, Paris, Sunday Nov 17 7.10am
Italy vs Georgia, Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Monday Nov 18, 12.40am
Wales vs Australia, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Monday Nov 18, 3.10am
France vs Argentina, Stade de France, Paris, Saturday Nov 23, 7.10am
Ireland vs Fiji, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Sunday Nov 24, 2.10am
Wales vs South Africa, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Sunday Nov 24, 4.40am
Italy vs New Zealand, Allianz Stadium, Turin, Sunday Nov 24, 7.10am
Scotland vs Australia, Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Monday Nov 25, 12.40am
England vs Japan, Twickenham, London, Monday Nov 25, 3.10am
Ireland vs Australia, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Sunday Dec 1, 2.10am
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