The third round of the Autumn Nations Series delivered some dominant performances, with the narrowest margin of victory being 14 points.
Let’s dive into the standout statistics and key talking points from the weekend.
France 37 Argentina 23
France ended their Autumn Nations Series with a clean sweep, avenging their July defeat in Buenos Aires with a dazzling and dominant display of French flair under the lights.
Les Bleus entered the half-time break at the Stade de France with a commanding 30-9 lead, and an equally comfortable second half seemed likely. However, as Ireland discovered last week, this Argentina side does not give up easily. Although the outcome was never truly in doubt, the Pumas can take pride in their resilience, having conceded just seven second-half points in their last two matches against Europe’s top-ranked teams.
Statistically, Argentina’s performance after the break showed marked improvement: they gained 406 metres from 106 carries in the second half, compared to just 152 metres from 51 carries in the opening 40 minutes.
On the French side, Thomas Ramos continued to shine at fly-half. The Toulouse star has amassed an impressive 80 points in his five starts at No. 10 this year, including 15 against Argentina.
This effort propelled him past Thierry Lacroix (367), Morgan Parra (370), and Dimitri Yachvili (373) to become France’s third all-time leading points scorer with 379.
With Christophe Lamaison (380) and Frédéric Michalak (436) within reach, Ramos will be aiming to climb even higher during the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
Les Bleus will head into the 2025 Championship as the team in form, gunning for their first title since 2022 and their 14th overall.
Ireland 52 Fiji 17
After a couple of underwhelming performances earlier in their campaign, Ireland showcased their true potential with a commanding victory over Fiji. Fielding a heavily rotated squad, Ireland’s attack clicked in a way that hadn’t been evident in the previous two weeks, recording 13 line breaks—their highest since making 21 against Romania at the Rugby World Cup last year.
Perhaps most encouraging for Andy Farrell and his coaching staff was the significant improvement in discipline, which has cost Ireland so dearly in recent games. After conceding 13 penalties in both of their previous games against New Zealand and Argentina, Ireland reduced that number to just eight on Saturday—a timely boost ahead of a tougher challenge against the Wallabies next weekend.
Ireland exceeded expectations, surpassing the points predictor’s estimate of 48.6 by scoring an impressive 52 points. In contrast, Fiji struggled to capitalise on their opportunities, falling short of their predicted 27 points and managing only 17 on the scoreboard.
Individually, Gus McCarthy made an outstanding debut in the green jersey. Not only did the young Leinster hooker score a try, but he also assisted three others—making him just the third forward for a Tier 1 nation to achieve this feat since Opta began tracking such data in 2010.
That achievement puts McCarthy amongst some of the legends of the game, with the only other forwards to do so being All Blacks stars Dane Coles (against South Africa in 2016) and Ardie Savea (against Tonga in 2019). It’s an impressive start for McCarthy, who looks set to earn many more caps in the years ahead.
Wales 12 South Africa 45
Welsh Rugby and its fans would like to forget 2024, with 10 consecutive losses this year. South Africa travelled to Cardiff on Saturday and showed no remorse for a struggling Welsh side, handing them their 11th consecutive defeat, marking a winless calendar year for Wales. This dismal record is Wales’ first since 1937 (L3) and only the second time in the professional era that a Tier 1 nation has ended a year without a victory, following Italy’s 2020 campaign (L8).
More concerning than the result was the lacklustre performance of Warren Gatland’s team, both in attack and defence. They managed just 82 metres throughout the match — the lowest recorded by any Tier 1 team since Opta began tracking such data — averaging barely over one metre per minute.
While it’s true that Wales fielded a relatively inexperienced lineup (334 caps compared to South Africa’s 946), the nature of the defeat is cause for concern as they look to regroup ahead of a daunting Six Nations opener against a rampant France.
For the Springboks, however, Rassie Erasmus will be thoroughly satisfied with their November campaign, as his team scored four or more tries in each of their three victories.
Italy 11 New Zealand 29
After suffering a record defeat to New Zealand at last year’s Rugby World Cup, Italy delivered a performance over the weekend that better reflected the progress they’ve made in recent years. The Azzurri managed to keep the All Blacks under 30 points for only the third time in their 17 meetings, with the 18-point margin of defeat being their third-lowest against New Zealand (10 points in 1991, 14 points in 2009).
However, New Zealand’s dominance ultimately shone through, particularly in their breakdown efficiency. The All Blacks completed 64% of their rucks within three seconds, compared to just 30% for Italy. This quick ball retention gave New Zealand the advantage, allowing them to stretch Italy’s defence by moving the ball wide in 55% of their attacking phases, compared to Italy’s 32%. The result was a dynamic display of attacking rugby, with New Zealand recording nine line breaks, beating 31 defenders, and scoring four tries.
Beauden Barrett’s late try capped off the win and marked his 45th in a New Zealand jersey, leaving him just one try short of the top 10 scorers in men’s Test rugby history. If Barrett can score five more tries in his career, he will become the first All Black to reach 50 tries, overtaking legends like Doug Howlett (49), Julian Savea, Christian Cullen, and Joe Rokocoko (46 each).
Scotland 27 Australia 13
Having already secured victories over England and Wales this autumn, Australia may have been dreaming of completing a grand slam against the British and Irish teams for the first time since 1984, and with that, a statement of intent ahead of next year’s Lions tour.
However, those hopes were dashed by an assured Scotland, whose dominant second-half performance turned the tide. Gregor Townsend’s men doubled their line breaks in the final 40 minutes (six compared to three in the first half) and beat 21 defenders in the second half alone, eight more than their first-half tally.
From Australia’s perspective, it was a costly period. Three of Scotland’s second-half line breaks culminated in tries, and the Wallabies missed 12 tackles in the sequences leading to those decisive scores.
Individually, Duhan van der Merwe stole the spotlight, reclaiming his place as Scotland’s all-time top try-scorer in men’s Test rugby with a try against Australia. The powerful winger also set a tournament-high mark by beating 10 defenders in the match. Remarkably, this was the sixth time Van der Merwe has achieved double figures for defenders beaten in a Test match since his Scotland debut—a feat unmatched by any Tier 1 player, with the closest managing it only four times in the same period.
England 59 Japan 14
Eddie Jones’ return to the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham turned into a nightmare as his successor, Steve Borthwick, orchestrated a dominant England performance, ending their five-game losing streak with a nine-try demolition of Japan. The result marked Japan’s 12th consecutive defeat against European opposition.
While England’s previous five losses could have gone their way on another day, there was no ambiguity about the outcome this time. Four unanswered tries, all converted by Marcus Smith, propelled England to a commanding 28-0 lead by the 31st minute – one they would not relinquish, unlike recent weeks.
Japan finally got on the board in the 34th minute through a try and conversion from Naoto Saito, but Ollie Sleightholme replied just three minutes later. England’s fifth try came from their sixth entry into Japan’s 22.
England’s forwards were rampant, contributing six of the nine tries, including two apiece for Jamie George and Luke Cowan-Dickie. Remarkably, this was only the second instance of both hookers from one team scoring twice against a Tier 1 nation since Opta began tracking such stats, the first being New Zealand’s Dane Coles and Asafo Aumua against Italy in 2021.
Despite Japan scoring at least two tries in every match since Eddie Jones resumed as head coach, their defensive frailties remain a major concern. Notably, Jones had never previously seen one of his teams concede 50 points in 151 Tests as a head coach. However, the Brave Blossoms have now suffered this fate in four of their 11 matches during his second tenure, including three times this autumn.
All graphics are provided by Opta Analyst and Stats Perform.
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