With the World Cup just two years away, the autumn internationals take on added importance. The northern hemisphere sides will be looking to improve on their dismal showing at the 2015 event, which saw none of them reach the semi-finals, while the southern hemisphere sides are currently all facing problems of their own.
Ahead of the autumn internationals which get underway this weekend, we’ve had a look at how the home nations shape up ahead of what is a crucial period.
England
Coach: Eddie Jones
Player to watch: Tom Curry
World Ranking: 2nd
Word from the camp
It’s a balancing act for Eddie Jones this autumn. On the one hand he’ll be expecting to win all three games at Twickenham, it’ll be a monumental shock if they don’t. While on the other, he faces another test of his squad’s depth, with some players out injured and a necessity to rest over-worked Lions players. He’s known for his tough training sessions and regimes and he’ll be mindful not to pick up any more injuries ahead of this weekend’s game against Argentina.
An inexperienced side beat Argentina 2-0 in the summer series and some of those players have been picked again. Tom Curry and Sam Underhill will be vying for the hotly contested openside role, while there could also be a changing of the guard at hooker. Dylan Hartley has captained England throughout Jones’ tenure in charge, but Jamie George started for the Lions earlier this summer and has been impressive for his club so far this season. A first England start isn’t too far away for the Saracen and it should come this autumn.
Fixtures
- England Argentina (11th November)
- England Australia (18th November)
- England Samoa (25th November)
Squad
Mike Brown (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Jonny May (Leicester Tigers), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath), Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks), Anthony Watson (Bath), Danny Care (Harlequins), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Leicester Tigers), Piers Francis (Northampton Saints), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Zach Mercer (Bath), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs), Sam Underhill (Bath), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Tom Dunn (Bath), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)
Wales
Coach: Warren Gatland
Player to watch: Hadleigh Parkes
World Ranking: 7th
Word from the camp
Warren Gatland returns to take charge of the Wales team after his sabbatical in charge of the Lions last season. His side face the toughest challenge of any of the home nations this autumn, with all three southern hemisphere superpowers visiting Cardiff.
Wales’ record in autumn internationals in recent years has been dismal, as has their record against southern hemisphere opponents. There hasn’t been a victory over New Zealand in 60 years, while it’s been 12 meetings since they beat Australia. Despite beating the All Blacks earlier this year, the Wallabies will be weary, and you worry for Wales if they fail to beat them on this occasion.
Gatland will be without captain Sam Warburton and George North for the autumn internationals, while Jamie Roberts has been dropped after 92 Tests. His replacement, Hadleigh Parkes, suggests that Wales will attempt a more expansive game, although they tried that last autumn and they failed.
Fixtures
- Wales Australia (11th November)
- Wales Georgia (18th November)
- Wales New Zealand (25th November)
- Wales South Africa (2nd December)
Squad
Liam Williams (Saracens), Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets), Steffan Evans (Scarlets), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Hallam Amos (Dragons), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Owen Watkin (Ospreys), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Tyler Morgan (Dragons), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Owen Williams (Gloucester), Rhys Priestland (Bath), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Aled Davies (Scarlets), Taulupe Faletau (Bath), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Aaron Shingler (Scarlets), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Sam Cross (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Cory Hill (Dragons), Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Rob Evans (Scarlets), Leon Brown (Dragons), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues)
Scotland
Coach: Gregor Townsend
Player to watch: Huw Jones
World Ranking: 6th
Word from the camp
The injury crisis hasn’t evaded Scotland, who’ll be without Greig Laidlaw, Richie Gray, Fraser Brown, Sean Maitland and Matt Scott this autumn. Their fixtures include a tough test against New Zealand, while victory over Australia will be the marker for how this period will be judged by Gregor Townsend. Scotland lost to Fiji in the summer, so they’ll be wary of Samoa, but they should secure a victory.
Fixtures
- Scotland Samoa (11th November)
- Scotland New Zealand (18th November)
- Scotland Australia (25th November)
Squad
Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors), Tommy Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), Byron McGuigan (Sale Sharks), Lee Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Dougie Fife (Edinburgh), Huw Jones (Western Province), Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Harris (Newcastle Falcons), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Phil Burleigh (Edinburgh), Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors), Nathan Fowles (Edinburgh), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors), Cornell du Preez (Edinburgh), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Luke Hamilton (Leicester Tigers), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors), Magnus Bradbury (Edinburgh), John Barclay (Scarlets), Ben Toolis (Edinburgh), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh), WP Nel (Edinburgh), Darryl Marfo (Edinburgh), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Jamie Bhatti (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Berghan (Edinburgh), George Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Stuart McInally (Edinburgh), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Neil Cochrane (Edinburgh)
Ireland
Coach: Joe Schmidt
Player to watch: Bundee Aki
World Ranking: 4th
Word from the camp
Ireland have taken giant strides in conquering southern hemisphere opponents in recent years, with their victory over New Zealand still resonating in the Emerald Isle. Like England, they should also expect to win all three games this autumn, but they’re also without some key players in Garry Ringrose, Josh van der Flier, Jared Payne and Jamie Heaslip. However, Bundee Aki has received a first international call-up and will look to prosper outside Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton.
Fixtures
- Ireland South Africa (11th November)
- Ireland Fiji (18th November)
- Ireland Argentina (25th November)
Squad
Rob Kearney (Leinster), Joey Carbery (Leinster), Darren Sweetnam (Munster), Jacob Stockdale (Ulster), Dave Kearney (Leinster), Keith Earls (Munster), Andrew Conway (Munster), Adam Byrne (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Chris Farrell (Munster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), Conor Murray (Munster), Luke McGrath (Leinster), Kieran Marmion (Connacht), CJ Stander (Munster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Rhys Ruddock (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Tommy O’Donnell (Munster), Sean O’Brien (Leinster), Dan Leavy (Leinster), Kieran Treadwell (Ulster), Devin Toner (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Ultan Dilane (Connacht), John Ryan (Munster), Andrew Porter (Leinster), Jack McGrath (Leinster), David Kilcoyne (Munster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), James Tracy (Leinster), Rob Herring (Ulster), Rory Best (Ulster)