November dawns, and it’s the annual fight for supremacy between the two hemispheres – a contest which has traditionally gone the way of the south, except for a few notable sporadic triumphs by the RBS 6 Nations countries.
The weather may be cool, but the rugby promises to be decidedly on the hot side this autumn with a wealth of world class talent on your doorstep – and information on how to buy tickets is included throughout this newsletter.
Once more the toughest opponent tag will be carried by the formidable world champions, New Zealand, who are still undefeated in 2013 and will be hoping to go through a calendar year with an unblemished winning record for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.
In their way stand France, England and Ireland in successive weeks: first up are France at Saint Denis on November 9, where Les Bleus will be trying to overcome New Zealand for the first time since 2009.
A week later the All Blacks return to the “scene of the accident” – their last defeat came on December 1, 2012 at the hands of England at Twickenham.
Their mini-tour rounds off with a visit to Dublin and the Aviva Stadium, with Ireland all out to try and accomplish a first ever victory over the Antipodeans at their 28th attempt in over 108 years of trying.
Also arriving on these shores are Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks for a three-match tour in which they will take on the might of Wales, Scotland and France over consecutive weekends.
Wales, the current RBS 6 Nations champions, have not won an autumn international since 2009 and will be all guns blazing to overcome South Africa for only the second time, the first time being more than 14 years ago in the inaugural Test match played at the then brand new Millennium Stadium.
Scotland will be attempting a repeat of their historic 2010 triumph over the same opponents at Murrayfield, while the Boks conclude their tour with their first visit to France since 2009, and a return to the scene of their 2007 Rugby World Cup victory – the Stade de France in Paris.
The Wallabies have made the long journey north where a four Test schedule awaits against England, Italy, Ireland and Scotland; the Cook Cup is up for grabs once more at Twickenham on Saturday with Australia having won on three of their last four visits to the famous old ground.
The Wallabies then head for Turin with the Azzurri out to complete a proper “Italian Job” of their own, in the city of the iconic movie. Ireland are next on the agenda with new coach Joe Schmidt’s men hopeful of a repeat of the result, 15-6, the last time they met – in Auckland during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Wales have two other Tests in November against Argentina and Tonga at the Millennium Stadium – the Pumas having beaten the Dragons at the same venue 12 months ago, and Tonga making only a second ever visit to the venue of the 1999 Rugby World Cup final, and hoping to lower Welsh colours for the first time ever.
Ireland open their Autumn series by welcoming an ever-improving Samoa to Dublin. A thrilling match is in store with the Samoans ranked seventh in the world, one place higher than their hosts.
Scotland face Japan at Murrayfield on November 9 and have won all three previous Test matches against Japan, although the Brave Blossoms did win 28-24 in Tokyo in 1989 in a game where the hosts awarded caps but Scotland did not.
England’s remaining autumn international is against Argentina at Twickenham on November 9. The Pumas’ only previous win at Twickenham was in 2006, with England being victorious in both of this summer’s Tests in the South Americans’ back yard.
Apart from Australia, Italy’s other opponents this November will be Fiji and Argentina. The city of Cremona hosts its first major rugby match as Fiji arrive for the second game in a three-match European sojourn.
A close encounter is on the cards between the two sides ranked 12th and 13th in the world and the eight previous encounters between the two being evenly shared four wins apiece.
Finally, France’s remaining protagonist is Tonga on November 16 where another new Test venue will be born in the guise of Le Havre’s brand new Stade Oceane.
France’s only previous Test in the city was against Romania at the Stade Jules Deschaseaux in 1992.
A great month of international rugby is in store, after which all eyes will turn to the 2014 RBS 6 Nations.
