Week three of the Autumn Nations Series promised yet more thrilling action, with some incredibly tight matches, plenty of quality tries and several talking points.
In the lunchtime kick-offs on Saturday, Argentina were made to work for their 37-16 win over Italy in Treviso, whilst South Africa continued their impressive European form with a 30-15 win against Scotland at BT Murrayfield.
Ireland then produced a stunning performance to defeat New Zealand 29-20 at the Aviva Stadium, before England entertained the Twickenham crowd, beating Australia 32-15.
On Sunday, France defeated Georgia 41-15 in Bordeaux and Wales left it late to edge out Fiji 38-23 at Principality Stadium.
Here is a look at the weekend in numbers.
Italy 16-37 Argentina
23 – It is now 23 years since Italy last defeated Los Pumas at home dating back to a 23-19 win in Piacenza back in 1998.
5 – The number of tries Argentina were able to score in their triumph over Italy, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero and Facundo Bosch all crossed the whitewash.
Scotland 15-30 South Africa
19 – The number of tries Springbok flyer Makazole Mapimpi has now scored in just 24 appearances. He has the rare record of scoring against every team he has faced in international rugby after his brace at BT Murrayfield.
24 – Mapimipi wasn’t the only player to cross the line twice, with Scotland captain Stuart Hogg also scoring a brace. In doing so, he became Scotland’s joint-top try scorer, level with Ian Smith and Tony Stanger.
15 – François Steyn became the first Springbok to have a 15-year international playing career, the utility back came off the bench on Saturday, having made his debut in a 32-15 defeat to Ireland at Lansdowne Road on 11 November 2006, where he scored a try from left wing.
Ireland 29-20 New Zealand
3 – Ireland have now won three of their past five matches against the All Blacks after their incredible win in Dublin on Saturday. They had previously never defeated New Zealand, until their 40-29 win in Chicago in 2016, which was then followed by a 16-9 win at the Aviva Stadium two years later, their first win on Irish soil against the All Blacks.
8 – The number of minutes Ireland had possession of the ball in New Zealand’s 22, 8 minutes and 11 seconds to be precise, compared to New Zealand’s 1m 56s.
17 – The number of tries that New Zealand winger Will Jordan has now managed in just 12 Test matches after his try against Ireland.
England 32-15 Australia
8 – England made it eight wins from eight against Australia under Eddie Jones, with their last defeat to the Wallabies coming in that infamous 33-13 loss in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
6 – Jamie Blamire’s incredible try-scoring run continued on Saturday, with the Newcastle Falcons hooker scoring his sixth try in just four games. In doing so, he became the first England forward to score in four consecutive matches.
15 – James O’Connor’s points haul for the match, kicking all of Australia’s points from the tee. Only Owen Farrell scored more points at Twickenham.
France 41-15 Georgia
2 – The number of tries that both Peato Mauvaka and Damien Penaud scored for Les Bleus, as France put on a show for their fans in Bordeaux.
1 – Matthieu Jalibert dotted down for his first French try in Bordeaux, where he plays his club rugby. There were also debuts given to both Matthis Lebel and Maxime Lucu.
Wales 38-23 Fiji
2 – Just like in the France v Georgia and Scotland v South Africa matches, two players scored braces in Cardiff. Ryan Elias scored twice for the hosts, whilst Waisea Nayacalevu scored two excellent tries for the Flying Fijians.
65,000 – The number of people who attended the Principality Stadium, providing the incredible atmosphere to a thrilling match of rugby.
1 – The lead Wales had at half-time, leading by just a point at the break. Kieran Hardy’s try late in the first half gave the hosts a 14-13 lead after 40 minutes.
