Ireland have much to thank Schmidt for, Italy bear the brunt of All Blacks’ frustrations and Fiji look ominous foes for Australia
England’s autumn ledger reads as follows: P4 W3 L1; tries scored 10, tries conceded six. They have looked both excellent and sluggish at times but the overall end-of-term report has to be a positive one. If the Vunipolas return fit and firing, Manu Tuilagi and Joe Cokanasiga stay intact and Owen Farrell adjusts his tackle technique, they will be tough, at the very least, to beat in 2019. The Six Nations already has the makings of a wonderful tournament, with England’s opening fixture against Ireland in Dublin a potential humdinger. If the Harlequins’ trio of Chris Robshaw, Danny Care and Mike Brown make it back into the starting XV for that fixture it will be some achievement; England, with Farrell at the helm, are increasingly entering a new phase. Australia? The Wallabies are currently a pale shadow of the World Cup winning sides of old. Watching their forwards on Saturday was like going snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, diving under the water and discovering almost all the coral has died. Robert Kitson
Written by Guardian sport, Ian Malin, Gerard Meagher, Paul Rees, Michael Aylwin and Robert Kitson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/nov/26/rugby-union-talking-points-autumn-internationals under the title “Rugby union: talking points from the final round of autumn Tests”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
