2024 Autumn Nations Series: Week Two Review

It was an entertaining weekend of action in the Autumn Nations, where England took on Australia, Wales faced Fiji, with Scotland going head to head with South Africa.

The second week of action in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series saw a number of enthralling matches take place across the continent of Europe, with games being contested between some of the best international teams in the world going head to head at some of the world’s most iconic stadiums.

A blockbuster fixture between Ireland and New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin got the second round of action underway on Friday 8th November. On Saturday, England took on rivals Australia at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, whilst Wales and Scotland went toe to toe with Fiji and South Africa respectively on Sunday 10th November.

No less than 81,329 people were in attendance for England’s game against Australia, whilst 67,144 people watched Gregor Townsend’s Scotland side take on South Africa, the reigning World Champions.

As for Wales, Warren Gatland’s team faced Fiji in front of a 61,587 strong crowd at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh Capital of Cardiff.

Here, we are going to be reviewing the action from the games involving Scotland, Wales, and Steve Borthwick’s England. We will also take a look back at the other results from matches on the second weekend of 2024 Autumn Nations Series action.

England 37 – 42 Australia (Allianz Stadium, Twickenham)

The first game that we take a look back at is the fiercely contested game between Steve Borthwick’s England against rivals Australia, who were led by their current Head Coach Joe Schmidt, at the Allianz Stadium Twickenham on Saturday 9th November.

It was late heartbreak for the hosts England for the second Autumn Nations Series match running, losing the game in the end following a try in the dying embers of this contest from Max Jorgensen to seal a 37 – 42 win against their hosts. England had been sat in a very positive position with just 20 minutes to go when there were no less than 12 points separating them and their rivals.

Over the course of the game, Chandler Cunningham-South (2), Ollie Sleightholme (2), and Maro Itoje all got tries for England, whilst Marcus Smith scored 3 conversions and 2 penalties for his team that day.

Aside from Jorgensen’s try, Australia also got tries thanks to Tom Wright, Harry Wilson, Jeremy Williams, and Andrew Kellaway. Noah Lolesio got 2 conversions and penalties, whilst Ben Donaldson got 2 conversions.

Scotland 15 – 32 South Africa (Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium)

The next game we will be taking a look back at is the one that was contested between Gregor Townsend’s Scotland and Rassie Erasmus’ South Africa, the current World Champions, in Edinburgh, at the famous Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium on Sunday 10th November 2024.

The task for Scotland was made all the more challenging thanks to the sending off of Scott Cummings for foul play in the first half. Townsend’s team put in plenty of effort to try and hurt the visitors’ defence, but South Africa were too good in the end, so they eventually came away as 15 – 32 winners.

Scotland did score 5 penalties in the game thanks to Finn Russell. The visitors got tries through Makazole Mapimpi (2), Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Jasper Wiese, whilst the Springboks got 3 conversions and 2 penalties, all scored by Handre Pollard.

Wales 19 – 24 Fiji (Principality Stadium)

Next up is a close contest between Warren Gatland’s Wales and Mick Byrne’s Fiji side at the famous Principality Stadium in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, on Sunday 10th November 2024. It was a narrow defeat for the hosts in the end, who were beaten 19 – 24 by their visitors in this game on Sunday afternoon.

Blair Murray and Ellis Bevan were both on hand for Wales to score tries, whilst it was Gareth Anscombe who scored his country’s only conversion of the game. As for Fiji, they also got 2 tries, scored thanks to Caleb Muntz and Josua Tuisova, the latter of which got a conversion as well as scoring no less than 4 penalties that day.

Ireland 13 – 23 New Zealand (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)

Lastly, we move on to Ireland, who were on the end of a 13 – 23 defeat against New Zealand in what was a high profile battle between two nations both sat within the top three of the current Rugby World Rankings. It was a game that took place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin back on Friday 8th November 2024.

Andy Farrell’s side were beaten by a clinical All Blacks side on the day. The hosts did get a try through Josh van der Flier, whilst Jack Crowley got a conversion as well as successfully scoring 2 penalties over the course of the game.

As for New Zealand, they too scored one try overall, doing so through Will Jordan. Meanwhile, Damian McKenzie was able to score no less than 6 penalties over the course of the contest, which was a significant factor in the win for the visiting team.

Other Week 2 Results

Below are the other results from 2024 Autumn Nations Series matches that took place across the continent of Europe on the second week of action.

• Italy 18 – 50 Argentina (Stadio Friuli, Udine) – Saturday 9^th November 2024.
• France 52 – 12 Japan (Stade de France, Paris) – Saturday 9^th November 2024.

Next Up for England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland

Starting with England, they will be looking to get back to winning ways in their game against a fellow Rugby international heavyweight in the form of Rassie Erasmus’ South Africa, who are currently the reigning World Champions after winning the World Cup back in 2023. This game will be taking place at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday 16th November 2024 in what will be a 17:40 Kick Off.

Moving on to Scotland, they will be taking on Portugal at the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday 16th November, with the game getting underway that afternoon at 15:10. Ranked 6thin the world, Gregor Townsend’s team will be the favourites against a side currently sat 15th as of the time of writing. Scotland are 6^th at the moment, as of the time of writing.

As for Wales, their opponents will be Australia at the historic Principality Stadium, with the Springboks set to make the trip to Cardiff for a match that will be taking place at 16:10 on the afternoon of Sunday 17th November 2024. Warren Gatland’s team will be looking to bounce back from defeat and seal a statement win against a side ranked 8th in the world currently.

Ireland, sits in 3rd place in the World Rankings at present, have only New Zealand and South Africa sat above them in 2nd and 1st place as things stand at the moment. Andy Farrell’s side will be facing Argentina, who are ranked 5th in the world, in an eye-catching contest at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in a 20:10pm kick-off.

Other Week 3 Fixtures

Below are the other Autumn Nations Series Fixtures that are set to be played in the second week of matches, from Friday 15^th November to Sunday 17^th November 2024.

• France vs. New Zealand (Stade de France, Paris) – Saturday 16^th November 2024 – 20:10 KO.
• Italy vs. Georgia (Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa) – Sunday 17^th November 2024 – 13:40 KO.

Excitement and anticipation are building rapidly ahead of the third week of action in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series that begins on Friday 15^th November 2024.

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