Tag: Rugby

Ahead of the opening weekend of 2018’s November internationals, we take a look over the best bets from two games taking place on Saturday.

There’s four high profile Tests scheduled as Japan clash with New Zealand, Wales host Scotland, England meet South Africa and Ireland face Italy, with this weekend the starter ahead of a busy feast of international rugby that will follow over the upcoming Saturdays this month.

We go for Wales against Scotland and England versus South Africa as this week’s betting previews so without further ado, here’s our punts.

Wales v Scotland

Wales come into this fixture on a five-game winning run after beating Italy, France, South Africa and Argentina (twice) in the last eight months. Meanwhile Scotland have won three of their last five outings as they saw off Italy, Canada and Argentina, losing to Ireland and USA.

Warren Gatland’s men are 4/9 with 888 Sport and the majority of the bookies to win in Cardiff with Scotland priced at 56/25 (Marathon Bet). Clearly there’s not a great deal to choose between the sides and Scotland are without Finn Russell, which hands a chance to Adam Hastings.

It’s a six-point handicap with the bookies with BetFred having the best price there at 20/21, but it’s the race to 10 points market that’s caught our eye as we expect the Scots to come out firing. They are 7/4 with SkyBet to reach 10 points first which seems a decent option.

On the personal front, Huw Jones could be the man to get the ball rolling for Scotland in Cardiff on Saturday and at 20/1 with Betfair the prolific centre is good value to cross first. For Wales a perfect debut for Luke Morgan would see him get the first try at 17/2 with Bet365.

England v South Africa

The standout game of the weekend sees England and the Springboks face off for the fourth time this year, with the former looking to level matters at 2-2 after their series loss in June. They’re best priced 3/4 favourites with Black Type while the Boks are 69/50 (Marathon Bet).

England ended a slump of five straight defeats on the international scene with that victory in Cape Town, which gave Eddie Jones breathing space as the knives were being sharpened. They will need to start November on a positive especially with New Zealand next on the schedule.

South Africa are without the likes of Willie le Roux and Faf de Klerk for this match and that could prove costly for the Boks, who have a two-point handicap start at 21/20 with Betway. You can also get South Africa at +3 points with 888 Sport. England -2 is 20/21 (Betfred).

The weather forecast is promising for November as there is a low chance of the wet weather conditions that visibly suited England in that Cape Town win. We should therefore hope for a much better try return this Saturday and we like Elliot Daly to go over anytime for the hosts while England are 2/1 to win both halves (888 Sport). While England are depleted up front, the absence of De Klerk for the Boks could be costly.

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Luke Morgan will make his Test debut for Wales when he lines up on the wing against Scotland at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Morgan, Wales Sevens’ all-time leading try scorer, will make his debut alongside the experienced duo of British & Irish Lions George North and Leigh Halfpenny. Meanwhile, fly-half Jarrod Evans has been named on the bench and is also in line for his debut.

Eight Lions in total are named for Wales including 2017 Player of the Series Jonathan Davies who returns from injury to feature for his country for the first time since 2017. He partners regional team-mate Hadleigh Parkes in the midfield with Gareth Anscombe and Gareth Davies lining up at half-back.

Nicky Smith, Ken Owens and Dillon Lewis make up the front-three combination, with Lewis making his first start at home for Wales.

Cory Hill and captain Alun Wyn Jones continue their partnership in the second-row with Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty linking up to make an all-Lions back-row.

Wales and Scotland will go head-to-head in Cardiff on Saturday for the Doddie Weir Cup and the hosts are looking forward to starting their 2018/19 campaign, according to Rob Howley.

“We are looking forward to kicking off our autumn campaign on Saturday and it was great to welcome Warren back yesterday,” said Howley.

“Warren has been in constant dialogue with us over the past week and we have selected a very strong squad for this weekend.

“It is great to reward players on form and we are looking forward to seeing Luke make his debut on the wing. He has come through the Sevens system, he will bring a point of difference to the squad and it’s a great opportunity for him. Likewise it will be good to see Jarrod from the bench and hopefully seeing some x-factor from him.

“We have created good strength in depth, especially from the summer and have a nice balance bringing seven Lions back into the team.

“We are very respectful of this Scotland team and are looking forward to what should be a great opening match.”

Elliot Dee, Rob Evans and Leon Brown provide the front-row cover on the bench with Adam Beard and Aaron Wainwright completing the forward contingent. Tomos Williams, uncapped Evans and Scarlets wing Steff Evans complete the replacements.

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Steff Evans

Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14:45 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

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Two PRO14 games take place on Friday with Edinburgh hosting the Scarlets at Murrayfield while the Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors do battle in Swansea.

Edinburgh v Scarlets

Scotland internationalists Tom Brown and Murray McCallum return to Edinburgh’s starting XV as head coach Richard Cockerill makes just three changes to his team.

The capped duo are selected in the starting line-up alongside Scotland Sevens squad member, Ally Miller, who makes his Edinburgh debut at openside flanker.

In the back-three, Brown – who makes his first home appearance of the season – is joined on the opposite flank by Duhan van der Merwe, as Dougie Fife keeps his place at full-back.

An unchanged centre pairing sees Chris Dean partnered by James Johnstone in midfield after setting up his side’s only try in last weekend’s PRO14 encounter against Zebre.

Edinburgh’s top points scorer, Simon Hickey (64 points in all competitions), is named at fly-half alongside Henry Pyrgos, who once again captains the side.

In the front-row, experienced hooker Ross Ford packs down alongside Pierre Schoeman and McCallum, whilst an unchanged second-row combination sees Jamie Hodgson and Callum Hunter-Hill both make the first home appearance of their careers.

The inclusion of debutant Miller is the only alteration to an otherwise unchanged back-row as Luke Hamilton and Fijian international Bill Mata keep their place in starting XV.

Elsewhere, former Scotland U20 back-row, Lewis Wynne – who in July joined London Scottish from Glasgow Warriors on season-long loan – is named amongst the replacements and if involved will make his debut for the capital side.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old homegrown talent Will Boyde will lead the Scarlets for the first time as centre Steff Hughes, who captained Scarlets in last week’s victory, is forced to sit out the eighth round clash after suffering an ankle injury in training on Wednesday.

In positive news head coach Wayne Pivac welcomes the return of centre Kieron Fonotia, from suspension, and back-row Blade Thomson, who missed last week’s clash in South Africa following the birth of his second child.

Boyde and Thomson line up at number eight and six respectively with Josh Macleod lining up beside them on the openside flank. Steve Cummins and David Bulbring continue as second-row pairing with Ryan Elias making a return from Wales camp to partner props Phil Price and Werner Kruger in the front-row.

In the backline, New Zealander Johnny McNicholl moves to full-back with Morgan Williams coming in on the wing alongside him and one of last week’s try scorers Ioan Nicholas.

Fonotia returns to the centre alongside Australian Paul Asquith with Dan Jones and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne continuing their halfback partnership.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Dougie Fife, 14 Tom Brown, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Henry Pyrgos (c), 8 Bill Mata, 7 Ally Miller, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Callum Hunter-Hill, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 Murray McCallum, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 David Cherry, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Callum Atkinson, 20 Lewis Wynne, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Jason Baggott, 23 Juan Pablo Socino

Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Ioan Nicholas, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Paul Asquith, 11 Morgan Williams, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Will Boyde (c), 7 Josh Macleod, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Steve Cummins, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Phil Price
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tom Price, 20 Ed Kennedy, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Clayton Blommetjies, 23 Uzair Cassiem

Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), David Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Neil Patterson (Scotland)

Ospreys v Glasgow Warriors

Ospreys will be looking to back up last week’s win over Connacht when they host a Glasgow side licking its wounds after a defeat to Munster.

Gareth Thomas will make his 50th Ospreys appearance if he comes off the bench while Sam Parry is in line for his 100th Championship appearance (PRO12/14) if he comes on.

Tom Habberfield and Sam Davies are their half-backs while Olly Cracknell captains the side alongside Will Jones and Rob McCusker in the back-row.

Meanwhile, USA international Tevita Tameilau will make his first start for Glasgow Warriors on Friday.

The number eight will pack down at the Liberty Stadium with Adam Ashe and captain Callum Gibbins either side of him.

Rob Harley and George Turner have both been released by Scotland this weekend. The hooker is flanked by Oli Kebble and D’Arcy Rae in the front-row, while Scott Cummings is Harley’s partner in the engine room.

Nick Frisby and Brandon Thomson start at nine and ten for the first time since orchestrating Glasgow’s 50-17 pre-season victory over Harlequins in Perth.

Stafford McDowall impressed off the bench against Munster and makes his first start for the club with Nick Grigg outside of him.

DTH van der Merwe was a late absentee against Munster but returns to the starting XV on one wing with Rory Hughes starting on the other with Ruaridh Jackson at full-back.

On the bench Kiran McDonald returns from injury to be involved for the first time his season.

Bruce Flockhart is in line to make his full Glasgow Warriors debut and Paddy Kelly will also get his first taste of rugby in a Warriors shirt this season.

Sam Johnson suffered a knee injury in Glasgow’s defeat to Munster last weekend and is expected to be out for 10-12 weeks.

The teams:

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Will Jones, 6 Olly Cracknell (c), 5 James King, 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Tom Botha, 19 James Ratti, 20 Guido Volpi, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 James Hook, 23 Tom Williams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Tevita Tameilau, 7 Callum Gibbins (c), 6 Adam Ashe, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Rob Harley, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 George Turner, 1 Oli Kebble
Replacements: 16 Grant Stewart, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Matt Smith, 21 Bruce Flockhart, 22 Paddy Kelly, 23 Niko Matawalu

Venue: Liberty Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

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England head coach Eddie Jones has named Ben Te’o at inside centre for their November Test opener against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

Te’o has barely featured for Worcester Warriors, playing just 28 minutes in a Challenge Cup encounter, but will partner Henry Slade in the midfield.

Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell, who starts at fly-half instead of George Ford, are named as co-captains in a starting XV which includes 413 caps.

Alec Hepburn will make his starting debut for England while uncapped players Zach Mercer and Ben Moon are named among the replacements.

George Kruis, Jack Nowell and Te’o are included for the first time since last season’s Six Nations.

Manu Tuilagi is named on the bench having last played for England against Wales in the 2016 Six Nations.

“We’ve become very well organised in our set piece and have done a lot of good work in Portugal over the last week,” said Jones. “We have put in a new defence system and our attack looks more organised than it was on the South Africa tour.”

On taking on South Africa, Jones said: “Against South Africa you have got the physical battle up front and then you have to be tactically smart in how you attack against them. We need to find ways to gain momentum, then once we find momentum, convert that to points.

“We are really excited to be back at Twickenham Stadium. It’s been a long time and we can’t wait to play in front of 82,000 fans.”

England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (cc), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Brad Shields, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jerome Garces (France), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

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England and Saracens centre Alex Lozowski has been handed a four-week suspension for a dangerous tackle on Glasgow Warriors‘ Ruaridh Jackson on October 14.

Lozowski has been suspended for four weeks following a new independent Disciplinary Hearing in London yesterday evening (Wednesday, 31 October) arising from his club’s Heineken Champions Cup, Round 1 match.

Lozowski was cited by the match Citing Commissioner, Tim Lowry (Ireland), for a dangerous tackle on the Glasgow Warriors full-back, Jackson, in the 33rd minute of the match in contravention of Law 9.13.

Law 9.13 Dangerous tackling
Under World Rugby’s Sanctions for Foul Play, Law 9.13 carries the following sanction entry points – Low End: 2 weeks; Mid-range: 6 weeks; Top end: 10 to 52 weeks.

The complaint was not upheld at an initial hearing, however, that decision was subsequently deemed to have been in error following an appeal by EPCR.

A newly-constituted independent Disciplinary Committee consisting of Kathrine Mackie (Scotland), Chair, Jean-Noel Couraud (France) and Leon Lloyd (England), heard evidence and submissions from Lozowski, who pleaded not guilty to the charge, from Saracens’ legal representative, Sam Jones, and from the Saracens Director of Rugby, Mark McCall.

The Committee also heard evidence by phone from Jackson, as well as submissions from EPCR’s legal representative, Max Duthie, and from the EPCR Disciplinary Officer, Liam McTiernan.

The Committee upheld the citing complaint in that the act of foul play had warranted a red card and found that the offence was at the mid-range of World Rugby’s sanctions and selected six weeks as the appropriate entry point.

There were no aggravating factors and due to the player’s clear disciplinary record and some expression of remorse, the Committee decided to reduce the sanction by two weeks before imposing a four-week suspension.

The Committee was not satisfied that Lozowski would not have been considered for selection for Saracens’ Premiership Cup match against Leicester Tigers on 27 October, and as he had already served a two-week suspension for an unrelated offence, it was decided to back date the suspension to the day of the citing.

Lozowski is therefore free to play on Monday, 12 November.

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New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has defended the selection of big squads and said claims that the All Blacks jersey was being cheapened were nonsense.

Fifty-one players had been in Japan at one stage before a group of 23 flew out to England during the week to prepare for the November 10 Test at Twickenham. That left the remainder of the group to prepare for Saturday’s Test against Japan in Tokyo.

Such use of players was necessary because of the demands of the modern game.

When critics claimed they didn’t give Test caps away so easily in the past Hansen’s response was that they only played four or five Test matches a year and six or seven provincial games in the past.

Today they were playing 14-15 Test matches alone, without considering their Super Rugby commitments, and you couldn’t ask the same people to do it all the time while playing to the level expected of them.

“Over the last few years we’ve looked at different ways of trying to skin the cat,” Hansen told the All Blacks’ official website.

“Last year we split the squad to Argentina and South Africa. This year the opportunity to play the Bledisloe up here [Japan] was too good to turn down because of the opportunity to experiment and get a feel for Japan and the idea of having two weeks here was better than one, hence we asked to play Japan.”

Once it was decided to do that it was then a case of how that affected playing England, Ireland and Italy. By taking extra players they were winning all round. They were getting to see more players, how they coped and as a young side they would be under pressure on Saturday.

How they performed would contribute to making sound judgments next year ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

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Ireland return to the scene of one of their most famous triumphs when they face Italy in Chicago in their November Test opener on Saturday.

Soldier Field was the setting for their superb 40-29 victory over New Zealand in 2016, which was a yardstick moment for Joe Schmidt’s team. They have since gone on to win the Six Nations in 2018 and are now firmly amongst the favourites to lift the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

This month they face the Azzurri, Pumas, New Zealand and USA and with no disrespect to the rest but the All Blacks fixture is the one they will target, looking to prove Chicago was no fluke and also gain revenge for New Zealand’s victory in Dublin a fortnight after that win.

Their opponents on Saturday ended an eight-match losing run in June this year when they beat Japan 25-22, which lifted some gloom. That was only their second win in 19 internationals which shows just what a job Conor O’Shea has if he’s to build confidence ahead of the World Cup.

What will give Italy hope moving forward is the early-season form of Benetton Rugby and Zebre, who have already won a combined total of six matches in their opening 14 PRO14 games. They also both have one win out of two games in the Challenge Cup in a solid start to the campaign.

Ireland though are purring right now with Leinster once again their flagship side at the PRO14 summit. They boast depth in all areas and as mentioned are well stocked for a serious charge at the Webb Ellis trophy. From top to bottom their strength is only rivalled by New Zealand.

Such strength is illustrated by this side they have named for Saturday. Despite missing their first-choice half-backs, back-row, second-row and front-row, this is a fearsome XV that could mix it with many around the world. The backline in particular is full of attacking threats.

Italy could be in danger of another hammering similar to the one they took in Dublin earlier this year, with Ireland having put 56 or more points past the Azzurri in their last three meetings.

Players to watch:

For Ireland: Scrum-half Luke McGrath will be looking to press his claims in the absence of Conor Murray and a strong performance on Saturday would decrease the pressure on Murray in his race to be fit to face New Zealand. McGrath has been outstanding for Leinster during their recent dominance of the club game and alongside Joey Carbery, this is a mouth-watering pairing that should cause Italy many problems.

For Italy: Handed the captaincy, expect Michele Campagnaro to lead by example for the Azzurri. The recently released Exeter Chiefs centre has always shown great endeavour whenever on the field for both the Premiership club and his country and with the added responsibility of being skipper, he will be fired up to impress. Campagnaro has big shoes to fill however as Sergio Parisse sits out this international.

Head-to-head: Speaking of captains, Rhys Ruddock lines up against Johan Meyer in Chicago in a clash that will provide sparks. Meyer is a no-nonsense carrier who, if given room to run, will punish defences so Ruddock will need to be on his game to silence the Zebre man on Saturday.

Previous results:

2018: Ireland won 56-19 in Dublin
2017: Ireland won 63-10 in Rome
2016: Ireland won 58-15 in Dublin
2015: Ireland won 16-9 in London
2015: Ireland won 26-3 in Rome
2014: Ireland won 46-7 in Dublin
2013: Italy won 22-15 in Rome
2012: Ireland won 42-10 in Dublin

Prediction: It’s tough to see Italy coming close at Soldier Field. Ireland by 25.

The teams:

Ireland: 15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Will Addison

Italy: 15 Luca Sperandio, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Michele Campagnaro (c), 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Giulio Bisegni, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Rento Giammarioli, 7 Bram Steyn, 6 Johan Meyer, 5 George Fabio Biagi, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Cherif Traore, 18 Giosue Zilocchi, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Jimmy Tuivatti, 22 Guglielmo Palazzani, 23 Ian McKinley

Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Soldier Field, Chicago
Kick-off: 15:00 local (20:00 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television match official: David Ardrey (USA)

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An injury-stricken England will look to get their November campaign off to a positive start when they take on South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

It will be the fourth time that these teams have gone head-to-head this year after the Springboks defeated the Red Rose 2-1 in June.

South Africa were excellent over the first two games, overcoming poor starts to defeat the tourists 42-39 and 23-12, but Rassie Erasmus’ men were out-thought in the third Test, losing 25-10.

Duane Vermeulen, Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux and Steven Kitshoff were key to the hosts’ success, but two of those are not available for this weekend’s encounter, with the game taking place outside of the international window.

Vermeulen and Kitshoff remain, however, while they have been boosted by the return of Eben Etzebeth and Malcolm Marx, who were both excellent during the Rugby Championship campaign.

They look a formidable opponent for an England outfit that are without several key individuals, particularly up front. Loosehead has been area of strength for Eddie Jones but, following the retirement of Joe Marler and injuries to Mako Vunipola, Ellis Genge, Beno Obano and Matt Mullan, Alec Hepburn comes in.

Hepburn is a fine player and has been in excellent form for Exeter Chiefs, but international level is an altogether different proposition and he faces a tough battle against Frans Malherbe and Wilco Louw.

At number eight, Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes are out, leaving Mark Wilson, who only features there intermittently for club side Newcastle Falcons, to hold the fort.

The backline looks exciting, though, even if the selection of Ben Te’o appears a strange one. Fit and on form, the New Zealand-born centre would be an asset but, having only been on the field for 28 minutes this season, the visitors may look to target Te’o on Saturday. Alongside him, Henry Slade gets another opportunity in the midfield, meaning Owen Farrell starts over George Ford at fly-half.

Overall, it is well balanced behind the scrum but the struggle may be getting enough quick ball. They lack dynamic ball-carriers in the pack and, although Hepburn and Kyle Sinckler are exceptional in the loose, there is not the same quality in the back-five.

It was positive to see Maro Itoje breaking tackles and looking a threat in the open spaces against Lyon in the Champions Cup but, in comparison to Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Vermeulen and Warren Whiteley, they do not have the same athleticism as the Springboks.

In many respects, Jones’ men came close in June and playing at home could tilt the scales in their favour but, with injuries hampering their build-up and South Africa an improved side since the mid-year series, Erasmus’ charges have the edge.

Players to watch:

For England: There are a few interesting selections from Eddie Jones for this encounter, but the one that stands out is Ben Te’o being named at centre. The Worcester Warriors player has hardly featured for his club side this season and was decidedly rusty in the 28 minutes he was on the field during a Challenge Cup encounter. Te’o offers plenty of ballast and is the Red Rose’s only natural big, ball-carrying 12, with Jones seeing Manu Tuilagi more as a 13, but the hosts could be exposed in this area. It is certainly a big call from the Australian.

For South Africa: With Willie le Roux out, Rassie Erasmus has named exciting talent Damian Willemse at full-back. Usually a fly-half, the Stormers player is a very balanced runner with exceptional pace and will be a threat if England kick poorly from half-back. Of course, Ben Youngs and Owen Farrell could expose his lack of experience in the position by maneuvering him around in backfield, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the challenges on Saturday.

Head-to-head: There are a number of interesting match-ups with Brad Shields v Duane Vermeulen, Ben Youngs v Ivan van Zyl and Alec Hepburn v Frans Malherbe all potentially significant, but we’ve gone for the battle at lock between two exceptional talents. Maro Itoje looked slightly jaded in South Africa but has been in fine form so far this season for Saracens, while Eben Etzebeth returned from injury to star for the Springboks in the Rugby Championship. Therefore, the second-row who gets the better of their opponent here could lay the platform for victory in this November opener.

Previous results:

2018: England won 25-10 in Cape Town
2018: South Africa won 23-12 in Bloemfontein
2018: South Africa won 42-39 in Johannesburg
2016: England won 37-21 in London
2014: South Africa won 31-28 in London
2012: South Africa won 16-15 in London
2012: South Africa and England drew 14-14 in Port Elizabeth
2012: South Africa won 36-27 in Johannesburg

Prediction: South Africa may be without Faf de Klerk but England have so many injuries that the visitors should take it. Springboks by six.

The teams:

England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (cc), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Brad Shields, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dylan Hartley (cc), 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Zach Mercer, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Chris Ashton

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 André Esterhuizen.

Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees: Jerome Garces (France), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

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Scotland will be looking for revenge when they open their November international series against Wales at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Taking place outside World Rugby’s designated international window, the sides (made up wholly of home-based players) will contest the ‘Doddie Weir Cup’ as they honour the former Scotland and British & Irish Lions player diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and support his inspiring work to raise funds for MND research.

Scotland last beat Wales in Cardiff in 2002. Since then Wales have won each of the last nine meetings between the sides on home soil, including a 34-7 thrashing in the opening round of this year’s Six Nations.

Wales have won six of their eight Test matches played thus far in 2018, suffering away defeats to England and Ireland in the Six Nations. While Wales have met expectations this season, they have not exceeded them and coach Warren Gatland will be looking to get his side going into the Rugby World Cup on a high with a good November series.

Scotland, meanwhile, have produced some brilliant performances in the last few seasons. Who could forget them running the All Blacks close at 22-17 before thrashing the Wallabies 53-24 in last year’s November internationals? Or, this year’s awe-inspiring 25-13 victory over England at home in the Six Nations?

Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell will be big misses for Gregor Townsend’s men, who has otherwise named an experienced team.

“We’ve had a productive two weeks, both in St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the players have worked hard to put our game into place,” Townsend said.

”As always we expect a very tough Test match against Wales in Cardiff – a contest that will be physically and technically demanding in a noisy arena. It’s a challenge we look forward to facing.”

Whereas Scotland have gone with their tried and trusted combinations for the most part, Wales have been forced in to experimenting for this clash due to the fact that Gatland is without a number of English-based players at his disposal.

It provides an ideal opportunity for Gatland to introduce a few fresh faces into the fold in the high-intensity atmosphere of a Test match situation played in front of what should be a capacity crowd in Cardiff.

Gatland was back in New Zealand for the entire duration of the week, mourning the death of his father and wasn’t even present at the unveiling of the side, with assistant coach Rob Howley doing the honours.

“We are looking forward to kicking off our autumn campaign on Saturday and it was great to welcome Warren back yesterday,” said Howley.

“Warren has been in constant dialogue with us over the past week and we have selected a very strong squad for this weekend.

“It is great to reward players on form and we are looking forward to seeing Luke make his debut on the wing. He has come through the Sevens system, he will bring a point of difference to the squad and it’s a great opportunity for him. Likewise it will be good to see Jarrod from the bench and hopefully seeing some X-factor from him.

“We have created good strength in depth, especially from the summer and have a nice balance bringing seven Lions back into the team.

“We are very respectful of this Scotland team and are looking forward to what should be a great opening match.”

Players to watch:

For Wales: Watch out for Ospreys man Luke Morgan. The former Sevens star will make his international debut when he lines up on the wing. You’ve got to be pretty decent if you are keeping Steff Evans out of the team. He has been in scintillating form for his region, with four tries from five appearances and deserves his spot in the starting line-up.

For Scotland: Adam Hastings has been in fine form for Glasgow Warriors. The 22-year-old has thrived with the added responsibility of the number 10 jersey following the departure of Finn Russell to Racing 92. However, Hastings will be winning just his fourth international cap. Can he handle the heat of the international arena when the pressure is really on?

Head-to-head: Huw Jones was the most impressive Scotland player in their November internationals last year, scoring tries in all three Tests as the Scots almost overcame New Zealand before walloping the Wallabies. Jones comes up against a quality player in Jonathan Davies so will have his work cut out. Davies also enjoyed a stellar 2017, winning the Player of the Series in the drawn British and Irish Lions-New Zealand series. Both possess that X-factor capable of changing the game in an instant.

Previous results:

2018: Wales won 34-7 in Cardiff
2017: Scotland won 29-13 in Edinburgh
2016: Wales won 27-23 in Cardiff
2015: Wales won 26-23 in Edinburgh
2014: Wales won 51-3 in Cardiff
2013: Wales won 28-18 in Edinburgh
2012: Wales won 27-13 in Cardiff
2011: Wales won 24-6 in Edinburgh

Prediction: There shouldn’t be too much to choose between the sides. Wales by 10!

The teams:

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Steff Evans

Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Allan Dell
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Darcy Graham

Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14:45 GMT
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)

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New Zealand will be determined to hit the ground running when they kick off their end-of-year tour against Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.

With most of the All Blacks’ first-choice players already in London, this Test against the Brave Blossoms sees the world champions fielding an under-strength matchday 23.

But, such is the depth in New Zealand rugby that several of those involved in this match would be Test players in most other countries.

Although New Zealand have plenty of players plying their trade in the land of the rising sun, this is unfamiliar territory for the All Blacks, who are playing just their second Test in Japan, and this will be only the fourth ever Test between these countries.

New Zealand’s last encounter against Japan was also in Tokyo, in 2013, and on that occasion the world champions proved far too strong for their hosts and claimed an easy 54-6 victory.

Of their two previous encounters, the All Blacks also registered impressive victories by large winning margins at the Rugby World Cup – in Hamilton in 2011 (83-7) and Bloemfontein in 1995 (145-17).

However, the Brave Blossoms have made tremendous strides in recent years and under the guidance of their coach – former All Black Jamie Joseph – they have become a competitive unit and are one of the most improved sides at Test level.

During this year’s June internationals, they beat Italy convincingly (34-17) in the first of a two-Test home series, before suffering a narrow loss (25-22) in the second Test in Kobe.

They followed that up with an easy 28-0 victory over Georgia in Japan and last weekend they gave a good account of themselves against a strong World XV before going down 31-28 in Osaka.

Although New Zealand have named an inexperienced matchday squad, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is not underestimating their opponents and said the men in black are preparing for a fast-paced game.

“We’re expecting Japan to play a high-tempo, hit-and-run game as opposed to having an arm wrestle,” he revealed.

“We know their coaching stuff very well and have a lot of respect for them and no doubt they’ll have a trick or two up their sleeve. So we’ll need to be sharp of mind and bring our own physicality and intensity to the contest.

“We again look forward to playing in front of the Japanese fans, and on behalf of the entire All Blacks squad, want to thank the Japanese people for their hospitality and support. We look forward to seeing them next year.”

Players to watch:

For Japan: As the Brave Blossoms’ captain, Michael Leitch has a huge responsibility on his shoulders and he will be expected to lead from the front against the world’s best team. With the All Blacks fielding an under-strength side, New Zealand-born Leitch will be expected to take the fight to their opponents as a ball carrier and he should also be at the forefront of his side’s defensive efforts against an All Blacks side who have plenty of attacking threats in their ranks.

For New Zealand: All eyes will be on the All Blacks hooker, Dane Coles, who makes his return to the Test arena after a lengthy absence with a serious knee injury sustained against France in Paris last year. Prior to that, Coles also spent long periods on the sidelines due to concussion issues. When on song, the 2015 World Cup winner is arguably the world’s best hooker with his superb skill-set and searing pace making him a potent attacking threat. However, it remains to be seen if he can replicate his form after such a long spell on the sidelines. Also keep an eye on run-on debutants, centre Matt Proctor and openside flanker Dalton Papalii, who will be hoping to justify the faith shown in them by the selectors.

Head-to-head: The battle between the two number eights will be an important one as both Japan’s Hendrik Tui and Luke Whitelock of New Zealand will be hoping to get their respective teams over the advantage line with strong carries. Like his captain, Leitch, Tui was also born in New Zealand so there will be no lack of motivation from him to do well against the All Blacks. Meanwhile, as the All Blacks’ latest Test captain, Whitelock will also be keen to impress in the leadership role and avoid a potential banana skin for the world champions.

Recent results:

2013: New Zealand won 54-6 in Tokyo
2011: New Zealand won 83-7 in Hamilton
1995: New Zealand won 145-17 in Bloemfontein

Prediction: Although this is an inexperienced All Blacks side, they will still have too much firepower for their hosts. New Zealand to win by 20 points.

The teams:

Japan: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Jamie Henry, 13 Will Tupou, 12 Tim Lafaele, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Hendrik Tui, 7 Shunsuke Nunomaki, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 Samuela Anise, 4 Wimpie van der Walt, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Yusuke Niwai, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements: 16 Yusuki Niwai, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Asaeli Valu, 19 Uwe Helu, 20 Vaka Nakajima, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda 23 Ryoto Nakamura

New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Waisake Naholo, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 8 Luke Whitelock (c), 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Jackson Hemopo, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ofa Tuungafasi
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Tim Perry, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Dillon Hunt, 20 Gareth Evans, 21 Mitch Drummond, 22 Brett Cameron, 23 George Bridge

Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo
Kick-off: 14:45 local (05:45 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Damon Murphy (Australia), Graham Cooper (Australia)
TMO: Damien Mitchelmore (Australia)

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