England Autumn Internationals – Matches and Fixtures
The 2014 Autumn Internationals are back and England will face the All Blacks, South Africa, Samoa and Australia throughout November at the Twickenham Stadium. These matches are the highlight of the 2014 rugby season and a great indicator for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Autumn International tickets are available now.
England vs New Zealand on Saturday, November 8th, 2014 at Twickenham Stadium
The England Rugby Union faces one of the toughest tests before the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand is currently leading the IRB Rankings and have done so for the last years. New Zealand is led by rugby legend Dan Carter. England lost the last four tests, three of them at the England Tour of New Zealand this summer. However, Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi are fired up to repeat the 2012 success when they beat New Zealand with 38-21 at Twickenham Stadium. England vs New Zealand tickets are available now.
England vs South Africa on Saturday, November 15th, 2014 at Twickenham Stadium
South Africa is currently number two in the world, but England certainly has a chance to upset the Springboks. South Africa won narrowly with 15-16 at the Autumn International in 2012 at Twickenham Stadium and England drew them earlier in the year 14-14. However, from 36 matches between the two teams, England won only 12. Stuart Lancaster’s team will face an opponent with a lot of experience. Victor Matfield, for example, is the most-capped lock for any nation in rugby history, with all of his 110 appearances.
England vs Samoa on Saturday, November 22nd, 2014 at Twickenham Stadium
Samoa is probably the easiest opponent of the 2014 Autumn Internationals. Samoa is currently ranking 9th in the IRB Rankings and beat Italy and Scotland in previous tests. However, England is the clear favourite and has every reason to be optimistic. England beat Samoa in all 6 previous meetings. The last meeting ended 26-13 in November 2010 at Twickenham Stadium. One of the most experience Samoa players is captain David Lemi with 38 caps.
England vs Australia on Saturday, November 29th, 2014 at Twickenham Stadium
Australia is currently ahead of England in the IRB Rankings ranking third, but England clearly won the previous test with 20-13 in front of 81,500 fans 12 months ago at Twickenham Stadium. However, England won only 12 out of 42 meetings. The Wallabies are led by captain Michael Hooper (32 caps), the experienced Adam Ashley-Cooper (95 caps) and James Slipper.
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from £England Autumn Internationals 2013
After coming so close to Six Nations glory, England are now looking towards the QBE autumn internationals that will take place during November 2013. This year’s three game series will see England welcoming Australia, Argentina and reigning world champions, New Zealand to Twickenham.
England vs Australia – Saturday 2nd November 2013
Australia will once again entertain the Twickenham crowd this autumn as part of this year’s series. The 2012 fixture saw Australia run out 20-14 winners in what had been a turbulent period for the Wallabies. As well as the victory over England, Australia also beat Italy and Wales during the 2012 series. This year, England will be looking for some revenge on their old rivals but will have to be wary of an improving Australia side. One of the key Australia players to watch out for is fullback, Kurtley Beale. The 2010 IRB world player of the year nominee is a danger on the counter attack and also offers a kicking ability as and when he is needed. Beale has scored 54 points in his 32 caps for the Wallabies.
England vs Argentina – Saturday 9th November 2013
For the first time since 2009, England host Argentina at Twickenham. The last time the fixture was played at Twickenham it ended in a 16 points to 9 victory for England. During last year’s autumn internationals, Argentina beat Wales but lost to both Ireland and France. In addition to their poor performance in the autumn internationals, they also finished bottom of the Rugby Championship table, without winning a game. However they did put in a strong performance against Australia, eventually losing the game 23-19. An influential player for ‘Los Pumas’ is fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez. Hernandez is known to many fans as “the magician” because of his kicking skills and play making abilities. Hernandez scored 29 points for Argentina during their difficult rugby championship campaign.
England vs New Zealand – Saturday 16th November 2013
England’s 2013 autumn international campaign will conclude with a game against current world champions, New Zealand. The corresponding fixture last year finished with England winning 38-21 in what was a surprise victory. There are a number of key New Zealand players that England will need to be wary of. One of these is fly-half, Dan Carter. The IRB international player of the year in 2005 and 2012 is seen as one of the best rugby union players in the world. Carter’s play making and tactical kicking have been hugely influential in the success New Zealand have had in recent years. Another key player for the all blacks is Richie McCaw. The ever present flanker has amassed 95 points in 116 appearances for New Zealand. He is renowned not only for his attacking play but also his defensive abilities, as it is very rare for McCaw to miss a tackle.
England Autumn Internationals 2012
The QBE internationals are just round the corner and England will be looking to light up Twickenham with some good performances against the best from the southern hemisphere. England will play four fixtures series, playing hosts to the current World Champions New Zealand, Fiji, Australia and South Africa.
England v Fiji – November 10th, 2012
England will host the “Flying Fijians” in the first game of the series and look, to start with a win against a team they have never been defeated by. Fiji is member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) and one of the countries where rugby is the main sports. In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Fiji lost in the quarter final, but performed well above expectations. They moved up to number 9 in the world – their highest position ever. Every fan is excited to watch the “cibi”, a war dance which is performed by the Fiji rugby team before each Test match. Fiji captain Netani Talei and top scorer Nicky Little are well motivated to face England in the opening Test of the November tests. Glen Jackson will be the referee for England’s Test against Fiji on November 10th.
England v Australia – November 17th, 2012
This will arguably be a contender for game of the series as England entertains fierce rivals Australia who will be looking for revenge from the defeat they suffered at Twickenham back in 2010. Australian rugby team is also named the Wallabies and they are currently ranking second in the IRB World Rankings. Australia has competed in all Rugby World Cups and won the World Cup twice. In the 2011, Australia lost in the semi-final against the “All Blacks.” However, this game will be a real test for English rugby.
England v South Africa – November 24th, 2012
South Africa is also known as the Springboks and is currently ranked third in the IRB World Rankings and they belong to the strongest rugby teams in the world. In 2008, the South Africa national rugby union team was named Team of the Year at the Laureus Sports Awards. In its history, the team has won two Rugby World Cups. In the 2011 Rugby World Cup, South Africa was defeated by Australia in the quarter finals. Jean de Villiers will lead the Springboks against England. England’s previous efforts went close back in June when they held the South Africans to a draw but they will be looking to build on that and record an overdue victory over the “Springboks”.
Preview: England v New Zealand – December 1st, 2012
New Zealand is also called the “All Blacks” and after winning the Rugby World Cup, The Rugby Championship and the Bledisloe Cup is the pinnacle of IRB Rugby. The All Blacks have held the top rankings longer than any other country. The Haka performed by the All Blacks before each international match is a real treat for any rugby fans. It is a traditional war dance in order to motivate the warriors psychologically. Richie McCaw will lead the All Blacks into the test against England as the current test captain. England face a tough test when they host high flying world champions New Zealand in the final game of the series, its been ten years since England last beat New Zealand at Twickenham and hopefully this can be changed in front of the home fans come December.
England will face the All Blacks on Saturday, December 1st at 14:30 at Twickenham. This game will be the highlight of the Autumn Internationals. The All Blacks are the undisputed World Champion and proved that in the last games. For England, this is a huge opportunity to prove themselves and look confident towards the Six Nations in February.
The All Blacks are the clear favourites for the game against England and so far they have clearly proved their class in the Autumn Internationals. They are unbeaten in 20 matches. In the first game on November 11th against Scotland, they already showed there quality and skills and beat Scotland badly with 22-51 at Murrayfield. Especially fly-half Dan Carter proved to be unstoppable scoring 21 points (3 penalties and 6 conversions). In the second game, New Zealand faced Italy and again beat them badly with 10-42. This time it was Cruden, who had a massive game scoring 17 points (3 penalties and 4 conversions). The last opponent was Wales at Millennium Stadium. Dan Carter missed the game due to calf injury he suffered in training and was replaced by Aaron Cruden. Cruden stepped up once more and led the way for the 10-33 victory scoring 18 points. Dan Carter, however, is confident for the game against England on Saturday. He said: “I’m pretty confident I’ll be right to play, I just need some positive thinking. It’s the last game of the year and I want to be part of it.” However, they also have huge respect for England. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said: “I think we will have a huge battle on our hands this week. We will respect them as we always do and prepare the best way we can.”
England on the other side, won 1 out of 3 games so far and New Zealand will be clearly the highlight of the Autumn Internationals and with a victory against the All Blacks, England would look confident towards the Six Nations in February. England played a great game against Fiji beating them 54-12 at Twickenham. 18 points came from the boot of Toby Flood. However, England suffered a huge setback in the 2nd game against Australia where they lost 14-20. England also suffered a narrow defeat against the Springboks last week with 15-16. Toby Flood will be missing the game on Saturday due to ligament damage in his toe. He will be replaced by Owen Farrell. Also, Freddie Burns and Courtney Lawes will join the England squad after missing the first three autumn Tests.
Assistant coach Andy Farrell hits it on the head. He said: “Let’s be honest, New Zealand are a fantastic side at the minute, there are not many weaknesses throughout, they seem to be completely in sync and they have grown together as a team. They are playing some outstanding rugby at the moment. They do a lot of things right, but they are also vulnerable in places, there is no doubt about that. You cannot be exceptional in every single department for the whole 80 minutes.” So, England is confident and excited to face the All Blacks on Saturday. Tickets still available here.
Here the line-up:
Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (London Irish), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath); David Paice (London Irish), Tom Youngs (Leicester); Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Geoff Parling (Leicester); James Haskell (Wasps), Ben Morgan (Gloucester), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, capt), Tom Wood (Northampton).
Backs: Chris Ashton (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Alex Goode (Saracens); Brad Barritt (Saracens), Jonathan Joseph (London Irish), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester), Freddie Burns (Gloucester), Owen Farrell (Saracens); Danny Care (Harlequins), Ben Youngs (Leicester).
Players released back to their clubs: Mouritz Botha (Saracens), Tom Biggs (Bath Rugby), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Phil Dowson (Northampton Saints), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Tom Palmer (London Wasps), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), Jordan Turner-Hall (Harlequins), Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby).
Sensational: England beat New Zealand with 38-21
England played one of the best games in the history of English rugby and secured a sensational win over World Champions New Zealand. The All Blacks were unbeaten for 20 games and England lost the last 9 games against them. On Saturday, however, England played an unbelievable game in front o the 82,000 fans at Twickenham.
England was motivated straight from the beginning and wanted to prove that they can compete with the current World Champion. New Zealand received the first penalty in the 15th minute, Dan Carter missed with a really bad effort. England, on the other side, showed them how take penalties and Owen Farrell converted the first one in the 26th minute – 3-0 England! Carter missed again on the other side in the 28th minute. Carter is one of the most dominate players in the world. Farrell converted in the 34th and 42nd minute and a drop-goal in the 39th minute helping England to a 12-0 lead in half time – What a game! The last time New Zealand didn’t score in one half was 14 years ago in 1998.
The second half started just like the first one, Farrell scored his 4th penalty in the 43rd minute and extended the lead to 15-0. However, the All Blacks picked it up right after the penalty and scored their first try when Savea broke through three challenges and over the line (48th minute) – 15-5 and 15-7 after the converted kick. 3 minute later another try by New Zealand – unbelievable! Read converted a Smith pass and the score is 15-12 and 15-14 after conversion – Wow!!! New Zealand was back in the game. However, Brad Barritt, Chris Ashton and Manu Tuilagi secured the win with three tries in a row and extended the lead to 32-14. England after the All snuffed out a brief comeback. Savea scored the last points or the All Blacks and the game finished 38-21 for England
England head coach Stuart Lancaster said: “”Our defence was outstanding. We forced the All Blacks into errors and not many sides do that. At 15-14 we came back with three tries of our own. We’ve tried to instil a no-fear mentality in the players and to make them have the courage of their convictions.” According to Lancaster, England’s victory over New Zealand was an “unbelievable achievement” and even New Zealand coach Hansen admitted: “No excuses, we got beaten by the better side. Full credit to them.”
The next event Lancaster and his team will have to focus on is the 6 Nations in February.
Line-ups:
England: Goode; Ashton, Tuilagi, Barritt, Brown; Farrell, B Youngs; Corbisiero, T Youngs, Cole, Launchbury, Parling, Wood, Robshaw, Morgan.
Replacements: Joseph for Tuilagi (66), Burns for Farrell (64), Care for B Youngs (68), Vunipola for Corbisiero (66), Paice for T Youngs (72), Wilson for Cole (72), Lawes for Launchbury (66), Haskell for Morgan (57).
Sin Bin: Vunipola (74).
New Zealand: Dagg; Jane, C Smith, Nonu, Savea; Carter, A Smith; Woodcock, Mealamu, O Franks, Retallick, S Whitelock, Messam, McCaw, Read
Replacements: B Smith for Dagg (71), Cruden for Carter (64), Weepu for A Smith (64), Crockett for Woodcock (66), Coles for Mealamu (62), Faumuina for O Franks (52), Romano for Retallick (48), Vito for Messam (63).