The full house Autumn Nations Series is just about over with all the weekends already in the books and only Ireland v Australia remaining for Test rugby this year.
The month of November was jam-packed with brilliant rugby at many different levels where all the teams were going through their different stages of evolution as the World Cup cycle gathers momentum.
Now that the dust has mostly settled, Planet Rugby has taken a look at all the different things we have learnt through the Autumn Nations Series.
Springboks a cut above the rest
The Boks of 2024 have been lavished with praise throughout the year and in a normal scenario there would be a risk of beating a dead drum if were to praise them again but it’s simply not. At Planet Rugby our ethos centres around celebrating our beautiful game and the Springboks are the benchmark.
Dr Rassie Erasmus’ astute leadership is so meticulously planned, so expertly calculated that even though he often says he is not a medical doctor he certainly is some kind of mad scientist always pushing the boundaries of innovation – rugby’s Elon Musk if you will.
The great coach has brilliantly chosen perfectly when to blood new talent, who to pair with them to ensure optimal assimilation and clearly detailed what he is looking for those players to achieve. His method has resulted in 50 players used this year – the most of any tier one nation – and it has reached a point where there are two XVs from the Boks set-up that could be in the top five or better in the world.
The clean sweep in November was always the goal but let’s be honest the Boks never looked short of it. This is an extremely impressive side.
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All Blacks have improved under Razor but still searching
10 wins from 14 Tests is a dream season for many nations but not New Zealand. For the people of Aotearoa, every single game is a must-win and Scott Robertson will have quickly realised that this year after every decision he made was under the microscope in 2024.
On the surface, the argument would be that it’s easy to take a team who were fresh off a World Cup final and make them better. However, it was not that simple as key personnel had left and the lack of foresight from the previous era left Razor in a lurch. The greatest example of this is having to adequately replace the legendary second-row duo Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick amongst others.
Still, barring the four losses, to the Springboks (2), France and Argentina, the All Blacks have in fact grown and tightened up on many different facets. This development came to the fore against Ireland where we finally got a comprehensive idea of Razor’s All Blacks.
There are still many questions that need answers, like the fly-half conundrum for example, but Razor now has a valuable year of Test coaching experience under his belt and we all know how he can build a dangerous team.
Never ever underestimate the All Blacks and never ever underestimate Razor. There is every chance New Zealand will take big steps in 2025.
Antoine Dupont still improves France every time
Nolann le Garrec and Maxime Lucu were valid replacements during the Six Nations but the influence of Antoine Dupont is simply unmatched. The World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year returned from his stint in the shorter version of the game with aplomb this November and while he wasn’t involved in the wildest of plays he just polished France up so much.
Whether it’s that monstrous 50 metre box kick off either leg that allows an easy exit or the decision-making with his distribution or just the elevating influence on his teammates of his presence in the side, Dupont just makes France so much better.
Great players have the ability to break the game wide open but superstars like Dupont have the ability to do that and push everyone around him up by 10%. That is the key difference and with Ireland losing their footing a bit, at the moment Les Bleus should be looking at the 2025 Six Nations with a very keen eye.
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There are flaws in Ireland evolution
It is a rather precarious situation for Ireland who almost feel like they have lost their aura after bundling out of the World Cup last year. Sure they marched on to comfortably win the Six Nations and beat the Springboks in South Africa but the autumn has exposed some holes.
Firstly, their hold over New Zealand has evaporated with the All Blacks having that mental edge over Andy Farrell’s men in the last two Tests. That was unlike the pre-World Cup side who were so intimidating with their surgical precision and patient approach. It all just feels a bit more desperate at the moment which showed in their lack of ability to evolve their attack as the All Blacks Test showed. When teams shut down the multi-phase attack there was no fallback or contingency.
Part of the reason for that is the mixed development. On the one hand, there is the sound growth of Jamie Osborne for example along with more recently Sam Prendergast, who have been given fair run, but on the other there is Cian Healy just raking in caps off the bench while Andrew Porter slaves away every Test up front. This of course comes with massive respect for legendary Healy but it is just an example of how Farrell has often made changes only when required rather than for future gain.
Farrell soon steps away for Lions coaching and Simon Easterby moves up, which could either be a blessing for the side by having a fresh figurehead or it could hamper their development by losing a year in the World Cup cycle.
England need to make systematic decisions fast
England is just about synonymous with pressure in the rugby world at the moment. It feels like the fans are frustrated with Steve Borthwick’s approach based on numbers and pragmatism. There is also the massive question mark around the details of Felix Jones ‘departure’ and the debris that decision has left behind.
By the mid-year series against New Zealand, Jones had more or less got the blitz defence going with the help of the Six Nations and it really put the All Blacks under pressure. In fact, if it weren’t for two outstanding cameos from Beauden Barrett England could have won the series.
It was looking up until Jones announced he was going to leave because of the working environment only for England to put him on gardening leave and hire Joe El-Abd, who is not renowned for coaching that style of defence which showed in heaps during the autumn.
This has all culminated in a crossroads for England, it’s time to decide whether to bin the defensive system or find someone who can coach it better. Maybe with time, El-Abd will come right coaching that structure but time is a luxury Borthwick cannot afford.
Borthwick is in danger of losing the belief of the fan-base and the media on the back of poor results and the situation with Jones. The England boss better find solutions quickly or he will be squeezed out.
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Los Pumas have improved but still far from top table
Easily the most frustrating team in 2024 is Argentina who have taken over the ‘Which team will pitch this weekend?’ mantle from French teams of old. There is no question Felipe Contepomi and Argentina are a match made in heaven, he knows the ethos of the country and its players but they still have some time until they can sit with the big boys or World Rugby.
The All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks all lost to Argentina this year, who also took Italy apart in what is a show of growth but, and it is a big but, Los Pumas need to find consistency in their discipline and performances.
A great example is the Ireland game where they had some really powerful periods of the game and shot themselves in the foot for the rest of it. They had the hosts on the ropes in Dublin but failed to land the killer blow. That is the next step if they want to be on the top table, they need to be ruthless for 80 minutes.
Joe Schmidt effect in motion
From last in the Rugby Championship to beating England at Twickenham. It is another showing of how quickly sport moves and in this discussion, Joe Schmidt is the winner.
Of course, Australia got taken apart by Scotland but the wins against Wales and England were massive for the side who face the British & Irish Lions in 2025. Schmidt has tightened up the set-piece and the general basics which has allowed the side to play more instinctually with their backline which is really talented.
In all honesty, there is some way to go ahead of the Lions series but man alive Schmidt is a seriously good coach and in a similar time span has elevated the Wallabies tenfold compared to what Eddie Jones did at the helm.
There is no question about it, Rugby Australia must get on their hands and knees and beg Schmidt to extend his contract beyond 2025.
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Warren Gatland might still have the appetite to succeed but faces his biggest-ever challenge
From one coaching success to one not so successful. Gatland’s Wales have now lost 12 in a row and are officially the worst team the country has ever produced based on results.
It would be completely unfair to lay all the blame on a coach who previously had the most successful stint in the country’s history. He was set up to fail, the chaos of the Welsh Rugby Union cannot be put on Gatland’s head which is probably why he hasn’t been sacked yet.
We don’t know where the situation is going but despite the scoreline Wales and Gatland looked more positive and driven against the Springboks. Could that be a sign he has the energy and willingness to dig Wales out of the hole? Perhaps, but only time will tell.
Law changes have improved the kicking battle
We will keep this one short to finish off but the changes to the kicking area has been a massive success. The basis of the changes is to allow ‘access’ to the kicker or receiver. At the ruck, we saw many box kicks being charged down which forced teams to look for a running option or kick from 10 a bit more. While the contestables were so much more… contestable with the clamp down on retreating players not being allowed to ‘escort’ towards the catcher and prevent the chaser from competing.
It may have been designed to de-incentivise kicking but instead, it has rewarded good kicking and aerial prowess.
This post was originally published on here
