Autumn Nations Series: Five storylines to watch this weekend including the potential jersey clash in Dublin

With the Autumn Nations Series well and truly beginning in earnest this weekend, Planet Rugby delves into some of the big talking points.

All Blacks set for another shock?

Despite finishing their Rugby Championship campaign on a high, with back-to-back victories against the Wallabies, the All Blacks got their end-of-year tour off to a shaky start when they had to dig deep before notching a narrow 38-31 victory over Japan in Tokyo. Granted, head coach Ian Foster did not field some of his first choice players, but he still managed to name a competitive matchday squad with several experienced players in their ranks. They underestimated the Brave Blossoms, however, and nearly suffered their first loss to Jamie Joseph’s troops.

Although they last claimed a win against New Zealand way back in 1953 and suffered a humiliating 54-16 defeat in this fixture last year, Wales will be quietly confident of upsetting the apple cart. After an underwhelming Six Nations campaign, in which they finished second last on the table and lost their final match of the championship to bottom-placed Italy, Wayne Pivac’s side restored some pride by delivering competitive performances in all three mid-year Tests against the Springboks before eventually suffering a narrow 2-1 series defeat.

Their victory over the Boks in Bloemfontein was a momentous one as it was the first time they had beaten the world champions on South African soil. Could Wales therefore make more history and finally beat the All Blacks for the first time since 1953? Probably not, as the Welsh are rarely at their best in the November Tests, but this has been a record-breaking year for New Zealand – and not in a good way – so anything is possible in Cardiff this weekend.

Australia set for another hammering?

Dave Rennie’s charges came into their Autumn Nations Series campaign low on confidence as they struggled during the Rugby Championship, which saw them drop to a record low of ninth position in the World Rugby rankings. Added to that, the Wallabies squad was decimated by injuries to key players with the likes of Quade Cooper, Samu Kerevi and Izack Rodda all sidelined. Rennie has also started to feel the pressure as his win percentage was hovering at just 38 per cent from 29 Tests after the conclusion of the southern hemisphere tournament.

Last weekend, they were lucky to seal a 16-15 win over Scotland at Murrayfield with Blair Kinghorn failing to slot a penalty which would have secured victory for his team in the game’s dying moments. That result would have boosted Australia’s confidence ahead of Saturday’s encounter against France but, if truth be told, they will have to show considerable improvement in all departments against Fabien Galthie’s troops, who have been in excellent form over past 12 months.

After impressive wins over Argentina, Georgia and New Zealand in last year’s Autumn Nations Series, Les Bleus went on to claim a Six Nations Grand Slam before resting most of their first choice players for their two-Test series against Japan. Despite that, France still clinched a 2-0 series win and with stars like Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Gregory Alldritt and Cameron Woki set to return, don’t be surprised if they put up a big score against the Wallabies, who have already suffered big defeats against Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa in 2022.

Potential kit clash for Ireland v Springboks

After the farce of 2017 – the last time these two sides met – you would hope that the lessons of that occasion would have been learned. But evidently not. On that day five years ago, the teams came out wearing very similar kits with the Springboks’ dark green clashing with Ireland’s grey alternate strip. It made it incredibly difficult for spectators, both in the stadium and watching on TV, but it was particularly tough for colour blind viewers.

Fast forward to the upcoming 2022 encounter between these sides and the same issue is set to occur. The Irish have revealed that they will be wearing their navy blue jersey for this weekend’s match, which will once again make it problematic for those watching. An issue is that Ireland keep on creating kits which are far too similar in colour to their original, which rather defeats the purpose of an alternate strip. With the concern being raised well in advance of the game, there is still the opportunity of something being done to solve the problem, but we don’t hold out much hope. Governing bodies are, of course, incredibly stubborn.

The IRFU has confirmed that Ireland will be wearing their navy blue jersey against South Africa, who'll be wearing their dark green kits.

Once again, rugby not doing itself any favours with this stuff pic.twitter.com/dlzw5OhF8K

— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) November 1, 2022

Argentina’s readiness shorn of their head coach

While it is a great story that Michael Cheika, son of Lebanese parents, has led the Cedars to the quarter-finals of the Rugby League World Cup, it has not turned out well for Argentina. In fairness, Cheika was only working in a consultancy capacity when he became head coach of Lebanon, but it has led to an awkward situation. Both teams are ultimately impacted, but the Aussie’s focus is understandably on the 13-man game for now, considering the importance of the tournament, which means that Los Pumas are currently playing second fiddle.

Cheika has insisted that he will do both countries – and codes – ‘justice’ but it is an extremely difficult situation to manage. With Lebanon’s last-eight clash taking place on Friday and Argentina’s international with England going ahead on Sunday, the former Wallaby boss will be available to coach both on matchday. It will therefore be fascinating to see how the respective teams perform. The Cedars are pretty much certain to be knocked out against Australia while the South Americans will find it tough at Twickenham, but the Argentinians do at least have a shot. The Argentinians have improved under Cheika and they will hope that this disruption will not have too much impact on the game against the Red Rose.

Great opportunity for Pacific Island nations

The November Tests are rarely positive for the Pacific Islanders as they face some of Europe’s best away from home, but there is a chance of a clean sweep this weekend. While they are difficult sides to predict, there is the individual talent to cause problems for whoever they face.

Tonga have the easiest task against Spain, even though Los Leones are an improving outfit, while Samoa and Fiji kick off at the same time against Italy and Scotland respectively. Both teams have tended to falter in the set-piece when heading to Europe, but the Italians and the Scots are no great shakes at the moment.

The Azzurri have a lot of good young talent but they are vulnerable, as they showed by their defeat to Georgia in July, while Scotland were poor against the Wallabies and have off-field distractions thanks to the Finn Russell saga. In contrast, the Samoans had an excellent Pacific Nations Cup, claiming the title, and the Flying Fijians have ability in abundance throughout their squad. Set-piece and cohesiveness in defence will be the concern for Fiji head coach Vern Cotter, but let’s hope they have enough preparation time to get it right.

READ MORE: Expert Witness: Former Wales international Mark Jones on their ‘great opportunity’ to finally beat the All Blacks