England and Ireland dominate and there is room for plenty of All Blacks while Stuart Hogg and Justin Tipuric fly the flag for Scotland and WalesFull-back Stuart Hogg (Scotland)The lovely individual try Hogg scored against Georgia in Kilmarnock earns him this award, a 70-metre solo effort which required a neat chip and regather in addition to pace and vision. Rob Kearney and Mike Brown both have their warrior qualities and Ben Smith enjoyed a great Rugby Championship but Hogg is in pole position to be the Lions Test full-back in New Zealand. Related: Autumn internationals 2016 verdict: Guardian writers' highs and lows Related: Magic moment from Mako Vunipola set England’s unstoppable train in motion | Andy Bull Continue reading...
Our rugby union writers select their best player, team, try and match of the autumn – and choose the worst performance and gripe of the seriesMichael Aylwin England. Either them or Ireland. And, no, that doesn’t mean they’re better than New Zealand, just that their performances were the story of the autumn. In the end, completion of unbeaten year trumps historic victory. We’ll remember England’s win over Australia the longest, but don’t underestimate the quality of that win over a Fiji team that was pretty much a Top 14/Premiership select XV, nor beating Argentina with 14 or 13 men for 75 minutes. Related: Autumn internationals: All Blacks still top but southern powers feel Test fatigue | Paul Rees Related: Attentions...
Those wishing to locate the precise moment Eddie Jones’s revival took hold should consider the flipped pass from the prop to Owen Farrell which saw off Scotland at Murrayfield in FebruaryEverything starts somewhere and, if one is looking to pinpoint the precise moment of England’s new beginning, it seems to have been at around six o’clock on a bleak and freezing day in Edinburgh, Saturday 6 February 2016. Scotland had not beaten England for eight years and many reckoned this to be their best chance in a long while. After 50 minutes there was a single point in it, the score 7-6. And then it happened. Mako Vunipola had the ball on Scotland’s 22. Finn Russell was closing in from the left,...
New Zealand remain the yardstick but their flaws feed Lions’ hopes for next summer even though the settled order of the Six Nations is in need of a shake-upThe All Blacks remain at the top of the world rankings by a comfortable margin, but their defeat by Ireland in Chicago, which ended a record of 18 consecutive Test victories, gave the Lions succour before the tour next year. New Zealand’s next Test is against the Lions on 24 June in the first of three and if they remain comfortable favourites to win the series, Ireland showed in two matches against them that they can crack under pressure. Related: Ireland clinch first ever win over All Blacks to end New Zealand's record...
It looks as if it’s Michael Cheika’s shout after round four of a rivalry that has been as intense off the field as on it again goes the way of Eddie Jones’s EnglandIf they ever met for that beer afterwards, Michael Cheika no doubt told his old mate to enjoy this while it lasts. Not that his friendship with Eddie Jones, which stretches way back to their playing days at Randwick, has looked particularly solid this year. It looked strained during the summer, but seemed to fall apart altogether in the buildup to this, the fourth instalment of the Eddie and Mikey show. Let’s hope they did meet for that beer. Rugby’s too trivial a thing to fall out over.Still,...