2022 Autumn Internationals: The final tally
My take on how the teams stacked up in the latest flurry of rugby tests
And so the international rugby season has come to a close. And it’s a year we may look back on as a turning point in the history of the game at the highest level.
What do I mean by that? Just that a couple of omnipresent trends took root in 2022. And they look like the sort of trends that won’t go away in a hurry.
Specifically, this is the year it became clear that anybody can beat anybody amongst the top several nations. Yes, even Wales…who got a win in South Africa back in July. There’s so little to choose between the top teams that one blow of the whistle, one key injury or simply being one percent off on the day can be the difference between pushing a side over and them pushing you over.
A couple of other things that crystallised this year? Games taking forever, while at the same time spectators are getting short-changed, thanks to a number of sub-trends I explored in this post in July.
(Update to that issue: it’s no longer okay that time setting up scrums counts towards the 40 of ‘playing time’. And why exactly should the kicker’s pre-shot routine count either? Both are unfair on the trailing team, and unfair on the paying public too.)
Finally, a refereeing crackdown the likes of which we’ve never seen before. Particularly with regard to head contact in cleanout situations. Red cards have been decisive in matches to an unprecedented degree, especially this autumn.
But when all is said and done, the autumn internationals were another reminder of why I love international test rugby. With golf tearing itself apart and international cricket having pretty much sold its soul, I couldn’t be happier that rugby matches between nations still offer the thrills they always have. The drama has a subtly different form now, but ultimately these are sports contests with a history, in which both the players and the highly invested, passionate crowds actually care who wins. Can we say that about the latest made-up, shoutily-hyped T20 cricket league? About the Thundering Guavas against the Cowering Coconuts over at LIV Golf?
I’ve eyeballed most of the action this autumn – though I must admit I couldn’t bring myself to sit through Wales and Australia fighting for the unofficial wooden spoon on Saturday – so may I dutifully present my personal pecking order for the five weeks past?
For brevity, Georgia, Fiji and Samoa have not been included in this list.
Zut alors! Asher only put us in second place! (Photo source: @FranceRugby on Twitter)
1. Ireland
As the one team that always finds a way to win, no matter what kind of game it turns out to be, there’s no reason not to put the Irish at the top of the tree. Their efficiency is the reason they occupy the same spot in the world ranking. But following the high of their series win in New Zealand in July, there will be alarm bells ringing in Dublin. The 19-16 win over South Africa had a lot to do with the visitors’ goalkicking woes. And winning by just three over the current Wallabies was hardly authoritative either – how much did that day point to a dependence on Johnny Sexton, one wonders?
2. France
Always more exciting to watch than the Irish. Also unbeaten this autumn. Also drew on a well-developed winning habit, particularly in their late 30-29 victory over Australia. Not much to choose between them and the Paddies – their Six Nations clash in Dublin on February 11th should be the first red circle on your 2023 calendar – but Les Bleus have also seen a couple of hints that they might be a touch past their peak. Winning by less than a score against a 14-man South Africa may be a concern. Their closer against Japan wasn’t a great display either, even considering the wet ball. Can they adapt correctly if it’s rainy in a tight World Cup game in a year’s time?
3. South Africa
Maybe I’m biased here, considering the Springboks only won two out of four matches. But South Africa had the toughest schedule of the Southern Hemisphere giants, as they were the only one of these to take both Ireland and France. And the losses to the world’s top-ranked teams met with an unusual level of optimism back home. They had played well – and varied their game more than usual – in losing narrowly away to Europe’s form sides. All that had to change was finding/picking a goalkicker in Dublin and not playing most of the game in Marseille a man short. Those words might sound hollow were it not for the way they ended the tour with convincing wins over Italy and England, brushing off another red with a quarter of the game left at Twickenham. A team trending upwards – and apparently with more emergency goalkickers up their sleeve than anybody knew.
4. New Zealand
A fittingly bemusing end to the year for the Kiwis. It’s hard to judge their autumn considering they met neither France nor Ireland, but their showings against the Lesser Nations of the North did little to suggest they would have reversed their 2021 losses to the French and the Irish. Brushing Wales aside means little at the moment, they were schizophrenic against Scotland and then came those nine minutes at Twickenham. I spent them in the bathroom, fool that I am. Hard lessons learned. Chief of which is that this All Black side is there for the taking in ways seasoned observers of the game still have a hard time processing. That said, you would still expect them to beat the teams below them on this list more often than not.
5. Scotland
A typically frustrating autumn for Scotland. They showed their lethal side on attack, as they so often do when Finn Russell plays. But a winning habit still eludes them: where other sides condemned Australia to one-point defeats, the Aussies got one (literally) over Scotland. Then they gave the Kiwis a scare before going down 31-23. They finished on a high with a big win over the Pumas, however. The visitors were hamstrung by a red card, but at least the Scots were ruthless in exploiting that. Unlike the French against South Africa, for example. They also turned up for all three of their big games, which is ultimately what gets them this high on the list. I for one would love to see them take that momentum into a serious Six Nations challenge – but, as always, they have to figure out a way to perform away from Murrayfield. And get up for Celtic opposition the way they do for the likes of France and England.
“One day soon, when the stars align, Japan will spring a surprise away from home.”
6. Argentina
Things are tight in the mid-table, but the Pumas come in ahead of England mainly due to the fact that they beat them. That was a big result for them, just their second ever at Twickenham. And this in the same year they won in New Zealand for the first time. Argentina can beat anybody on a good day, and their good days are getting ever more frequent. But the rest of their tour showed momentum is exactly their issue: the less said about their 20-13 loss to Wales a week after Twickers the better – neither side really pitched up in what was possibly the worst game this autumn. They came out firing at Murrayfield, but the red card for Marcos Kremer ruined what was setting up as a fine encounter. (See ‘spectators getting short-changed’, above.)
7. England
Nine minutes for the ages against the All Blacks are about all the England rugby fan has to celebrate following this autumn series. Even then, the all-whites kicked the ball out and settled for a draw. Momentum, at least? Well, they failed to pull off a similar comeback against the Boks a week later, making little impression on the visitors despite twice as much time with an extra man on the park. A demoralising finish to a series that started with an equally depressing loss to the Pumas. The 52-13 win over Japan in the middle of all this flattered only to deceive.
8. Italy
Having written about Italy being put on Six Nations probation less than a year ago, I couldn’t be happier that the Azzurri read my piece and have responded. They’ve turned things around in exciting fashion, with fullback Ange Capuozzo injecting much-needed life into their play. Australia are not great at the moment, but the Italians thoroughly deserved their upset win in Firenze. Had they gone close against the Springboks in their only other game against ‘big’ opposition a week later, I’d have happily had them way higher up this list. Sadly the windy, pigeon-infested 21-63 defeat in Genoa put their progress in perspective.
9. Australia
Awful finish to an awful year, bookended by mildly satisfying wins over Scotland (by one point) and Wales. In between, there were tight losses to France, Italy and Ireland. Another team might consider itself unlucky to be on the wrong side of two single-pointers and a three-pointer. But then you remember it’s Dave Rennie’s cynical, thuggish Wallabies, who already came into the autumn with a reputation following the Rugby Championship. And you remember the four neck rolls in the first half against Ireland, on top of a litany of disciplinary trouble this year. And you wonder if there’s something in the notion that you make your own luck.
10. Japan
The autumn went south after the inspiring charge against New Zealand in Tokyo, which rather sums up where Japan are at: dangerous at home, on a good day. There were some encouraging moments in a messy season-closer against France in Toulouse. A reminder that one day soon, when the stars align, they will spring a surprise away from home. It’s always worth tuning in for a Japan game these days, and that is good for rugby. I still recall them getting clobbered 145-17 by the All Blacks at the 1995 World Cup – it remains a remarkable achievement that they’ve made it to the first tier at all.
11. Wales
A win against Argentina, but a big loss to New Zealand and a painful, historic defeat to Georgia. Lost any chance at redemption by throwing away a big lead against Australia in their final game. As a citizen of one of the other two countries where rugby is the national sport, I feel the Welsh pain. Cardiff can’t be a cheerful place at the moment.
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