2014 Autumn Rugby Internationals

Sunday 1st November saw the Barbarians and Australia kick off the 2014 Autumn rugby internationals, with Australia securing a 40-36 victory. This was Michael Cheika’s first game as the Australian coach.

Later that evening the United States went up against New Zealand. USA suffered an embarrassing loss but gained the chance to participate in the Autumn International on home soil, something that hasn’t happened for quite a while. The match sold out at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Last Saturday, Wales suffered their 10th consecutive loss against Australia. Many people speculate that their inability to win against Australia is a psychological block. But Gwyn Jones, from Wales Online, suggests that the Australian Rugby team is just slightly better than the Welsh team.

Jones says, “…Australia are able to lift their performance. They play with more composure; they raise their intensity and manage to get the whole team to focus on a single goal. Their skills are slightly better; they make better decisions and ultimately manage to win the match.”

He goes on to say, “By contrast, Wales regularly concede possession and penalties; they make a few bad decisions and invariably lose out in a seemingly painful and cruel ending. To me this isn’t psychological, this demonstrates that when the pressure is really on and the game is in the balance Australia do things a little better than Wales.”

England also went up a against New Zealand that day. Their score was close but New Zealand dominated the second half of the match resulting in a win by 3 points. This was New Zealand’s 4th consecutive win over England.

Scotland also claimed a win on their home soil against Argentina. Here are some Scotland vs Argentina Highlights.

Ireland stunned their audience with their perseverance against South Africa. Claiming 29 points against South Africa’s 15. The match was held in Aviva Stadium, Dublin which was an advantage for Ireland.

There are still many matches left in the Autumn International. So far this event has given the home unions a chance to weigh themselves against the other big teams that they’ll be up against at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

Saturday 1st November 2014

• Barbarians 36-40 Australia at Twickenham Stadium, London 2:30pm

• USA 6-74 New Zealand at Soldier Field, Chicago 8:50pm (GMT)

Saturday 8th November 2014

• Italy 24-13 Samoa at Stadio Cino e Lilio Del Duca, Ascoli Piceno 2:00pm (GMT)

• England 21-24 New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium, London 2:30pm

• Wales 28-33 Australia at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 2:30pm

• France 40-15 Fiji at Le Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille 4:45pm (GMT)

• Ireland 29-15 South Africa at Aviva Stadium, Dublin 5:30pm

• Scotland 41-31 Argentina at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 5:30pm

Friday 14th November 2014

• Italy 18-20 Argentina at Stadio Ferraris, Genova 4:15pm (GMT)

Saturday 15th November 2014

• England 28-31 South Africa at Twickenham Stadium, London 2:30pm

• Wales 17-13 Fiji at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 2:30pm

• Scotland 16-24 New Zealand at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 5:30pm

• France 29-26 Australia at Stade de France, Paris 8:00pm (GMT)

Sunday 16th November 2014

• Ireland 49-7 Georgia at Aviva Stadium, Dublin 2:30pm

Saturday 22nd November 2014

• Italy 6-22 South Africa at Stadio Euganeo, Padova 2:00pm (GMT)

• Scotland 37-12 Tonga at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2:30pm

• Ireland 26-23 Australia at Aviva Stadium, Dublin 4:30pm

• Wales 16-34 New Zealand at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 5:30pm

• England 28-9 Samoa at Twickenham Stadium, London 7:00pm

• France 13-18 Argentina at Stade de France, Paris 8:00pm (GMT)

Saturday 29th November 2014

• England v Australia at Twickenham Stadium, London 2:30pm

• Wales v South Africa at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 2:30pm