Autumn Nations Cup 2020

There should be plenty of international rugby to look forward to in the northern hemisphere in the coming months as it has been confirmed that the Autumn Nations Cup – featuring eight countries – will kick off on 13^th November with Ireland facing Wales in the opener.

The tournament, designed to fill a gap caused by the lack of southern hemisphere touring teams this year, will take place after the conclusion of the 2020 Six Nations which was rudely interrupted earlier this year by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

England (currently ranked 3^rd in the World Rugby rankings) have been drawn in Group A of the Autumn Nations Cup alongside Ireland (ranked 4^th), Wales (6^th) and Georgia (12^th), the latter team replacing Japan who are unable to travel owing to Covid-19 restrictions.

Group B, meanwhile, comprises France (ranked 5^th), Scotland (8^th), Fiji (11^th) and Italy (14^th).

Easy to see who has the luck of the draw here. Has nobody ever heard of seeding?

Finals weekend – where each team plays off against the team placed in the equivalent position in the opposite pool – is scheduled for the weekend of 5^th/6th December.

There’s no certainty, of course, that any fans will be able to attend any of the games, what with the government’s pandemic advice/regulations changing every five minutes.

And if you want to watch the tournament on the telly it is rumoured that Amazon are the front runners to acquire the broadcast rights.

Yes, Amazon, whose track record in rugby is just legendary. Oh, wait…

Total Flanker – the older I get, the better I was