By Charlie Elliott
A mix of robust groups underperforming and perceived ‘weaker’ groups overperforming has resulted in lots of shocks over this Autumn Nations Sequence marketing campaign.
From dwelling nations shedding at dwelling to some tier 2 shocks, listed here are essentially the most shocking outcomes of the Autumn.
England 37 – 42 Australia
This defeat at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham got here at a time when England nonetheless had loads of optimism going into the sport, with it solely being the second sport after a slim loss by the hands of the All Blacks.
It appeared for all of the world like Steve Borthwick’s males would bounce again and get a convincing end result towards Australia, however the Wallabies had different concepts.
After a Maro Itoje attempt to grab a 37-35 lead within the final moments, many England followers have been already disgruntled on the tight nature of victory.
Issues would go from being common to being horrible shortly after, with Max Jorgensen breaking free within the 84th minute to present the Wallabies an enormous win.
Loads has modified since this sport, and it was a catalyst for lots of unhappiness in England, and spurred Australia on to some surprisingly good video games, given their low expectations going into Autumn.
Wales 19 – 24 Fiji
From one disgruntled UK nation to a different. Wales’ defeat by the hands of Fiji was a low level in what has been a low yr for them.
Earlier than the sport, Fiji had by no means gained away in Wales, which was their hosts’ tenth consecutive defeat on the time.
The guests pulled away with 15 to go and by no means appeared again, with essentially the most worrying factor being the dearth of struggle proven by their opponents.
Caleb Muntz had an excellent efficiency, and Warren Gatland’s males have since didn’t break their streak, having misplaced convincingly to the Wallabies and Springboks.
Portugal 17 – 21 USA
American rugby is on the up, and no end result reveals this greater than their current win towards Portugal, away in Coimbra.
The primary of three wins on this yr’s Autumn marketing campaign, that is by far the very best and most shocking.
Saracens hooker Kapeli Pifeleti went over within the final couple of minutes to safe the Eagles’ victory.
Regardless of being at comparable ranges based on the World Rugby Rankings, there was and is nonetheless a niche in high quality between the 2, and if America can proceed to get outcomes like this towards European tier 2 nations, there isn’t a cause why they can’t push on and hold going up the rankings.
Netherlands 20 – 17 Chile
Maybe the most stunning end result got here from The Netherlands, who beat Chile in Amsterdam.
Though they received hammered within the World Cup, Chile is nonetheless thought of to be a very good tier 2 stage nation however outcomes like this are a tragic indictment of how far they’ve fallen just lately.
Reward should go to The Netherlands, who’re shortly becoming a member of Georgia as the very best of the remaining in Europe.
Delta star Daan van der Avoird and Cardiff Met’s Vikas Meijer mixed for all 20 factors within the win towards Chile and confirmed that the Oranje imply enterprise.
Italy 11 – 29 New Zealand
The underdog All Blacks received a shocking win towards Italy in Turin (solely joking). This result’s a shock because of the small margin of victory for New Zealand.
Having overwhelmed Italy by a 96-17 scoreline within the World Cup final yr, many anticipated one other end result which mirrored the evident hole in high quality.
Nevertheless, a mixture of Italian grit and an absence of All Blacks need meant that there was solely 18 factors in it this time spherical.
The scoreline flattered New Zealand too, with a late Beauden Barrett attempt making it look much more convincing than it truly was.
A 79-point margin become an 18-point one within the house of a yr, which means that if they’re to play subsequent yr, Italy may effectively win by 43 factors.
Romania 25 – 15 Tonga
An ideal instance of a perceived ‘larger’ nation who’re presently in a large lull, Tonga’s defeat by the hands of Romania began off a winless Autumn, additionally shedding to the USA and Georgia.
Tonga managed to beat the identical opposition solely final yr, by a cushty margin of 45-24, and after seeing this being become a defeat in solely 12 months could have precipitated alarm bells to ring for ‘Ikale Tahi.
Just a few large wins for Romania this yr present an upwards trajectory, and together with The Netherlands they’re arguably the most fun rising nation popping out of Europe.
Diminutive Alin Conache starred towards Tonga, kicking three penalties, and the largely home make-up of their facet presents hope for the way forward for rugby in Romania.
READ MORE: Autumn Nations Sequence Group of the Week: England trio impress in remaining sport of disappointing marketing campaign
