Seven out of eight correct predictions last week (I thought Georgia would beat Japan), and I’ve still dropped 71 places to 90th in The Rugby Blog pool – well done to everyone that had a good week on SuperBru.

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Anyway, onto this week’s predictions…

Georgia v Samoa

I’m keeping faith with Georgia, who led for most of the match against Japan, and hopefully with a game under their belt they’ll be able to see out the win this week. Georgia by 6.

Italy v South Africa

This should be a straightforward win for the Boks, to install some much-needed confidence. A defeat here is unthinkable for South Africa, and I’ll think they’ll have too much power for Italy in both the backs and the forwards.

If they can dominate the set piece, and perhaps this week they’ll put pressure on the opposition line outs, they’ll get the upper hand and gradually pull away for a comfortable margin of victory. South Africa by 23.

England v Fiji

Eddie Jones was visibly disappointed in his side for easing up in the final quarter against South Africa, and conceding those two soft tries. I think that’s bad news for Fiji, because I imagine they’ll be ruthless this week.

There are some fresh faces in the England line-up keen to press their claims to keep the jersey, the performance should be less error-strewn than last week, and a drier pitch should help things along.

The 16-point margin last week could easily have been 25-30, I suspect they’ll be 10 points better this week in attack, and South Africa is at least 10 points better than Fiji. England by 48.

Wales v Japan

Japan should have lost to Georgia last weekend, but somehow fought their way back to cost me a GSP on SuperBru. Wales haven’t been brilliant, but they beat Argentina last weekend, and Japan are nowhere near Argentina (Japan 20-54 Argentina two weeks ago).

Rob Howley has named an experimental lineup which could take some time to gel, but I still expect a convincing win for the home side. Wales by 33.

Scotland v Argentina

This could be the game of the weekend, and actually in the Autumn of 2014, the two teams served up 72 points and a Scotland win.

It will be interesting to see how Scotland respond to another near miss against Australia. They should take heart from the performance, and I think a similar effort against the Pumas would see them home. Scotland by 2.

Ireland v New Zealand

Is this the first time two teams have met twice in the same Autumn series? It’s a bit of a shame I think, because it gives New Zealand an immediate chance to exact revenge, and this time they won’t be taking Ireland too lightly.

The All Blacks have picked two locks at lock, which should shore up the set piece, and this time they will be the ones desperate for a win. I’d love Ireland to do it again, but I can’t see it.

I think it will be a close-fought match, but these games are often high-scoring and margins not always reflective of the match, so I’m not being disrespectful to my Irish half when I predict New Zealand by 18.

France v Australia

Michael Cheika has named several changes to his team for this one, which is slightly surprising, and the general feeling is that France are finally getting their act together. They have more time together as a squad to prepare, and whilst I didn’t see the game, putting 50 past Samoa last week is enough to raise an eyebrow.

I’m leaning towards the French here, but it feels like the 50/50 call that could scupper a perfect round at the final hurdle. France by 5.

Follow Hutch on Twitter: @Hutch_James

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images