Autumn Internationals Week 2: 5 key Rugby World showdowns

With the World Cup under a year away, this autumn series is the last time a lot of teams will get a look at each other before they face off in the biggest event on the rugby calendar. With that in mind, here are five battles this weekend that could be repeated at next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Jamie Roberts & Scott Williams vs Nemani Nadolo & Vereniki Goneva
RWC battleground: pool stages

This mouth-watering midfield tussle is truly one of the battles to look forward to most this weekend. British-based fans will know all about Goneva after his try-scoring exploits for the Tigers over the past few years, and anyone who watches Super Rugby will tell you how destructive Nadolo is. They are both probably most comfortable on the wing, but it is a partnership that brims with power and pace, and one that will keep the Welsh centres honest all day. Where Roberts and Williams can get the upper hand is exploiting what is an inexperienced partnership between two players who are not naturally centres. Both Roberts and Williams are capable of cutting intelligent lines of running, and there will likely be plenty of opportunites to exploit a dog leg. Expect a fair few line breaks.

Danny Care vs Cobus Reinach
Potential RWC battleground: knockout stages

If one of England and South Africa win their pool and the other finishes second – far from outside the realms of possibility – these two will meet in the quarter finals. This weekend’s match is crucial for both sides, having lost their opening game of the autumn respectively. Both scrum-halves last week came in for a lot of stick, and while Danny Care gets another chance the Boks have brought in Cobus Reinach. In many ways the two players are similar – they love running with the ball, and give them a sniff of a gap and they will make you pay. Where they fall down, however, is box-kicking. There will be plenty of game-breakers amongst the back threes at Twickenham this weekend, so any wayward kicking will be punished. What’s more for Care, it was the part of his game that faltered badly last time out, so he will be under increased scrutiny against South Africa.

Video credit: Rugby Media

Teddy Thomas vs Adam Ashley-Cooper
Potential RWC battleground: knockout stages

Teddy Thomas is a potential superstar for France, a young man who has been on France’s radar for some time. He finally made his debut last weekend and duly rewarded the French with a brace of tries, both finished astutely. He is raw, however, and Fiji managed to exploit that for the try of Watisoni Votu. This weekend, he faces one of the most experienced outside backs playing the game right now in the shape of Ashley-Cooper, a man who might not possess the most pace or be the strongest carrier in the world, but he is mightily intelligent and will exploit any weakness in your game. He is also a brilliant defender, and the battle between Thomas’ brilliance going forwards and Ashley-Cooper’s nous going backwards will be intriguing to watch.

Courtney Lawes vs Victor Matfield
Potential RWC battleground: knockout stages

Ireland were brilliant in negating South Africa’s threat from the driving maul last weekend when they stood off all line-outs and thus were allowed to walk round the back and play the ball, taking away one of South Africa’s greatest strengths. Whether or not England do the same, one thing that is not in doubt is that South Africa will win plenty of ball at the set-piece. Matfield is one of the finest line-out forwards ever to have lived, and so Courtney Lawes’ role as England maestro there will face its sternest test to date. Lawes will also hoping to stay on the pitch a bit longer this week, and if he does he simply has to be an effective ball carrier and take some of that weight off Billy Vunipola’s shoulders.

Finn Russell vs Dan Carter
Potential RWC battleground: ok, not going to happen

Technically this one shouldn’t be in here – for Scotland to meet New Zealand at the World Cup, they need to either win their group and a quarter-final, or hope New Zealand don’t win theirs while finishing runners-up. Highly unlikely, but nevertheless this is one of the more intriguing match-ups of the weekend so we’ve included it anyway. Finn Russell has made a precocious start to his international career and was quietly impressive in last week’s win over Argentina, not grabbing the headlines as Laidlaw did but pulling the strings in the background and allowing those around him to shine. This week he faces the man widely regarded as the best fly-half of the last decade, if not all time – a sterner test of a playmaker’s credentials there is not. If he goes into it with the relish he has shown so far for every challenge thrown his way, you sense the young man will be just fine.

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images