England have one big danger the Wallabies must be wary of

The absence of the livewire Alex Mitchell, England’s injured halfback, clearly hurt them in an attacking sense against the All Blacks, but the Wallabies will need to shut down Feyi-Waboso at every opportunity.

4. Fans flocking to Scotland the brave

Before the November Tests even started the Scots had already sold out the 67,000-capacity Murrayfield for three of their fixtures, and they had also shifted more than 50,000 for the Test against Portugal.

They have certainly captured the imagination of supporters and some of their razzle-dazzle play against an understrength Fiji showed why. Five-eighth Adam Hastings created a brilliant late try for winger Duhan van der Merwe with an outrageous behind-the-back pass in the 57-17 win, and Scotland just looked far more enjoyable to watch than England.

Fiji were understrength due to the Test being played outside the international release window, but there is a spring in the step of Scottish rugby because of their ability to use the ball. The Wallabies play Scotland in the third Test of their grand slam tour, and Scotland are on track to supply a far higher number of British and Irish Lions than recent tours.

Loading

5. The value of the second-string tours

If the Australia XV team gets the workout out of Bristol that Munster gave the All Blacks XV in Limerick, Joe Schmidt will be delighted. It’s always a bit hard to truly gauge the merit of these second-string games, but despite losing 38-24 Munster delivered a brand of rugby that would have been a real education for the young New Zealanders.

There was a lot of mauling and “around the corner” forward carries in front of a passionate home crowd, exactly the sort of stuff players from Australia and New Zealand aren’t typically exposed to. The intensity gave the All Blacks XV players a genuine chance to impress, and Rod Seib’s side will be hoping for the same opportunity.