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The Rugby Pod delivers its round one Autumn Nations Cup predictions
By Online Editors
The brand new four-round Autumn Nations Cup kicks off in Dublin on Friday and The Rugby Pod have been busy making their round one match predictions.
Ireland open the tournament by hosting Wales at Aviva Stadium and the action then switches to Florence on Saturday where Italy take on Scotland.
Next up after that is the Twickenham meeting between England and Georgia.
The Eastern Europeans received an invite to participate after Japan pulled out of the tournament, while the round one schedule is then completed on Sunday when France play Fiji at Vannes.
The Six Nations teams have all been in action recently with the conclusion of the delayed 2020 championship culminating in a title victory for Eddie Jones' England.
Now the champions have been tipped by Rugby Pod hosts Jim Hamilton and Andy Goode to get off to a handsome start versus the Georgians.
Here is how the panel's Autumn Nations Cup predictions for this weekend unfolded on the latest episode of their show:
IRELAND vs WALES (Friday, Aviva Stadium - 7pm)
JH: Ireland by eight. No, Ireland by ten. No, Ireland by twelve. Wales will be better.
AG: I'm going to go Ireland by ten.
ITALY vs SCOTLAND (Saturday, Stadio Artemio Franchi - 12.45pm)
AG: It's got to be Italy. I really want to go Italy but I can't do it because of Stuart Hogg, how good Stuart Hogg is. Although did you see the advert for Amazon Prime Sport?
JH: He came through the TV.
AG: The kick-off came off his shin.
JH: Well, that's why it went through the TV.
AG: Exactly. I'm going to have to go Scotland by twelve.
JH: That's what I was going to do because it will be closer than you think. Not because of Duncan (Weir) but because it is in Italy and the travel.
AG: Why are you being horrible to Duncan?
JH: I'm not being horrible to Duncan. I was just about to talk up Jake Polledri... Scotland by 13.
ENGLAND v GEORGIA (Saturday, Twickenham - 3pm)
JH: I don't want to be horrible but David Humphreys, you've got to keep it under 50. Who knows what Eddie Jones is going to do. England by 50.
AG: Having spoken to David Humphreys and realised they haven't played too much, it has been difficult, they have lost a load of senior players, I might go a few more, England by 58.
JH: England are as good as New Zealand now arguably. New Zealand would put 50 on an Italy or a Georgia. That is what we are talking about here.
FRANCE vs Fiji (Sunday, Stade de la Rabine - 3pm)
JH: Closer than you think.
AG: France by twelve.
JH: France by ten. I might change it when the teams come out.
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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