Weekend Round-Up: Who Saw This One Coming?

Catch up on the best of the weekend’s games on Rugby Pass as the Autumn Internationals turn up the most unexpected and inexplicable set of results yet.

Autumn International: Scotland vs Argentina

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Greig Laidlaw looks like he should be playing acoustic Oasis covers in the pub across the road from Murrayfield, not captaining Scotland in an international rugby match. The scruffy bearded scrum-half was the best player on the pitch against Argentina at the weekend as Scotland looked to bounce back from their obligatory heartbreaking one-point loss to the Wallabies the week before. His accuracy off the tee kept Scotland in striking distance; when Sean Maitland scored a great try in the corner in the second half, it was Laidlaw who nailed the sideline conversion to tie the game 13-13, setting the game up for another frantic finish.

Autumn International: Italy vs South Africa

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When Bryan Habana crossed the Italian tryline in the eighth minute it seemed like the first of many tries in what should be a routine South Africa win, their first of their Autumn tour. But it was Italy – who went down 68-10 against the All Blacks last weekend – who scored the next one, from a lineout drive, and despite a second try through Damian de Allende the Springboks only led 12-10 at halftime. After drawing with the Barbarians and being thumped by England, the Springboks now found themselves with a real game on their hands.

Autumn International: Wales vs Japan

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After a complete stinker against the Wallabies and an improved but still sketchy performance against Argentina, Wales would have been targeting this match against Japan to put their Autumn campaign on the right track with a nice comprehensive win. Things did not go entirely to plan. Like with the Pumas the previous week Wales couldn’t manage to shake their visitors. They scored the first two tries of the game through Dan Lydiate and Jamie Roberts, but a careless pass from Gareth Anscombe was intercepted by Akihito Yamada to cut the Welsh lead to one point at the half. If Japan could show a little more composure than Argentina did in the second half, things were going to be close.

Autumn International: France vs Australia

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After a Rugby Championship season plagued by big losses and clown scandals, Australia needed to beat France to extract some optimism from a tough year. They were in for a battle. France attacked the Wallaby line early, extracting penalties and threatening for tries. Bernard Foley’s ear started bleeding and didn’t stop for at least 50 minutes. It took Foley's accurate boot and an act of literal magic from Tevita Kuridrani to turn the momentum around. The big centre’s surprising ability to transcend the laws of physics set the Wallabies up to win. But they still had to get through a torrid final 20 minutes.