Nic White has a clear advantage going into the Movember season and hopefully, Twickenham will be full of bobby hats and crying Poms come the night of the ninth.
In fact, the start of December could see the Wallabies sitting in fifth on the World Rugby Rankings list, if they can produce a re-run of their amazing Grand Slam-winning rugby, from 40 years ago.
It’s already started, after five interminable weekends in the Great Australian Rugby Emptiness. That time of year when everyone else seems to be playing rugby but we just kick back our heels and try to make sense of the pummeling we have taken since February.
Of course, the Wallabies don’t start this weekend, we go into a sixth week of recovery, but our fellow Antipodean team, the All Blacks, kicked it all off with a stop-over uppercut to the erstwhile Wallaby mentor.
The win to the New Zealanders (different ones to the Aussie coach) won’t affect the rankings at all but will give the All Blacks a handy hit out a week before England.
So where does November leave everyone in regard to the World Rugby Rankings, not that most of the highly esteemed Roar pundits care, as I so often have read, the rankings don’t mean anything. That is right up until it’s time to slot the knife in and use the Wallaby ranking as proof of the woeful state of Aussie rugby.
Anyway, I reckon they count for something and here’s my opinion on how November’s games will pan out and how it will affect where teams will be sitting by the start of December.
November starts slowly with only two games, the All Blacks heading to Twickenham, the first of three consecutive games that tries them out against the other three teams sitting between two and five in the rugby rankings.
These three weeks will show where New Zealand really are in the big scheme of things.
(Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Match fitness could help England come good on the night, but I think the All Blacks will be too strong against a team that is missing some quality players through injury.
The other game on the weekend should see the Brothers Tuipulotu pull Scotland through to a convincing win over Fiji.
The second weekend in November really gets things underway, but should bring about a short hiatus in the Tuipulotu’s winning ways, when South Africa silences the Murrayfield faithful.
New Zealand should go into their game against Ireland well-primed with wins against Japan and England giving them a firm footing against a team that hasn’t played together since July, this could be the game that sees South Africa atop the rankings again.
Two games all Aussies should be interested in, Italy v Argentina and Wales v Fiji, could have helpful ramifications in where Australia sit in the rankings.
Argentina should, on recent form and current ranking, be too strong for Italy, Wales will not want this to be the game where Fiji kick some daffy ariss, and the home-ground advantage should sing them through to a win.
Meanwhile, I just can’t see Australia getting a famous Grand Slam Tour off to a winning start, hence rendering my first paragraph null and void, living only in the world of dreams.
Still, the effect of us playing a much higher-ranked team and both Italy and Fiji losing to closer-ranked teams will see them lose more ranking points than us and we will actually jump up to eighth in the rankings.
The middle of the month sees Ireland take on Argentina in a game they should win, maybe not easily, but still win, whilst not affecting the rankings at all.
South Africa after a tune-up game against Scotland should have enough to put England away.
The juice of the weekend is France vs New Zealand, New Zealand with three games under their belt up against the Great Gallic Uncertainty.
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
There’s probably only one non-Australian game I will set the alarm for and Italy should take care of Georgia, but I’ll be cheering red to help keep Italy below us on the rankings.
Leaving Wales, the game that will make or break the Wallabies tour. This is a fight for a place in the top ten. This is a fight for rights, a fight for the small man, a fight for justice and the American Way, this is a fight for life. Oops.
This is a fight for what may be our only win on a forgetful tour, the difference between 38% and 31%.
Up until 1987 or so we had never reached such an overall winning percentage of around 38%.
The weekend of the 23rd is the last main week in November. Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and England take on much lower-ranked teams and should take care of them whilst giving some depth players a shot at Test rugby.
These games will have little effect on the rankings though. France against Argentina will be interesting and a game Argentina may like to think they’re in with a chance. Maybe, maybe not.
Scotland vs Australia, haven’t met for two years and Scotland who are well ahead on the rankings will be still hurting from that game and won’t have forgotten, and should be too strong for the Wallabies.
One last game on the 30th to round out a great month of rugby. I can’t see Australia doing anything special and Ireland so far ahead on the rankings won’t leave any ranking points swapping hands either.
So what does it all mean with respect to the World Rugby Rankings? Well not much really.
Of course, I have tipped here pretty much in favour of higher-ranked teams winning games, there could very well be some upsets, Argentina over France, England over New Zealand, or Australia over Scotland.
New Zealand have three tough games that I see them winning, but I could be still blinded by the old black.
The Kiwis beating Ireland could see them end the year in second and Ireland drop to third, however, an Irish win will keep them on top of the rankings though not for long as even winning all their games won’t stop the South Africans from passing them by winning all their games against slightly higher ranked teams and playing away from home.
The Wallabies, simply, must win in Wales or come home to life outside the top ten, a horrendous place to be on the eve of the Lions Tour.
Zero wins will mean a ranking of 11th, but if we beat Wales it’ll be an eighth ranking – or seventh if we beat Scotland as well.
Possible Rankings:
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3 Ireland
4 France
5 England
….
11 Australia
