Autumn Nations Series grades for each team

By Charlie Elliott

No one could have expected some of the results that happened over the Autumn Nations Series, with Australia overperforming and Wales furthering their losing streak. 

It was a mixed bag of performances for teams across the Autumn, and here are the ratings of each team based on how well they did. 

England – D

Many were expecting two wins, or maybe even three, for England, and they failed to deliver. 

The main saving grace is the fact that against Australia and New Zealand, they were unlucky to lose, but what is worrying is the lack of being able to see out games. 

Performance-wise wise it was not bad at all, but test rugby is results-driven, and failing to get results will always mean that it is considered an unsuccessful Autumn. 

Steve Borthwick’s lack of willingness to switch from the blitz defence is also negative because time and time again it appeared that it was not working against the top teams. 

This Autumn proved that England are a long way away from a World Cup, and will even struggle in the Six Nations, not a great campaign but some positives. 

Ireland – B

It was a good but unremarkable Autumn for Ireland, with Andy Farrell’s side pretty much doing as expected. 

The wins against Australia and Argentina were good, and they tore apart Fiji in their best performance of the series. 

The All-Blacks loss is the only blemish, with their opponents barely stepping out of second gear but comfortably winning. 

It didn’t appear that Ireland were at their best at all, but the results speak for themselves, a solid Autumn but one which won’t be remembered in future. 

Scotland – B+

Much better than people may have anticipated for Scotland. Hugely dominant over Australia, with expected wins against Fiji and Portugal. 

They went about their business in a professional manner, and even in the loss against South Africa, they gave the world champions a big scare for large portions. 

An Autumn which will give them huge amounts of confidence going into the Six Nations, and Gregor Townsend will be proud of his squad. 

Wales – F

Weak, lifeless and with a distinct lack of quality. Wales were poor for the whole Autumn Nations Series. No one expected them to beat South Africa, but Fiji and Australia should have been wins on home soil. 

A first-ever win for Fiji in Cardiff shows just how disappointing they were, and a 20-52 battering by Australia was just embarrassing. 

Fans have lost faith in Warren Gatland, and Welsh rugby needs resurrecting, otherwise, it could be a torrid future for the country’s rugby scene. 

New Zealand – B-

Getting results without putting in a strong performance is an alien concept for the All-Blacks, but that is exactly what they did. 

The loss to France was disappointing but wins in England and Ireland deserve credit, even though they weren’t at their best. 

Only beating Italy by 18 points is something that is not in their DNA and tarnishes an above-average Autumn. 

If the England game had not gone their way, there could have been entirely different discussions about this side, so Scott Robertson can consider himself slightly lucky. 

Australia – B 

Results may have petered out towards the last couple of games for the Wallabies but given the talk before Autumn about rugby union being stagnant in the country, they deserve huge credit. 

Bringing Joseph Sua’ali’i over from rugby league looks to be a masterstroke, and Joe Schmidt deserves all the praise for the upturn in results. 

With them being written off before a ball was kicked, it would have been hugely satisfying to prove people wrong. 

South Africa – A

Everything just seemed so effortless for the Springboks, who got three wins from three without being at their best. 

The tightness of the wins against England and Scotland will have disappointed them, but in truth that is a reflection of their high standards, having still won by nine and 17 points in those games. 

Very dominant and very physical, they have shown that they aren’t over the hill just yet. 

France – A

France were stellar the whole Autumn and beat Argentina comfortably alongside a tight win against New Zealand. 

They have a great team, and some young talent such as Louis Bielle-Biarrey bursting onto the scene will give even more hope for the future. 

Six Nations is well within their sights and being able to compete despite Antoine Dupont not being at his best shows that they aren’t the one-man team that they have been branded as in the past. 

READ MORE: The best XV of the Autumn Nations Series