Summer Tours Week 2 Preview: All top tier teams in action for huge weekend

If last week was the warm up, then this one is undoubtedly the grand opening to proceedings as all Six Nations, all Rugby Championship teams and a host of others gear up for a huge weekend of International Rugby.

Read previews for each of the big games below, and a note on some of the games between developing nations, with links to wider-ranged previews for each of the Home Nations and others.

Japan vs France (Live on Premier Sports 1, KO 7am BST)

The opening game of a bumper Saturday sees a team that continues to be a rising star in the international game hosting arguably the best team in the World at the moment.

France will be without superstars Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, just some of the players that coach Fabian Galthie has opted to rest for the tour.

Second row Thomas Jolmes and number eight Yoan Tanga will make their debuts in Toyota, in a team captained by Charles Ollivon.

Japan, meanwhile, are back to full strength having opted to rest some players for last week’s 34-15 win against Uruguay.

This should be a routine win for France despite the relative strengths of the starting line-ups, but Japan have proven they are capable of wins against the very best before and will be hungry for an upset.

New Zealand vs Ireland (Live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event, KO 8:05am BST)

Covid has ravaged the All Blacks camp this week, and perhaps there has not been a bigger chance in the 28 years since New Zealand were last beaten at Eden Park for that record to end.

Ireland have won three of their last five against New Zealand having never beaten them in 111 years previously, and although they haven’t played one of those games in the hosts’ country, they haven’t played there for a decade when their team was almost completely different.

The main piece of continuity comes in the form of captain Jonny Sexton, and his experience will be vital if Ireland are to get anything out of this clash.

Ireland are very unfancied, but a victory here and they will believe they can do the impossible and win a series on All Blacks territory.

Lose badly like their second string did against the Māori All Blacks however, with New Zealand’s Covid issues likely to be resolved by next week, and this could be a very long three weeks.

It’s hard to call, but with the All Blacks having called in Joe Schmidt for help and retaining the spine of their team, they should edge this one.

Australia vs England (Live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event, KO 10:55am BST)

Perhaps the most intriguing of the ties this weekend, both teams come into this series with high expectations despite each being on losing runs coming into this game.

England’s is only two, with Australia’s only three, but the former’s uncapped game against the Barbarians showed how much work they have to do, while the Wallabies still seemed miles behind the men in white in their 32-15 defeat at Twickenham in November.

The fact that Australia beat France in a test series last year indicates just how strong they are on home soil, and they have also seen off each of the Rugby Championship nations since the last Rugby World Cup – including two wins each against South Africa and Argentina.

Both teams have named strong sides blending young guns and old hands, and both are at a similar stage of their development heading into the next World Cup.

The Wallabies have never had a better chance to end their long losing run against England here, but logic has been in short supply in Eddie Jones’ tenure, and with the expectations lowered, they will feel they could spring a surprise.

South Africa vs Wales (Live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event, KO 4:05pm BST)

Many have written off Wales for this series, and though the prospect of facing a team that despatched the Lions last summer (in their first games for nearly two years after winning a World Cup) seems daunting, Wales can look to their own strengths.

They have a relatively experienced side that will be aided by the returns of Dan Lydiate in the pack and George North in the backs, and though many will point to their defeat against Italy, they will approach the games of this series in an entirely different way.

They won’t arbitrarily turn down shots at goal, they will treat the opposition with respect, and they won’t have the pressure of having already performed poorly in a series they expected to do better in.

South Africa are a formidable team, and some of the stars included in their line-up are enough to frighten any team in World Rugby.

But they are also eminently beatable, proven by two defeats to Australia, and losses to New Zealand, England, and a near miss against Saturday’s opposition in November.

Wales are probably just lacking a little bit in their pack to win this game, but with the influential South Africa fly-half Kieran Pollard missing out, and Wales’ own Dan Biggar declared fit, it remains far from a foregone conclusion.

Argentina vs Scotland (Live on Sky Sports Action, Main Event and Mix, KO 8:10pm BST)

The day finishes off in the South American sunset as Scotland begin a test series in Argentina for the first time since 2010.

Since that tour, Scotland have had a highly impressive record against the Pumas, winning seven of the eight clashes played in the last dozen years, including the last five.

Following the disappointment of being knocked out in the 2019 Rugby World Cup at the pool stage, coming at the end of a poor four-year cycle, Argentina looked to be building nicely, coming second in the 2020 Tri Nations and winning an away series against then-Six Nations Champions Wales in 2021 (albeit when the Welsh were missing their Lions).

But they have won just one test in their last nine since, losing all six games in the Rugby Championship last year – the narrowest margin being 19 points – and finishing 2021 with a 53-7 humbling at the hands of Ireland.

Michael Cheika has been brought in to replace Mario Ledesma, and having taken on a struggling Australia team at a similar time in a World Cup cycle, before taking them to the final in 2015, this appears a very good move.

For Scotland this is an important series; though no-one doubts their ability to produce in one off games, there are still major questions around their consistency, which were intensified after another mixed Six Nations this year.

But under Townsend, Scotland have made good starts to Six Nations tournaments, test series’ and Autumn Internationals so for now, despite the absence of Hamish Watson, they will be confident they can do the same here and extend their winning run against the Pumas, although Argentina could be a very different entity under Cheika.

The Best of the Rest

Italy continue their tour of Europe with a game against Romania on Friday. Having squeezed past Portugal with a last minute winner in a thriller last week, they’ll be hoping to improve ahead of a monumental clash against Georgia next week.

The Pacific Nations Cup gets underway tomorrow with games being broadcast on the World Rugby website and YouTube channel, as a new-look Tonga face Fiji in Suva, whilst Samoa take on Australia ‘A’, this year’s invitees to the tournament.

A series of uncapped games also take place with the United States playing the French Barbarians on Friday, a Currie Cup XV taking on Italy ‘A’ on Saturday, and Georgia play an Argentina XV on Sunday.

And last but not least Canada, who are celebrating their national day on Friday, take on Belgium on Saturday. They will still be reeling from missing out on a World Cup for the first time after defeat to Chile over two legs last year, but have an opportunity to start a re-build against the World’s 27th strongest team.