One Weekend, Every Level: From Friday Night Lights to Murrayfield
England and Henry Slade will be looking to build on an impressive display
©Lizzy Terry/TEZ.PHOTOG
Round 5 of the Nations Championship headlines the weekend, but the action starts tonight. From Paris to Murrayfield, via Goldington Road, Crouchley Lane and Lisbon, here’s Mark Ashcroft's guide to a weekend packed with rugby at every level.
Paris: Dupont at 10, and the Boks at the door
The headline act is at the Stade de France, where France host South Africa (KO 8.10pm UK) on Friday. France, as ever, have given us something to talk about: Antoine Dupont, the best scrum-half on the planet, will wear the No.10 shirt.
I'd love to tell you this is Fabien Galthié's blue-sky thinking; the kind of positional mischief Rassie Erasmus would be proud of. The truth is more prosaic.
France have run out of fly-halves. Romain Ntamack dislocated his shoulder against Fiji last weekend, joining Matthieu Jalibert, Thomas Ramos and Antoine Hastoy on the injury list. Dupont has had one training run in the role. Maxime Lucu, who, oddly, has more experience at 10 for Bordeaux-Bègles than Dupont has at Toulouse, moves to nine instead. Necessity rather than invention, though with France the line between the two is rarely clear.
Erasmus admitted this week he isn't sure Dupont's own teammates know what he'll do next. That's the threat. I have no doubt Dupont will cause havoc around that inside channel, and it will be a real examination for Morné van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and a back row of Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese.
The spacing around the ruck and first receiver has to be perfect for 80 minutes.
But the game may be decided further forward. Will the French front five - Gros, Marchand, Falatea, Verhaeghe and Guillard - be battle-hardened enough to take on, and potentially expose, the South African pack?
Historically, I'd have said yes. Tonight I'm not so sure. Erasmus has brought Wilco Louw in at tighthead, a selection that speaks for itself, and the Boks arrive with four bonus-point wins from four. History isn't on France's side either: South Africa have won nine of the last 10 meetings, including five straight at the Stade de France.
It's one I'll be watching closely. My heart says France. My head says the Springboks.
Salford: Can Sale keep it going?
Over in Salford, Sale Sharks host Exeter Chiefs in the Prem Rugby Cup (KO 7.45pm).
When Alex Sanderson arrived at Sale, there seemed to be a continuous-improvement ethos across every competition, domestic and European. Lately, that progress has become more stuttered and fragmented.
Last season's seventh-place finish was the club's lowest in seven years, Champions Cup qualification wasn't secured until June, and Sanderson himself called it "a year of transition." Fifteen players left in the summer; Courtney Lawes headlined the arrivals.
As in most sports, momentum is everything, and Sale have struggled to find it. The Prem Cup offers them the chance to build some, and there are early signs.
Last Friday's 21-19 win over Bristol put them top of Pool A, while Exeter arrive off a 35-19 home defeat to Bath. So the question isn't really whether Sale can start building momentum, but whether they can sustain it with a squad thinned by international call-ups. November cup rugby is where depth gets found out and where young players make their case.
Bedford: Friday Night Lights at Goldington Road
And then there's the Champ. It's good to see a Friday night fixture under lights: Bedford Blues v Doncaster Knights at Goldington Road (KO 7.45pm).
Bedford have found the start of the season harder going than they'd like. After back-to-back runners-up finishes, fifth place feels like a step backwards for Mike Rayer's side, though with Dean Adamson, the Champ's record try-scorer, on the wing, they are never short of a cutting edge.
Doncaster's fortunes have been mixed. Ninth in the table, but fresh from beating a previously unbeaten Worcester. Little separates them. After seven games, Bedford have scored just five more points and the Knights edge the league head-to-head 22 to 19.
Friday night: Pick your ground
For rugby fans across the UK, these three fixtures offer a great opportunity to watch rugby live and on TV. With Sale and Bedford both kicking off at 7.45pm and Paris at 8.10pm, pick your ground, then reach for the remote. Some of us will be trying to follow all three at once.
Saturday: The National League dilemma
For many people, Saturday will be all about the Nations Championship. For me, there's a decision to make first. Do I go and watch some National League Rugby? And if I do, who do I go and see?
The catch is that most of these games kick off between 2pm and 3pm, just as Wales take on the All Blacks in Cardiff. Thank goodness for phones, and for England not kicking off until 4.40pm.
The local option: Lymm v Cinderford
Given my geography is the North West, the obvious answer in National West is Lymm, who host Cinderford at Crouchley Lane (KO 2.15pm). It's a quirk of the league map that a Cheshire club finds itself playing the Forest of Dean outfit, but that's the National Leagues for you.
Lancashire loyalty: Preston Grasshoppers v Sheffield Tigers
My other option is in National League 2 North, where Preston Grasshoppers take on Sheffield Tigers. Hoppers will want a response after shipping 48 points at Hull Ionians last weekend.
The soft spot: Bury St Edmunds v Leeds Tykes
If I follow my soft-spot teams, then Bury St Edmunds in National League 1 are at home to Leeds Tykes (KO 2.30pm), and it should be a very interesting fixture. Bury came up as National League 2 East champions and are finding the step up tough, sitting 11th. Leeds arrive fourth, fresh from a 33-19 win over Birmingham Moseley.
The standout: Birmingham Moseley v Plymouth Albion
Perhaps the standout fixture of the day is at Billesley Common, where Birmingham Moseley host Plymouth Albion. Plymouth are flying: nine games played, nine bonus-point wins, 471 points scored and top of National League 1. Birmingham sit eighth and were beaten at Leeds last weekend, but home advantage counts for plenty at this level.
If anyone is going to lay a glove on Albion, why not here, especially after Moseley ended the perfect start of Tonbridge Juddians a fortnight ago.
Others to keep an eye on
- Barnes v London Welsh (National League 2 East, KO 2pm). Two London clubs in different form. Barnes are seventh after four straight wins and Welsh (11th) are coming off a 39-34 defeat to Canterbury.
- Harrogate v Fylde (National League 2 North, KO 2pm). Eighth plays ninth, separated by four points, so there's plenty at stake for both.
- Hull Ionians v Sedgley Park (National League 2 North, KO 2pm). And of course Sedgley Park, who head across the Pennines unbeaten and top of the table. But Hull Ionians are fourth and put 48 points on Preston last weekend, so this could be a very close encounter.
If Sedgley's perfect record is going to wobble, Brantingham Park is the sort of place it happens.
So what will it be: Crouchley Lane, Lightfoot Green or the sofa? Whichever way I go, I'll have one eye on Cardiff and I'll be back in front of the television by 4.40pm.
The Test arena: Nations Championship and Nations Cup
Which brings us to the main event. Saturday is packed with Test rugby across the Nations Championship and the World Rugby Nations Cup, and ITV has the Nations Championship games live.
England v Japan (Twickenham, KO 4.40pm)
England v Japan is going to be interesting. Steve Borthwick has rung the changes; 10 of them from the side that beat Australia 45022 last weekend.
As much as I'm a great admirer of George Ford, who makes his first Test appearance since February, I'm somewhat surprised Marcus Smith hasn't been given the starting jersey. Smith is on the bench, while Fin Smith, who steered the win over the Wallabies, misses out altogether.
I'm excited to see Henry Slade and Max Ojomoh in the centres. Slade was man of the match last week. Ojomoh starts at inside centre for his first England appearance in a year. With Eddie Jones in the Japan coaching box, there will be no shortage of subplots.
Wales v New Zealand (Cardiff, KO 2.10pm)
Wales can learn a lot from their home fixture against the All Blacks. They come in off a 28-21 win over Japan; New Zealand come in off a 43-21 win over Scotland at Murrayfield. History is brutal. Wales haven't beaten New Zealand since 1953, a run of 34 straight defeats.
I'm going to be really interested to see how Dafydd Jenkins and Jac Morgan stand up to the All Blacks pack. Jenkins is joined in the second row by the returning Adam Beard, and Morgan is flanked by James Botham and Taine Basham, back at No. 8 for his first Wales appearance in over two years.
If Wales are to make a game of it, those forwards have to win enough ball for Sam Costelow to play with.
Nations Cup: Portugal v Samoa and Spain v Chile
The Nations Cup games I'll follow most closely are on the Iberian peninsula. Portugal host Samoa in Lisbon (KO 3pm), buoyed by a 36-15 win over Chile last weekend. Spain host Chile at the Estadio Butarque in Leganés, Madrid (KO 4pm), after edging Uruguay 18-12.
Both Spain and Chile are heading to Rugby World Cup 2027, so there's more riding on this one than Nations Cup points.
Sunday: Scotland v Australia (Murrayfield, KO 3.10pm)
On Sunday we head up to Scotland for the final Nations Championship game of the weekend. Scotland will be hot favourites, at home and having won the last meeting 27-13 in 2024.
But both sides are licking their wounds. Scotland were beaten 43-21 by the All Blacks last weekend, and Australia arrive off a 45-22 hammering at Twickenham and two Bledisloe defeats in October.
Wounded Wallabies can be dangerous. I have a sense that Australia may just pull one out of the bag.
