Autumn Nations Cup
 | |
| Date | 13 November 2020 – 6 December 2020 |
|---|---|
| Countries |  England Fiji France Georgia Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | England |
| Runner-up | France |
| Third place | Ireland |
| Fourth place | Scotland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Tries scored | 53 (4.08 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Owen Farrell (46) |
| Most tries | Jamie George Nemani Nadolo (3) |
| Player of the tournament | Brice Dulin[1] |
The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoiding extended travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight teams participated – the teams involved in the Six Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales) plus Georgia and Fiji – divided into two groups of four. Japan were originally going to take part but withdrew due to travel restrictions, resulting in them being replaced by Georgia and moving Fiji to Group B.[2]
Each team played the others in its group once to determine the final group standings; the teams in first place in each group then played each other, as did the teams in second, third, and fourth, to determine the overall standings. The tournament opened with a match between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium on 13 November 2020, and the final matches were hosted by the teams from Group A on the weekend of 5/6 December 2020 (Georgia's "home" match was played at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland).[3] Wales' home matches were played at Parc y Scarlets due to the Millennium Stadium being decommissioned as a COVID-19 hospital. Fiji were forced to concede all of their group games due to a COVID-19 outbreak in their team camp, but they were able to face Georgia in the 7th/8th-place playoff.[4]
England won the tournament after wins over Ireland, Wales, Georgia, and France.[5]
Overview[]
Participants[]
World Rugby rankings denoted in (parentheses) as per start of the tournament
| Nation | Head coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| England (3)
|
 Eddie Jones
|
Owen Farrell |
| Fiji (11)
|
 Vern Cotter
|
Semi Radradra |
| France (4)
|
Fabien Galthié
|
Charles Ollivon |
| Georgia (12)
|
|
Merab Sharikadze |
| Ireland (5)
|
Andy Farrell
|
Jonathan Sexton |
| Italy (14)
|
 Franco Smith
|
Luca Bigi |
| Scotland (7)
|
Gregor Townsend
|
Stuart Hogg |
| Wales (8)
|
Wayne Pivac
|
Alun Wyn Jones |
Venues[]
| Stadium | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Twickenham Stadium
|
82,000 | London |
| Stade de France
|
80,698 | Saint-Denis |
| Stade de la Rabine[a]
|
9,500 | Vannes |
| Aviva Stadium
|
51,700 | Dublin |
| Murrayfield Stadium
|
67,144 | Edinburgh |
| Stadio Artemio Franchi
|
43,147 | Florence |
| Stadio del Conero[a]
|
23,967 | Ancona |
| Parc y Scarlets
|
14,870 | Llanelli |
Fixtures[]
Group A[]
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Tries | Bonus points | Table points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Tries | Loser | |||
| 1 | England
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 20 | +62 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | Ireland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 62 | 37 | +25 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Wales
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 56 | –16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Georgia
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 81 | –71 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Round 1[]
| Ireland
|
32–9 | Wales
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Roux 23' c Lowe 80+1' c Con: Sexton (1/1) 24' Murray (1/1) 80+2' Pen: Sexton (2/2) 10', 28' Burns (2/2) 36', 54' Murray (2/2) 67', 72' |
Report | Pen: Halfpenny (3/5) 17', 31', 50' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
71
65
Notes:
- Jacob Stockdale and Iain Henderson were named to start but were ruled out on matchday and replaced by Quinn Roux and Andrew Conway; Tadhg Beirne was added to the bench.[6]
- Billy Burns and James Lowe (both Ireland) and Callum Sheedy (Wales) made their international debuts.
- Tomas Francis (Wales) earned his 50th test cap.
- George North became the seventh Wales player to earn 100 test caps (97 for Wales, 3 for the British and Irish Lions). He also became the youngest player to earn his 100th cap at 28 years and 225 days, surpassing Australia's Michael Hooper's record of 28 years and 348 days.
- Jonathan Sexton became the seventh Ireland player to earn 100 test caps (94 for Ireland, 6 for the British and Irish Lions).
- Alun Wyn Jones became the first player to earn 150 test caps (141 for Wales, 9 for the British and Irish Lions).
| (1 BP) England
|
40–0 | Georgia
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Willis 15' c George (3) 30' c, 34' m, 58' c Daly 38' c Robson 69' c Con: Farrell (5/6) 17', 31', 39', 59', 70' |
Report |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Demur Tapladze had been named on the bench for Georgia, but was withdrawn ahead of kick off and replaced by Giorgi Javakhia.
- Max Malins, Jack Willis (both England) and Sandro Svanidze (Georgia) made their international debuts.
- Jamie George became the first England men's hooker to score a hat-trick.[7]
- The two nations faced each other outside of a Rugby World Cup for the first time.[8]
Round 2[]
| England
|
18–7 | Ireland
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: May (2) 17' m, 21' c Con: Farrell (1/2) 22' Pen: Farrell (2/2) 46', 52' |
Report | Try: Stockdale 74' c Con: Burns (1/1) 75' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
| Wales
|
18–0 | Georgia
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Rees-Zammit 26' c Webb 76' m Con: Sheedy (1/2) 27' Pen: Sheedy (2/3) 10', 52' |
Report |
| showTeam details |
|---|
56Notes:
- James Botham, Kieran Hardy, Ioan Lloyd and Johnny Williams (all Wales) made their international debuts.
- Joy Neville became the first woman to perform television match official duties in a major men's international competition.[9]
Round 3[]
| Wales
|
13–24 | England
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: J. Williams 10' c Con: Halfpenny (1/1) 12' Pen: Biggar (2/2) 56', 59' |
Report | Try: Slade 15' m M. Vunipola 51' c Con: Farrell (1/2) 52' Pen: Farrell (4/6) 31', 40', 67', 73' |
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Attendance: 0 Referee: Romain Poite (France) |
| showTeam details |
|---|
| Ireland
|
23–10 | Georgia
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Burns 9' c Keenan 34' c Con: Burns (2/2) 10', 35' Pen: Burns (2/2) 14', 23' Byrne (1/1) 59' |
Report | Try: Kveseladze 17' c Con: Abzhandadze (1/1) 18' Pen: Abzhandadze (1/1) 48' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
9Notes:
- Shane Daly (Ireland) and Mikheil Alania and Davit Niniashvili (both Georgia) made their international debuts.
Group B[]
| Position | Nation | Games | Points | Tries | Bonus points | Table points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Tries | Loser | |||
| 1 | France
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 20 | +66 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | Scotland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 71 | 39 | +32 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| 3 | Italy
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 64 | –14 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Fiji
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 84 | –84 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Round 1[]
| Italy
|
17–28 | Scotland (1 BP)
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Minozzi 26' m Pen: Garbisi (4/4) 7', 18', 43', 61' |
Report | Try: Van der Merwe 24' c Z. Fagerson 49 'c Cummings 67' c Turner 77' c Con: Weir (4/4) 25', 50', 68', 78' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Jacopo Trulla and Stephen Varney (both Italy) made their international debuts.
Round 2[]
| (1 BP) Scotland
|
15–22 | France
|
|---|---|---|
| Pen: Weir (5/5) 17', 21', 28', 38', 47' |
Report | Try: Vakatawa 42' c Con: Ramos (1/1) 43' Pen: Ramos (4/5) 4', 10', 30', 61' Drop: Jalibert (1/1) 24' |
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 0 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Scotland lost at home to France for the first time since 2014.[13]
Round 3[]
| (1 BP) Scotland
|
28–0 (Cancelled)[14] |
Fiji
|
|---|---|---|
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland) |
| (1 BP) France
|
36–5 | Italy
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Danty 36' c Villière 55' c Serin 61' c Thomas 63' m Macalou 80' c Con: Jalibert (3/4) 37', 55', 62' Carbonel (1/1) 80' Pen: Jalibert (1/1) 3' |
Report | Try: Canna 26' m |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Jean-Pascal Barraque, Teddy Baubigny, Louis Carbonel, Cyril Cazeaux, Kilian Geraci, Hassane Kolingar, Yoram Moefana, Rodrigue Neti, Baptiste Pesenti, Swan Rebbadj, Gabin Villière (all France), Michele Lamaro and Cristian Stoian (both Italy) made their international debuts.
- Nigel Owens became the first referee to officiate 100 test matches.[15]
Finals[]
7th/8th place play-off[]
| Georgia
|
24–38 | Fiji
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Melikidze 23' c Saghinadze (2) 68' c, 79' c Con: Abzhandadze (3/3) 24', 68', 80' Pen: Abzhandadze (1/1) 11' |
Report | Try: Nadolo (3) 2' m, 59' m, 63' c 6' c Tuisova 18' c Kunavula 54' c Con: Volavola (4/6) 8', 19', 56', 64' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- , , Mesulame Kunavula, , , , and Samu Tawake (all Fiji) made their international debuts.
5th/6th place play-off[]
| Wales
|
38–18 | Italy
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Hardy 7' c Parry 17' c G. Davies 58' c North 69' c Tipuric 76' c Con: Sheedy (5/5) 8', 18', 59', 70', 77' Pen: Sheedy (1/1) 46' |
Report | Try: Zanon 33' c Meyer 49' m Con: Garbisi (1/2) 35' Pen: Garbisi (2/2) 29', 39' |
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Attendance: 0 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Monty Ioane (Italy) made his international debut.
- Johnny Williams (Wales) was named to start at inside centre, but picked up an injury ahead of kick-off and Jonathan Davies replaced him in the starting XV.
3rd/4th place play-off[]
| Ireland
|
31–16 | Scotland
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Earls (2) 38' m, 50' c Healy 44' c Con: Sexton (2/3) 44', 51' Pen: Sexton (2/3) 23', 32' Byrne (2/2) 66', 76' |
Report | Try: Van der Merwe 56' c Con: Van der Walt (1/1) 57' Pen: Van der Walt (3/4) 13', 20', 27' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Eric O'Sullivan (Ireland) and Jaco van der Walt (Scotland) made their international debuts.
- Sean Maitland (Scotland) earned his 50th test cap.
- Stuart McInally (Scotland) was named among the replacements, but was replaced before kick-off by George Turner.
1st/2nd place play-off[]
| England
|
22–19 (a.e.t.) | France
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Cowan-Dickie 80' c Con: Farrell (1/1) 80' Pen: Farrell (4/8) 8', 48', 73', 96' Daly (1/1) 19' |
Report | Try: Dulin 15' c Con: Jalibert (1/1) 16' Pen: Jalibert (2/2) 28', 36' Carbonel (2/2) 70', 76' |
| showTeam details |
|---|
Notes:
- Guillaume Ducat and Selevasio Tolofua (both France) made their international debuts.
Final standings[]
| Position | Nation |
|---|---|
| 1st | England
|
| 2nd | France
|
| 3rd | Ireland
|
| 4th | Scotland
|
| 5th | Wales
|
| 6th | Italy
|
| 7th | Fiji
|
| 8th | Georgia
|
Player statistics[]
Most points[]
|
Most tries[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also[]
- 2020 end-of-year rugby union internationals
- 2020 Six Nations Championship
Notes[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Originally scheduled to host cancelled match against Fiji
- ^ Spectators numbers limited to 2,000 due to local restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
References[]
- ^ "France's Brice Dulin voted Player of the Tournament". Autumn Nations Cup. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ English, Tom (28 August 2020). "Georgia lined up to replace Japan in eight-team Autumn tournament". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Jones, Chris (10 September 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: Ireland v Wales to kick-off eight-team tournament". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Fiji Covid-19 crisis forces cancellation of Scotland Autumn Nations Cup clash". The Guardian. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ "Ireland pile pressure on Pivac as Wales slip to sixth straight defeat". The 42. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ Grey, Becky (14 November 2020). "England 40-0 Georgia: Jamie George scores hat-trick in six-try victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Grey, Beck (13 November 2020). "England v Georgia: Jonny May on 'exciting' challenge of becoming best team ever". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Doyle, Owen (24 November 2020). "Owen Doyle: Ireland suffered from officiating of the breakdown". Irish Times. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "France awarded 28-0 score for cancelled match against Fiji". Autumn Nations Cup. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Autumn Nations Cup: France v Fiji – Cancelled". Autumn Nations Cup. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Italy v Fiji Match cancellation". Autumn Nations Cup. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ English, Tom. "Autumn Nations Cup: Scotland 15-22 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ "Scotland v Fiji - Cancelled". Autumn Nations Cup. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Nigel Owens: Welshman on becoming the first to referee 100 Tests". BBC Sport. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
External links[]
- Autumn Nations Cup Website
- Autumn Nations Cup on Twitter
Categories:
- 2020 in rugby union
- 2020 rugby union tournaments for national teams
- 2020–21 in European rugby union
- 2020–21 in English rugby union
- 2020–21 in French rugby union
- 2020–21 in Irish rugby union
- 2020–21 in Italian rugby union
- 2020–21 in Scottish rugby union
- 2020–21 in Welsh rugby union
- November 2020 sports events in Europe
- December 2020 sports events in Europe
- November 2020 sports events in the United Kingdom
- December 2020 sports events in the United Kingdom
- 2020 in Fijian rugby union
- 2020 in Georgian sport