With the November Tests now done and dusted, we look at the state of affairs in each of the competing nations. First up, Australia.
The Wallabies won two out of four Tests during their November campaign and their ultra competitive head coach, Michael Cheika, will not be content with a 50 percent win ratio.
This, after his side showed significant improvement as the year progressed, especially during their Rugby Championship campaign. Finishing second in that tournment brought plenty of optimism into their ranks ahead of their end-of-year tour, and especially after the euphoria of their 23-18 Bledisloe Cup victory over the All Blacks in Brisbane late in October.
That win over the world champions was a real confidence booster for the Wallabies ahead of their matches against Japan, Wales, England and Scotland. The tour started off well with a comprehensive victory against Japan and they also impressed in beating Wales but things went pear-shaped in their last two Tests where they suffered heavy defeats to England and Scotland.
And although they were without the services of their best player, Israel Folau, who was afforded a break after playing non-stop since starting his illustrious multi-code career a decade ago, it would be fair to say the Wallabies would have expected to be victorious in at least three of their four matches ahead of the tour with a win against England viewed as a bonus.
With first-choice inside centre Kurtley Beale – who was the Wallabies' standout player during the Rugby Championship – taking over at full-back, it was expected that Folau's absence would not be as keenly felt and although Beale did an adequate job – especially against Wales when he was arguably the best player on the field – he would want to forget the England and Scotland fixtures in a hurry as he had stints in the sin-in in both those Tests.
The 53-24 loss to Scotland was a bitter pill to swallow as the result brought some unwanted records with it. It is the third most points the Wallabies have conceded in history and is their worst defeat in 118 years to a northern hemisphere side.
Losing Stephen Moore, who retired from all rugby after Saturday's defeat to the Scots, will be a setback as his experience will be difficult to replace.
Although the Wallabies won two out of their four games and were competitive for large periods in their two defeats, what will be a concern for Cheika is the fact that his troops have now lost their last five matches against England as well as two in a row to Scotland.
That record does not bode well for the two-time world champions ahead of 2018's mid-year three-Test series against another Six Nations side, Ireland, who were one of the better sides during this year's November internationals and who beat Australia when the teams last met on the 2016 end-of-year tour.
by David Skippers
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