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Autumn Nations Series 2024: Everything you need to know about round one
All eyes will be on Twickenham and Edinburgh this Saturday as the 2024 Autumn Nations Series gets underway.
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Following a year in which the stars of the game have dazzled across the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, July Tests and recently concluded Rugby Championship, the world’s best teams have gathered in Europe for four weekends of intense action.
This year’s Autumn Nations Series will kick off with the 46th meeting between England and New Zealand as the hosts attempt to seal a first victory in the fixture since the Rugby World Cup 2019 semi-final.
Later on Saturday, a few hundred miles north at Murrayfield, Fiji will attempt to beat Scotland for the first time on Scottish soil to climb above them in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings.
Ahead of what promises to be a brilliant opening weekend, we give you the lowdown on the Autumn Nations Series and the first two matches of the 2024 edition.
What is the Autumn Nations Series?
The Autumn Nations Series is the name given to the end-of-year men’s Tests, featuring some of the best teams in the world.
Between November 2-30, 14 of the top 15 nations in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings will take to the pitch at iconic stadia across Europe.
England face New Zealand in the opening match of this year’s Autumn Nations Series on Saturday before Scotland host Fiji in Edinburgh.
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Ireland, Australia, Italy, Argentina, France, Japan, Wales, South Africa, Portugal and Georgia will all join the action across the next four weekends.
Will a trophy be awarded at the end of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series?
No, the teams do not compete for silverware during the Autumn Nations Series.
However, with the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 draw set to be staged at the beginning of 2026, there are vital rankings points up for grabs.
England, Argentina and Scotland will hope they can force their way into the top four by the end of November while Wales start the month outside of the top 10.
Who is playing on the opening weekend?
The Autumn Nations Series 2024 will get underway on Saturday when England take on the All Blacks at Allianz Stadium (kick-off 15:10 GMT).
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Scottish Gas Murrayfield will then be the setting for the second match of the day as Scotland welcome Fiji to Edinburgh at 17:40.
England v New Zealand, Allianz Stadium – KO 15:10 GMT
Head-to-head
The All Blacks have won 35 of the teams’ 45 meetings to date, with England claiming eight victories and the other two fixtures ending in a draw.
That was the outcome in the most recent match at Twickenham, in November 2022, when England scored three late tries to come back from being 25-6 down to secure a 25-25 draw.
New Zealand were victorious in both of the two-Test series against England in July, albeit each being settled by seven points or fewer. The All Blacks followed up a 16-15 win in Dunedin by triumphing 24-17 in Auckland the following week.
Form
England’s series defeat in New Zealand continued a mixed year for Steve Borthwick’s side in which they lost against Scotland and France (but beat winners Ireland) to finish third in the Men’s Six Nations standings.
The All Blacks have been similarly inconsistent under new coach Scott Robertson and travelled north on the back of a Rugby Championship campaign in which they lost three matches for the first time since Argentina joined the party.
Rankings
England cannot improve on fifth, even if they beat New Zealand by more than 15 points. However, a defeat by the same margin would drop them one place, below Argentina to sixth.
The All Blacks will remain third in the rankings on Monday regardless of the result in Twickenham on Saturday.
Can I buy tickets?
A limited number of tickets are still available via the official England Rugby ticketing site.
Scotland v Fiji, Scottish Gas Murrayfield – KO 17:40 GMT
Head-to-head
Scotland won the most recent fixture between the sides, 28-12 in Edinburgh in November 2022, to maintain their unbeaten home record against Fiji.
In all, Saturday’s hosts have claimed seven wins to Fiji’s two in their nine meetings.
Form
Victory against England was the high point for Scotland in a Six Nations campaign that tailed off with defeats to Italy and Ireland in their final two matches.
Gregor Townsend’s side embarked on a tour of North and South America in July, where they beat Canada, USA, Chile and Uruguay on consecutive weekends. They now have an opportunity to win five Tests in a row for the first time since 2020.
Fiji arrived in Europe as Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup champions having beaten Samoa, Tonga and USA before a 41-17 victory in the final against Japan.
Prior to that tournament, the Flying Fijians beat Georgia and lost heavily to the All Blacks in July.
Rankings
Fiji would move up one place to eighth if they avoid defeat on Saturday and a first win in the fixture in Scotland would lift them to seventh, equalling their highest ever position.
Scotland would drop below their visitors in defeat – for only the third time in rankings history – but cannot climb the rankings even with a win of 15 points or more.
Can I buy tickets?
Saturday’s match at Murrayfield is sold out.
You can check availability for Scotland’s remaining Autumn Nations Series fixtures here.
How can I watch the Autumn Nations Series?
All 21 matches in this year’s Autumn Nations Series will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and discovery+ in the UK and Ireland.
Ireland matches will also be available on Virgin Media, with Wales games broadcast on S4C as well.
A full list of global broadcast partners for the Autumn Nations Series can be found here.
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I wish we could settle on calling it the End of Year series, or similar. It's not Autumn in the southern hemisphere.