England came into this Autumn Nations Series opener in London confident of notching just their ninth-ever victory in this 46th encounter with the All Blacks – and they ultimately agonisingly fell short in a dramatic finale.
The schedule kicks off on Saturday in London with Steve Borthwick’s England hosting the All Blacks just 16 weeks after the New Zealanders closed out a 2-0 series victory with a 24-17 win in Auckland.
Round six of the Gallagher Premiership promises to deliver another thrilling weekend of action, with teams looking to solidify their positions ahead of a break before the Test rugby returns in November.
Twenty-eight of the 36 players named by Steve Borthwick in the England squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series will start for their clubs in this weekend’s Gallagher Premiership.
The stage is set for both NPC semi-finals with Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Wellington and Waikato naming their teams.
With England versus New Zealand on the November 2 horizon and Steve Borthwick poised to name his Test squad on Wednesday for the four-game Autum Nations Series, a number of leading candidates have been pencilled in for some timely club action.
There are just four weeks to go before the All Blacks arrive at Allianz Stadium on November 2, so players will be vying to impress.
Hooker Fraser Brown’s two tries saw Glasgow stretch their unbeaten run to nine games with this comfortable 42-28 victory over the Dragons in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Rodney Parade.
All Blacks and Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles has shot down rumours of retirement by re-committing to New Zealand Rugby and the Hurricanes.
All Blacks Head Coach Steve Hansen has named his side for New Zealand's quarterfinal clash with Ireland in Tokyo.
