Nations Championship: Steve Borthwick's under-fire England, Andy Farrell's confusing Ireland, Gregor Townsend's hopeful Scotland
A Steve Borthwick England side which badly needs an uptick in performances and results, an Andy Farrell Ireland side that continues to confuse, and a Gregor Townsend Scotland side full of hope this autumn...
England headed into July's Nations Championship Tests off the back of the worst Six Nations showing in their history.
From five fixtures, they lost four for the first time ever, suffering a first Test defeat against Italy, as well as a record home loss to Ireland by a 42-21 margin at Twickenham.
They lost to Scotland for the fifth time in six years as the wheels well and truly came off a championship campaign that began with a comfortable victory over a poor Wales side at home.
A last-gasp defeat to France in Paris on the final day left England fifth in the standings for the first time, for their lowest-ever finish.
Travelling to the southern hemisphere in July, England were in a position where they likely had to win two of their three Tests or else face substantial change.
Ahead of those games, the RFU came out and backed Borthwick through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia following what was described as "a challenging" Six Nations review, but the head coach was and is acutely aware he badly needs an uptick in performances and results.
A daunting trip to face the Springboks at Ellis Park saw England dispatched 45-21, but they salvaged the summer with a 73-8 mauling of Fiji and then a 31-24 win in Argentina they just about secured.
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Despite England's recent poor results and inconsistency under Borthwick, news has since emerged he has signed a contract extension to 2028, with the RFU seeking to avoid uncertainty over his future.
But under Borthwick, England have now had four Six Nations campaigns, failing to win silverware in all of them - championship title or Triple Crown.
A lack of consistency, porous defence, uninventive or error-strewn attack and overwhelming indiscipline in terms of cards has generally characterised Borthwick's time in charge, for all that the players at his disposal are clearly talented.
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Back on home soil, defeats to Australia or Japan this November would constitute a disaster at this stage, while England must attack and challenge New Zealand in their third Test of the month.
Borthwick and his squad still pose more questions than answers, currently.
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And what of Ireland? Well, in truth, it's pretty difficult to put your finger on where Andy Farrell's current side are exactly in terms performance and ability.
The Six Nations earlier this year began in poor fashion, losing comprehensively to France in Paris, before limping past Italy in Dublin to win without a bonus point.
Then, Farrell made a change at fly-half. Out went a struggling Sam Prendergast, and in came a determined Jack Crowley.
The Munsterman guided an attack which thrashed England 42-21 at Twickenham on a record day for Ireland, beat Wales by 10 points at home and defeated Scotland 43-21 in swashbuckling fashion in Dublin to win another Triple Crown, and ultimately come within a few seconds of an unlikely Six Nations title (only a last-gasp penalty seeing France beat England in Paris).
At that stage, Ireland appeared energised, cohesive, clicking and dangerous in attack. They started to appear a quality side again.
But injuries have since struck, most crucially to Crowley at 10. The 26-year-old has not played rugby since April due to an obscure vascular injury in his leg which took a considerable period to even diagnose.
Crowley has since been ruled out until January 2027, but his injury is not a straightforward one, and there are naturally concerns for him professionally and personally.
Over the same time period, Prendergast - who had found himself out of Leinster's 23-player matchday squads behind Harry Byrne and Ciaran Frawley - fought his way back into the Leinster team near the end of last season, and Farrell restored him as Ireland starting fly-half for July's Tests.
Looking at that Test window, it's very difficult to be positive about Ireland. They were extremely fortunate to beat Australia 33-31 in Sydney, a second-string side got past Japan, and they were then beaten soundly by New Zealand at Eden Park 40-21.
That last defeat saw them fail to pick up a single bonus point even, meaning they are up against it to succeed in this Nations Championship, in any case.
Their attack looked stunted, they appeared weak defensively again, while their set-piece continues to prove an area teams can attack. Compared to the side which finished the Six Nations, Ireland appeared well off it during the summer.
So, which is a fairer representation of this Irish side's quality? Prendergast has been backed to start again facing Argentina in Dublin this Friday. He needs to prove defensively he is a totally different player to the last two years, and he also needs to truly prove he can run a Test attack successfully and slickly in the face of top sides.
A first-ever loss to Argentina in Dublin would be a huge knockback for the men in green as we approach a World Cup year.
In 2023, Ireland had a credible argument they were the best team in the world, and were ranked No 1. But for this side, the last six occasions they have faced South Africa, New Zealand or France, they have lost by double-digits. What next?
Gregor Townsend was a man under huge pressure during the Six Nations after a shock defeat to Italy in Rome, but stirring victories over England and France stemmed the criticism, only for Ireland to blow them away 43-21 on the final weekend in a Triple Crown shoot-out.
As such, before July's Tests, heat was starting to build on the Scots and Townsend once more.
Yet, unlike Ireland, Scotland came out of the summer with a pep in their step after three encouraging performances.
Their clash against Argentina in Cordoba took on must-win status, psychologically as much as anything else due to their dreadful record in the southern hemisphere, but they stepped up and produced a 47-38 victory.
They then travelled to Pretoria and gave the double World Cup-winning Springboks an almighty scare, narrowing to within seven points with 10 minutes to play.
Indeed, having beaten England, France and Argentina in impressive fashion already in 2026, Scotland made South Africa fight until the end for their victory.
After roaring back from 14-0 down to level things up at half-time, the Scots were ultimately left to rue their inability to score while Ben-Jason Dixon was in the sin-bin early in the second half.
The Boks looked to have broken the visitors' resolve when they ran in three tries in the space of 10 minutes either side of the hour mark.
But Scotland hit back again through Josh Bayliss and Ben White to close to within a converted try of their hosts, who eventually made sure of a hard-fought victory with a late breakaway try from Jesse Kriel.
Scotland closed out their July with a professional 33-17 victory over Fiji, and buoyed by those displays, will fancy a crack at the All Blacks at Murrayfield this Saturday.
The hopeful Scots are seeking victory over New Zealand for the first time in history - their winless run standing at 33 Tests. Achieve that, and they really would be setting up nicely for a big 2027.
Friday November 6Ireland vs Argentina (8.10pm)
Saturday November 7Italy vs South Africa (11.40am)Scotland vs New Zealand (2.10pm)Wales vs Japan (4.40pm)France vs Fiji (8.10pm)
Sunday November 8England vs Australia (3.10pm)
Friday November 13France vs South Africa (8.10pm)
Saturday November 14Italy vs Argentina (11.40am)Wales vs New Zealand (2.10pm)England vs Japan (4.40pm)Ireland vs Fiji (8.10pm)
Sunday November 15Scotland vs Australia (3.10pm)
Saturday November 21England vs New Zealand (2.10pm)Scotland vs Japan (2.10pm)Ireland vs South Africa (4.40pm)Italy vs Fiji (4.40pm)France vs Argentina (8.10pm)Wales vs Australia (8.10pm)
Finals Weekend (Twickenham)
November 27Sixth-place North vs Sixth-place South, Third-place North vs Third-place South
November 28Fifth-place North vs Fifth-place South, Second-place North vs Second-place South
November 29Fourth-place North vs Fourth-place South, First-place North vs First-place South
- Last
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5 of November 2026
