Autumn Nations Cup

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

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)	Levan Maisashvili	Merab Sharikadze
Ireland (5)	Andy Farrell	Johnny 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
Position	Nation	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Tries	Loser	Table points
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

13 November 2020
19:00 WET (UTC+0)

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'

Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

Team details


FB	15	Hugo Keenan
RW	14	Andrew Conway
OC	13	Chris Farrell
IC	12	Robbie Henshaw	71'
LW	11	James Lowe
FH	10	Johnny Sexton (c)	29'
SH	9	Jamison Gibson-Park
N8	8	Caelan Doris
OF	7	Josh van der Flier	70'
BF	6	Peter O'Mahony
RL	5	James Ryan
LL	4	Quinn Roux	65'
TP	3	Andrew Porter	65'
HK	2	Rónan Kelleher	65'
LP	1	Cian Healy	60'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dave Heffernan	65'
PR	17	Ed Byrne	60'
PR	18	Finlay Bealham	65'
LK	19	Tadhg Beirne	65'
FL	20	Will Connors	70'
SH	21	Conor Murray		65'
FH	22	Billy Burns	29'	65'
WG	23	Keith Earls	71'
Coach:
Andy Farrell


FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny
RW	14	Liam Williams
OC	13	Jonathan Davies	60'
IC	12	Owen Watkin
LW	11	Josh Adams
FH	10	Dan Biggar	67'
SH	9	Gareth Davies	54'
N8	8	Taulupe Faletau	71'
OF	7	Justin Tipuric
BF	6	Shane Lewis-Hughes
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones (c)		79'
LL	4	Will Rowlands	52'	79'
TP	3	Tomas Francis	52'
HK	2	Ryan Elias	52'
LP	1	Rhys Carré	40'
Replacements:
HK	16	Elliot Dee	52'
PR	17	Wyn Jones	40'
PR	18	Samson Lee	52'
LK	19	Jake Ball	52'
FL	20	Aaron Wainwright	71'
SH	21	Lloyd Williams	54'
FH	22	Callum Sheedy	67'
WG	23	George North	60'
Coach:
Wayne Pivac

Player of the Match:
Caelan Doris (Ireland)

Assistant referees:
Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television match official:
Romain Poite (France)

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.
Johnny 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).

14 November 2020
15:00 GMT (UTC+0)

(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

Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 0
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Team details


FB	15	Elliot Daly
RW	14	Jonathan Joseph	39'
OC	13	Ollie Lawrence	62'
IC	12	Henry Slade
LW	11	Jonny May
FH	10	Owen Farrell (c)
SH	9	Ben Youngs	62'
N8	8	Billy Vunipola
OF	7	Jack Willis	47'
BF	6	Maro Itoje
RL	5	Joe Launchbury
LL	4	Charlie Ewels	65'
TP	3	Will Stuart	48'
HK	2	Jamie George	65'
LP	1	Ellis Genge	48'
Replacements:
HK	16	Tom Dunn	65'
PR	17	Mako Vunipola	48'
PR	18	Kyle Sinckler	48'
FL	19	Ben Earl	47'
FL	20	Tom Curry	65'
SH	21	Dan Robson	62'
FH	22	Max Malins	62'
CE	23	Joe Marchant	39'
Coach:
Eddie Jones


FB	15	Lasha Khmaladze
RW	14	Aka Tabutsadze
OC	13	Giorgi Kveseladze
IC	12	Merab Sharikadze (c)
LW	11	Sandro Svanidze	80'
FH	10	Tedo Abzhandadze
SH	9	Gela Aprasidze	66'
N8	8	Beka Gorgadze	60'
OF	7	Giorgi Tkhilaishvili	73'
BF	6	Beka Saghinadze
RL	5	Grigor Kerdikoshvili	65'
LL	4	Lasha Jaiani
TP	3	Beka Gigashvili	60'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili	47'
LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili	47'
Replacements:
HK	16	Jaba Bregvadze	47'
PR	17	Guram Gogichashvili	47'
PR	18	Lekso Kaulashvili	60'
FL	19	Otar Giorgadze	60'
FL	20	Tornike Jalaghonia	73'
LK	21	Giorgi Javakhia	65'
SH	22	Vasil Lobzhanidze	66'
WG	23	Alexander Todua	80'
Coach:
Levan Maisashvili

Player of the Match:
Jamie George (England)

Assistant refereess:
Craig Evans (Wales)
Adam Jones (Wales)
Television match official:
Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

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

21 November 2020
15:00 GMT (UTC+0)

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'

Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)

Team details


FB	15	Elliot Daly
RW	14	Jonathan Joseph	72'
OC	13	Ollie Lawrence	69'
IC	12	Henry Slade
LW	11	Jonny May
FH	10	Owen Farrell (c)
SH	9	Ben Youngs	63'
N8	8	Billy Vunipola
OF	7	Sam Underhill	63'
BF	6	Tom Curry
RL	5	Joe Launchbury	69'
LL	4	Maro Itoje
TP	3	Kyle Sinckler	69'
HK	2	Jamie George	80'
LP	1	Mako Vunipola	63'
Replacements:
HK	16	Tom Dunn	80'
PR	17	Ellis Genge	63'
PR	18	Will Stuart	69'
LK	19	Jonny Hill	69'
FL	20	Ben Earl	63'
SH	21	Dan Robson	63'
FH	22	George Ford	69'
FH	23	Max Malins	72'
Coach:
Eddie Jones


FB	15	Hugo Keenan	58'
RW	14	Keith Earls
OC	13	Chris Farrell
IC	12	Bundee Aki
LW	11	James Lowe
FH	10	Ross Byrne	69'
SH	9	Jamison Gibson-Park	51'
N8	8	Caelan Doris
OF	7	Peter O'Mahony
BF	6	CJ Stander	66'
RL	5	James Ryan (c)
LL	4	Quinn Roux	51'
TP	3	Andrew Porter
HK	2	Rónan Kelleher	51'
LP	1	Cian Healy	66'
Replacements:
HK	16	Rob Herring	51'
PR	17	Finlay Bealham	66'
PR	18	John Ryan
LK	19	Iain Henderson	51'
FL	20	Will Connors	66'
SH	21	Conor Murray	51'
FH	22	Billy Burns	69'
WG	23	Jacob Stockdale	58'
Coach:
Andy Farrell

Player of the Match:
Maro Itoje (England)

Assistant referees:
Mathieu Raynal (France)
Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television match official:
Nigel Owens (Wales)

21 November 2020
17:15 GMT (UTC+0)

Wales	18–0	Georgia
Try: Rees-Zammit 26' c Webb 76' m Con: Sheedy (1/2) 27' Pen: Sheedy (2/3) 10', 52'	Report

Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Attendance: 0
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Team details


FB	15	Liam Williams	59'
RW	14	Johnny McNicholl	43'
OC	13	Nick Tompkins
IC	12	Johnny Williams
LW	11	Louis Rees-Zammit
FH	10	Callum Sheedy
SH	9	Kieran Hardy	56'
N8	8	Aaron Wainwright
OF	7	Justin Tipuric (c)	56'
BF	6	James Botham
RL	5	Seb Davies	63'
LL	4	Jake Ball
TP	3	Samson Lee	63'
HK	2	Elliot Dee	71'
LP	1	Wyn Jones	68'
Replacements:
HK	16	Sam Parry	71'
PR	17	Nicky Smith	68'
PR	18	Leon Brown	63'
LK	19	Cory Hill	63'
FL	20	James Davies	56'
SH	21	Rhys Webb	56'
FH	22	Ioan Lloyd	59'
WG	23	Jonah Holmes	43'
Coach:
Wayne Pivac


FB	15	Lasha Khmaladze
RW	14	Aka Tabutsadze		78'
OC	13	Giorgi Kveseladze
IC	12	Merab Sharikadze (c)
LW	11	Alexander Todua		78'
FH	10	Tedo Abzhandadze
SH	9	Vasil Lobzhanidze		56'
N8	8	Beka Gorgadze
OF	7	Beka Saghinadze	56' to 68'
BF	6	Otari Giorgadze		56'
RL	5	Konstantin Mikautadze		38'
LL	4	Grigor Kerdikoshvili
TP	3	Beka Gigashvili		55'
HK	2	Jaba Bregvadze		63'
LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili		55'
Replacements:
HK	16	Giorgi Chkoidze		63'
PR	17	Guram Gogichashvili		55'
PR	18	Lekso Kaulashvili		55'
LK	19	Lasha Jaiani		38'
FL	20	Giorgi Tkhilaishvili		56'
SH	21	Gela Aprasidze		56'
WG	22	Demur Tapladze		78'
WG	23	Tamaz Mchedlidze		78'
Coach:
Levan Maisashvili

Player of the Match:
Aaron Wainwright (Wales)

Assistant refereess:
Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Television match official:
Joy Neville (Ireland)

Notes:

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

28 November 2020
16:00 GMT (UTC+0)

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)

Team details


FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny	67'
RW	14	Louis Rees-Zammit
OC	13	Nick Tompkins	74'
IC	12	Johnny Williams
LW	11	Josh Adams
FH	10	Dan Biggar
SH	9	Lloyd Williams	49'
N8	8	Taulupe Faletau
OF	7	James Botham
BF	6	Shane Lewis-Hughes	52'
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones (c)
LL	4	Jake Ball	49'
TP	3	Samson Lee	43'
HK	2	Ryan Elias	48'
LP	1	Wyn Jones	70'
Replacements:
HK	16	Elliot Dee	48'
PR	17	Rhys Carré	70'
PR	18	Tomas Francis	43'
LK	19	Will Rowlands	49'
FL	20	Aaron Wainwright	52'
SH	21	Rhys Webb	49'
FH	22	Callum Sheedy	67'
CE	23	Owen Watkin	74'
Coach:
Wayne Pivac


FB	15	Elliot Daly
RW	14	Jonathan Joseph	52'
OC	13	Henry Slade
IC	12	Owen Farrell (c)
LW	11	Jonny May
FH	10	George Ford
SH	9	Ben Youngs	77'
N8	8	Billy Vunipola
OF	7	Sam Underhill	74'
BF	6	Tom Curry	61'
RL	5	Joe Launchbury	67'
LL	4	Maro Itoje
TP	3	Kyle Sinckler	73'
HK	2	Jamie George	67'
LP	1	Mako Vunipola	67'
Replacements:
HK	16	Luke Cowan-Dickie	67'
PR	17	Ellis Genge	67'
PR	18	Will Stuart	73'
LK	19	Jonny Hill	67'
FL	20	Ben Earl	74'
FL	21	Jack Willis	61'
SH	22	Dan Robson	77'
FB	23	Anthony Watson	52'
Coach:
Eddie Jones

Player of the Match:
Sam Underhill (England)

Assistant referees:
Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television match official:
Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

29 November 2020
14:00 WET (UTC+0)

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'

Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

Team details


FB	15	Jacob Stockdale
RW	14	Hugo Keenan
OC	13	Chris Farrell
IC	12	Stuart McCloskey
LW	11	Keith Earls	63'
FH	10	Billy Burns	46'
SH	9	Conor Murray	57'
N8	8	CJ Stander
OF	7	Will Connors	67'
BF	6	Tadhg Beirne	62'
RL	5	James Ryan (c)	62'
LL	4	Iain Henderson
TP	3	Andrew Porter	41'
HK	2	Rob Herring
LP	1	Finlay Bealham	57'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dave Heffernan	67'
PR	17	Cian Healy	57'
PR	18	John Ryan	41'
LK	19	Quinn Roux	62'
FL	20	Peter O'Mahony	62'
SH	21	Kieran Marmion	57'
FH	22	Ross Byrne	46'
FB	23	Shane Daly	63'
Coach:
Andy Farrell


FB	15	Soso Matiashvili
RW	14	Aka Tabutsadze
OC	13	Giorgi Kveseladze
IC	12	Merab Sharikadze (c)	67'
LW	11	Tamaz Mchedlidze	65'
FH	10	Tedo Abzhandadze
SH	9	Vasil Lobzhanidze	74'
N8	8	Beka Gorgadze	63'
OF	7	Tornike Jalaghonia
BF	6	Beka Saghinadze
RL	5	Lasha Jaiani
LL	4	Nodar Tcheishvili	62'
TP	3	Beka Gigashvili	71'
HK	2	Shalva Mamukashvili	9' to 19'		65'
LP	1	Mikheil Nariashvili	50'
Replacements:
HK	16	Giorgi Chkoidze	9'	19'	65'
PR	17	Lekso Kaulashvili	50'
PR	18	Giorgi Melikidze	71'
LK	19	Giorgi Javakhia	62'
FL	20	Mikheil Gachechiladze	63'
SH	21	Mikheil Alania	74'
WG	22	Demur Tapladze	65'
FB	23	Davit Niniashvili	67'
Coach:
Levan Maisashvili

Player of the Match:
Iain Henderson (Ireland)

Assistant referees:
Luke Pearce (England)
Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Television match official:
Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Notes:

Shane Daly (Ireland) and Mikheil Alania and Davit Niniashvili (both Georgia) made their international debuts.