Summer Tour Game Reviews

Unquestionably the stand out game of the weekend was England facing the All Blacks in the second test of the series. It is the glamour tie of this weekend saw Stuart Lancaster roll the dice and put Manu Tualagi on the wing. Although he was not at his best on the wing he did have an opportunity late on to run in a try from his own goal line, an opportunity that a more adept winger might have finished. Although England only lost by one point as the game finished 28-27, this score line somewhat flattered the English side. At times in the second period the All Blacks had played some great rugby and not capitalised. However, as the All Blacks continue to dust off the cobwebs at the start of their season they have already won a series.

Wales travelled to South Africa with the hope of winning the series. That ship has now sailed as they were dismantled in a 38-16 defeat in Durban. It was a poor performance by the Welsh and they lost by five tries to one. The one try that the Welsh did score was very good, a counterattacking run by Alex Cuthbert from his own goal line to score under the posts. However, by then the game had gone and man of the match Willie Le Roux had taken Wales apart. It is up to Gatland to put the team back together ready for the second test next week.

Six nations champions Ireland add another trophy to their cabinet as they completed the series victory in Argentina. They edged out an inexperienced Argentine outfit 23-17. The Argentines are without their European players in this series which do account for the vast majority of their regular squad. They are play very much at half strength but have run Ireland close in two games now; there is strength in depth in Los Pumas ranks. For Ireland it is a good series win, but one that they would have expected. The main positives are the new faces that they have added to the side with several debutants on this tour. Add to this that they have maintained their winning momentum from the six nations, an invaluable commodity in sport.

Scotland continued their globetrotting trip, which sees them take in the USA, Argentina and South Africa. This week it was the turn of Canada to welcome the Scots. Having already beaten the USA in the searing Texas heat the Scots were ready for the challenge of Canada who are ranked 16^th in the world. It did not start well as Ospreys wing Jeff Hassler crossed the whitewash first for Canada. The Scots fought back however, and a try Grant Gilchrist and penalties from Laidlaw and Hogg settled the game at 19-17 in favour of Scotland. The Vern Cotter regime is up and running with two wins but neither have been convincing. Next week’s game against Argentina should give us a better indication of where this Scotland side are at.