The Rugby Championship,<\/a> the Northern and Southern Hemisphere teams get to play one another.\u00a0<\/p>\nAnd unlike the various summer test matches that can be thrown for a loop because of the club championships in June, or the British and Irish Lions tours, the fall test matches usually showcase the teams\u2019 top squads (looking at you, France).<\/p>\n
This year brings some of the best matches in the world, played literally all over the Northern Hemisphere and on multiple continents.<\/p>\n
But what are the five best matches this autumn rugby season? Here are our picks:<\/p>\n
Ireland vs. All Blacks \u2014 4:15 p.m. ET, Nov. 1, Soldier Field, Chicago<\/p>\n
This feels like a big moment for rugby in the United States, with the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the world meeting at Soldier Field in Chicago.<\/p>\n
But this match would belong here whether it was being played in Chicago or some back alley in Dublin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ireland needs to find its mojo again after a disappointing Six Nations. And for Scott Robertson and the All Blacks, this is the most important month in years for New Zealand.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake: the All Blacks losing more than one match this month could cost Robertson his job and kick off a massive coaching carousel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The All Blacks job opening would be like Ohio State football or Alabama football coming open \u2014 every good rugby coach on Earth would be interested.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Robertson, though, is one of the best rugby coaches in the world, so there\u2019s that. And after all, New Zealand still is ranked No. 2 in the world.<\/p>\n
I repeat: New Zealand is actually still ranked No. 2 in the world.<\/p>\n
France vs. South Africa \u2014 3:10 p.m. ET, Nov. 8, Stade de France, Paris<\/p>\n
No. 1 South Africa facing No. 4 \u2014 and possibly the best team in the world when healthy \u2014 France, probably is the best match of the entire month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Antoine Dupont probably won\u2019t be back, but France won the Six Nations and crushed Ireland (mostly) without him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
South Africa has looked unbeatable since the start of the second half of its second match against the All Blacks in The Rugby Championship.<\/p>\n
England vs. All Blacks \u2014 7:40 a.m. ET, Nov. 15, Twickenham Stadium, London<\/p>\n
The All Blacks have a brutally tough schedule, and this match could be the toughest \u2014 and that\u2019s with matches against Ireland and Scotland also on the calendar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
England, without its Lions, swept Argentina this summer on the heels of a strong Six Nations last winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The question is whether England can keep this momentum going for the next two years so it remains one of the favorites to win the Rugby World Cup \u2014 or if it\u2019s peaking too soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Also, let\u2019s see how these young English players fare against the still-daunting task of playing the All Blacks.<\/p>\n
Scotland vs. Argentina \u2014 10:10 a.m. ET, Nov. 16, Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh<\/p>\n
This is such a banger match between two teams that may not have the weight of being World Cup favorites, but still employ lineups capable of beating any team in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the Argentine fans show up in Edinburgh like they did in Australia and New Zealand, we\u2019re talking about one of the best atmospheres and crowds all month.<\/p>\n
Ireland vs. South Africa \u2014 12:30 p.m. ET, Nov. 22, Aviva Stadium, Dublin<\/p>\n
This is the headliner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if we think France vs. South Africa in Paris could be the better match, this is No. 1 vs. No. 3 \u2014 the best team in the Southern Hemisphere facing the best team in the Northern Hemisphere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whomever wins this match could be ranked No. 1 for a while.<\/p>\n
Five More Matches That Are Going To Be Intriguing<\/p>\n
Here are more matches in November we’ll be watching:<\/p>\n
England vs. Australia \u2014 11:10 a.m. ET, Nov. 1, Twickenham Stadium, London<\/p>\n
Australia beat South Africa in August \u2014 remember that? \u2014 and then beat Argentina.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Wallabies still are coached by Joe Schmidt, and they beat \u2014 stunned, more like \u2014 England last year in this match.<\/p>\n
South Africa vs. Japan \u2014 12:10 p.m. ET, Nov. 1, Wembley Stadium, London<\/p>\n
A decade ago, Japan pulled off the biggest upset in international rugby history in the Rugby World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
South Africa bounced back and won the next two Rugby World Cups, while Japan has continued to stay in the top 15 of the world rankings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This match also is at Wembley Stadium, one of the most famous arenas in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It will stream live on FloRugby and the FloSports app.<\/p>\n
Georgia vs. USA \u2014 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 8, Adjarabet Arena, Batumi, Georgia<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t a Nations Series match, but what a great test for Scott Lawrence and the USA Eagles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Georgia is ranked No. 11 in the world, while the Eagles are No. 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A win in Georgia would help the Eagles\u2019 Rugby World Cup seeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This match is streaming on FloRugby and the FloSports app.<\/p>\n
Georgia vs. Japan \u2014 7 a.m. ET, Nov. 22, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia<\/p>\n
Similar to the USA-Georgia match, this one will have major World Cup seeding ramifications for the winner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Georgia is right on the cusp of a top-10 ranking at No. 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lelos are ranked higher than Wales and right on the heels of Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Japan is No. 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This match is streaming on FloRugby and the FloSports app.<\/p>\n
France vs. Australia \u2014 3:10 p.m. ET, Nov. 22, Stade de France, Paris<\/p>\n
I\u2019m here for the Will Skelton angle of it all, to be honest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But also, if Antoine Dupont is coming back in late November \u2014 and returning wearing a Les Bleus jersey instead of a Toulouse jersey \u2014 this could be it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This will be Schmidt\u2019s last match for the Wallabies, and possibly his last as a head coach if he decides to stay retired.<\/p>\n
World Rugby Rankings After The Rugby Championship 2025South Africa 92.20New Zealand 90.02Ireland 89.83France 87.82England 87.64Argentina 83.82Australia 82.93Scotland 81.57Fiji 81.16Italy 77.77Georgia 74.69Wales 74.05Japan 73.61Spain 69.12USA 67.40Samoa 66.94Chile 66.72Tonga 66.66Uruguay 66.59Portugal 66.44Romania 62.67Belgium 61.20Hong Kong China 59.98Canada 59.20Zimbabwe 58.80Watch SA vs. Argentina Replay FREE With FloRugby Athlete’s Lounge<\/p>\n
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby<\/p>\n
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:\u00a0<\/p>\n
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nations Series, and the various northern tours and European tours taken during November, provide some of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-248537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}