A 12–0 hole against the All Blacks usually means lights out. Not this time. We break down how England wrestled control back at Twickenham: Ford’s cold-blooded drop goals, a backline reshuffle that added real speed with Marcus Smith at 15, and a pack that went from shaky lineouts to statement scrums. Dingwall and Lawrence offered balance and bite in midfield, while Underhill and Earl set the tone with dominant contact and tireless carrying. It wasn’t perfect, but it was organised, ruthless, and timely—the kind of performance you can build a season on.
From there, we zoom out to the new Nations Championship and what it could mean for global rugby. The stakes are welcome; the risk is a closed shop. We lay out how promotion, relegation, and smart neutral-venue choices could turn this into a true pathway for Georgia, Portugal, Spain, Japan and beyond. Awards chatter adds spice—a prop pushing for World Player of the Year and a young English back rower lighting up the breakthrough debate—while the real strategic trend sits on the bench: the bomb squad era is here. Argentina’s finishers flipped Scotland late, and South Africa still found a way past Italy despite another contentious red, fuelling the TMO fatigue that fans everywhere are feeling.
We wrap the weekend: Wales ride their luck against a slick Japan, Ireland bookend Australia with clinical surges, and France edge Fiji but raise questions about freshness at the top. Predictions for a massive slate ahead—Wales vs New Zealand, Ireland vs South Africa, France vs Australia, England vs Argentina—round out a packed show that blends analysis with honest takes on where the sport is heading.
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