England opened their November Test series account with a decisive 54-12 victory over Fiji
Thomas Waldrom of England passes to Ben Youngs during the QBE international match between England and Fiji at Twickenham Stadium on November 10, 2012 in London, England.
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Api Naikatani of Fiji slips the tackle of Tom Johnson of England
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Charlie Sharples of England crashes over the line to score the opening try
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Charlie Sharples of England crashes over the line to score the opening try
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France exacted revenge for the humiliation at the hands of the Wallabies two years ago with a dominant 33-6 victory at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Nathan Sharpe of Australia is tackled by Nicolas Mas of France during the Autumn International match between France and Australia at Stade de France on November 10, 2012 in Paris, France.
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Ruthless French expose Wallabies' scrum
ANY sort of respect the Wallabies scrum had earned during the past couple of years disappeared in the space of 80 minutes at Stade de France yesterday.
The dominant French scrum set the scene for Les Bleus' 33-6 win over the Wallabies, bringing back memories of the bad old days of Australian scrummaging.
Welsh referee Nigel Owens penalised Australia heavily for scrum collapses, including an embarrassing penalty try.
France's resounding 33-6 win over Australia has moved them up into the top-tier of the World Cup seeding into fourth ahead of England and one adrift of the Wallabies, who have been overtaken by the Springboks.
Radike Samo of Australia breaks clear
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South Africa clawed their way back from nine points down to beat Ireland 16-12 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
Eben Etzebeth of South Africa and Peter O'Mahony of Ireland during the International rugby match between Ireland and South Africa in the Aviva Stadium on November 10, 2012 in Dublin, Ireland.
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A much changed Ireland team, led by first-time captain Jamie Heaslip, fell away in the second half as South Africa fought their way to a narrow GUINNESS Series victory at the Aviva Stadium.
Jamie Heaslip's first outing as Ireland skipper looked to be going to plan when the hosts foraged into a 9-3 lead inside 21 minutes.
Patrick Lambie of South Africa and Chris Henry of Ireland
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Ireland have fallen to eighth place in the latest IRB World Rankings, swapping positions with their upcoming GUINNESS Series rivals Argentina.
With the 2015 Rugby World Cup pool allocation draw taking place in London on Monday, December 3, the leading nations are battling it out to be in the top two bands of seeds for the draw.
Saturday's 16-12 defeat to South Africa, coupled with Argentina's achievement in beating Wales 26-12 in Cardiff, means that the Pumas have moved into seventh above Ireland in the latest rankings list.
That means that the sides' GUINNESS Series clash at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, November 24 could be hugely important in determining what seeding they take up for next month's World Cup draw.
Willem Alberts of South Africa and Donnacha Ryan of Ireland
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Italy needed three tries courtesy of their front row to scrape past Tonga in a hard-fought Test in Brescia on Saturday.
Italy 28 - Tonga 23
A general view o action during the international test match between Italy and Tonga at Mario Rigamonti Stadium on November 10, 2012 in Brescia, Italy.
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Joshua Furno of Italy is tackled by Elvis Taione (R) of Tonga
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New Zealand got their November Test series off to a great start as they beat Scotland in a 51-22 victory on Sunday.
Scotland player Ryan Grant and colleagues celebrate prop Geoff Cross (obscured) score for Scotland during the International Match between Scotland and New Zealand at Murrayfield Stadium on November 11, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Richie McCaw of the All Blacks takes on Mike Blair
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Dan Carter of the All Blacks charges upfield
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None of the first five-eighths on show at the weekend could come near the All Black.
Europe is thick with pretenders yet none of the first-fives hoping to steal Dan Carter's crown are likely to usurp the king. Not in the near future anyway.
The likes of Wales, Ireland, Argentina, England and even South Africa must have pondered what different rugby forces they would be should they have access to Carter. He was the man who set the All Blacks alight in Edinburgh; the man who elevated the All Blacks from functional to outstanding at times during their 51-22 slaughter of Scotland.
Andrew Hore of the All Blacks dives over for a try
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Richie McCaw of the All Blacks charges forward
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Victor Vito of the All Blackcs breaks with the ball
Argentina caused the first upset of the November internationals after beating Wales 26-12 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
George North (L) of Wales is tackled by Marcos Ayerza (2L) of Argentina during the Wales versus Argentina International match at the Millennium Stadium on November 10, 2012 in Cardiff, Wales.
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Leigh Halfpenny (R) of Wales spills a high ball under pressure from Juan Manuel Leguizamon (L) of Argentinaduring
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Wales are clinging on to their current world ranking of sixth by the skin of their teeth after suffering defeat on Saturday against Argentina at the Millennium Stadium.
Wales caretaker head coach Rob Howley and skipper Sam Warburton have made no secret of their desire of making top tier status for seedings for the 2015 World Cup groups when they are confirmed on December 3rd.
However the Pumas' shock 26-12 victory has severely dented those aspirations while Argentina themselves have jumped one place from eighth to seventh to nestle menacing behind Wales with a slightly inferior ranking but with momentum on their side.
Leigh Halfpenny (R) of Wales and Gonzalo Tiesi (L) of Argentina spill a high ball
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(Source: Getty Images Europe)
November Tests: XV of the Week
Now that the dust has settled in the northern hemisphere, Planet Rugby looks at the guys who stole the show in week one of the November Tests.
nest test:
Italy v N.Zealand
Scotland v S.Africa
England v Australia
Ireland XV v Fiji
France v Argentina
Wales v Samoa
