The Summer Tests are now on, as the Six Nations sides are in transit after two weeks of exciting action. Fans with Six Nations tickets who saw Ireland lift the title earlier this year will be delighted to know they squared off the test by the barest margins against South Africa.
After losing the first test, a last-gasp drop goal sealed it for the Irish to take home a win. While the All Blacks got the W’s against England, England has a lot to take home regarding player performance and skill levels.
This performance was a hiatus of joy for any fan looking for Six Nations tickets, for 2024 from England – the Red Roses will be alright.
Here’s How the Six Nations sides did in the Summer Tests.
Ciarán Frawley’s drop goals clinched a 25-24 win for Ireland over world champions South Africa, while Duhan van der Merwe notched a record-equalling 27th Scotland try as they overpowered the USA 42-7.
Italy bounced back with a 36-14 win over Tonga, while England missed out at Eden Park, losing 24-17 to the All Blacks.
Wales also lost their Test series 2-0, going down 36-28 to the Wallabies, and France saw Argentina draw level in their clash thanks to a 33-25 success.
Frawley – Big Game Player
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May, Ciarán Frawley was just off-target with a drop-goal attempt that would have clinched the Investec Champions Cup for Leinster against Toulouse.
The French side claimed the trophy in extra-time, but that disappointment has not fazed Frawley.
Coming off the bench in Durban, he nailed two long-range drop goals, the second of which was for victory.
On both occasions, his impressive distance on his kicks was clear, and under the biggest pressure, he absolutely nailed his chance.
In life after Jonathan Sexton, the fans with Six Nations tickets now know that they still have a list A placekicker.
This game also reminded us that Ireland remains perhaps the best team on goal-line drop-outs. Conor Murray scored late on from one last week and did so again, this time for the opening try against the Springboks.
Joe Schmidt used to be famous for his strike moves, but after five years of being removed from his regime, Ireland still sets the standard in that area.
Duhan Awaits History
Ian Smith had held the record for the most tries for Scotland for 88 years when Stuart Hogg went over for his 25th try for the country in 2021.
Three years later, Duhan van der Merwe pulled level with his former captain and will fancy his chances of taking the record outright in the next fortnight.
As the Scots eased to a comfortable win in Washington DC, Van der Merwe needed six minutes to get on the scoresheet for his 27th try, matching Hogg.
He did not add another but has two more chances against Uruguay and Chile on this tour.
Instead, Ewan Ashman grabbed a first-half hat-trick, and Scotland hookers continue to make a case for a starting role following George Turner’s departure to Japan.
First, it was Dylan Richardson’s double last week, but now Ashman has gone one better as he helped make the game secure for Gregor Townsend’s side by half-time.
Italy Gets a Deserving Win
Italy’s lineout was an issue a week ago in Samoa, and they flagged down the stretch in that defeat.
But they were much more clinical in Tonga in their second game of the summer and were never in danger of slipping up.
Up against a powerful home outfit, Gonzalo Quesada’s team made the conscious decision to get the ball wide as often as possible, and that paid off with tries for wingers Jacopo Trulla and Monty Ioane – albeit the second was from a set play off a scrum.
Michele Lamaro finished off perhaps the pick of the tries, with wonderful passing exchanges and seeing the skipper cross from an attack that began with Paolo Garbisi claiming a mark in his own 22.
The Italian scrum made a significant impact, which is no mean feat when considering that Ben Tameifuna was packing down for Tonga, a promising sign for Quesada and his coaching team.
England were Strong
As was the case a week ago in Dunedin, England led in the second half of their clash with New Zealand, only to see the All Blacks seize momentum in the final 20 minutes.
Steve Borthwick will have plenty of positives to take away from this tour, however. His side put New Zealand under immense pressure in both matches. It is also a consolation for all the English fans with Six Nations tickets to see the intensity at which their team played against the All Blacks.
One area where they were particularly dangerous at Eden Park was the aerial battle. This was clearly something that had been spotted as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman both got on the end of cross-kicks from Marcus Smith to the right corner in the first half.
Smith has dazzling feet and a sharp turn of pace, but this showed just how brutal his kicking can be to defend as well.
The regrets for England will likely surround the third quarter of the game. Having opened up a 17-13 lead, they would have wanted to press home their advantage and stretch their lead.
Instead, the introduction of Beauden Barrett seemed to swing the game back to New Zealand, and they came away with the seven-point win despite a late attacking maul from England that could have salvaged a draw.
Wales Have A Lot To Do
Speaking of mauls, Wales have learned their lessons from a week ago against Australia.
In their first Test against the Wallabies, the crucial moment was when a second-half try was ruled out for obstruction at a maul, denying them the chance to level the scores.
In the second encounter in Melbourne, the Wallabies had raced into a 17-0 lead, but Wales used the power of their attacking drive to get right back into the match. Dewi Lake got over twice, thanks to the excellent work of the rest of his forwards.
Warren Gatland will be looking to build piece by piece for a young side. Despite the two losses, this series has shown that one area is clearly firing – the rolling maul.