Ireland face Argentina in opening autumn fixture
Ireland head into Friday’s opening autumn fixture against Argentina sitting fourth in the northern hemisphere group standings on 10 points, needing a sweep of their remaining November matches and outside help to claim the inaugural Nations Championship title, The Irish Times reported.
Fixtures and Group Standings at the Tournament Halfway Point
The 12-nation tournament stands at the midpoint of its group stage as fixtures resume at the Aviva Stadium with kick-off set for 8.10pm. Teams are split into two geographical groups of six. The Six Nations sides make up the northern pool, while New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Fiji, and Japan form the southern group. England are priced at 17/2 to win the championship, with Ireland at 14/1 and Scotland at 25/1, while back-to-back world champions South Africa are evens favourites, New Zealand are 3/1, and France are valued at 7/2. Gregor Townsend’s and Steve Borthwick’s charges both claimed away wins over Argentina and victories against Fiji while suffering defeats to South Africa in July.
Ireland accumulated their 10 points through summer victories over the Wallabies and Japan alongside a defeat to the All Blacks. France leads the northern table with 12 points, benefiting from bonus-point wins against Australia and Japan coupled with two bonus points earned in a tight loss to New Zealand in Christchurch. Scotland holds second place with 11 points, while England matches Ireland’s 10 points but sits higher on scoring difference.
The tournament structure moves through three rounds of November fixtures before culminating in a playoff weekend at Twickenham at the end of the month.
Run-ins and Squad Pressures Across the Northern Pool
To top the northern group and reach the final, Andy Farrell’s side will likely need to defeat Argentina, Fiji, and South Africa at home while relying on France to drop points during their corresponding fixtures against the same southern opponents.
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