2008 end-of-year rugby union tests

2008 end-of-year rugby union tests

Tournament details
Dates	1 November – 3 December
No. of nations	16
← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, the Pacific Islanders and Canada tour the northern hemisphere. The tour ended with the traditional 'final challenge' Barbarians match, against Australia, which was the first rugby union Test at the new Wembley Stadium. Also a Bledisloe Cup match was contested by New Zealand and Australia outside of either country for the first time; held in Hong Kong with the hope of raising awareness of rugby in China.

The test matches took on added significance, with seedings for the 2011 Rugby World Cup draw to take place on 1 December at stake. For the first time in the history of the Rugby World Cup, the International Rugby Board used the IRB World Rankings to seed teams in the World Cup draw. Teams will be assigned to four-strong seeding pots based on their rankings; each team within a pot will be drawn into a different pool for the World Cup finals.

Week 1

1 November 2008 16:30 HKT (UTC+08)	Australia	14 – 19	New Zealand	Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Attendance: 39,000 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
	Tries: Mitchell (2) 7' c, 27' c Con: Giteau (2)	(Report)	Tries: Sivivatu 42' m McCaw 63' m Pen: Carter (3) 14', 24', 32'

Australia FB 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper RW 14 Peter Hynes OC 13 Ryan Cross IC 12 Stirling Mortlock (c) LW 11 Drew Mitchell FH 10 Matt Giteau SH 9 Luke Burgess N8 8 Richard Brown OF 7 George Smith  75' BF 6 Dean Mumm RL 5 Nathan Sharpe LL 4 Mark Chisholm TP 3 Al Baxter  73' HK 2 Stephen Moore LP 1 Benn Robinson Replacements: HK 16 Adam Freier PR 17 Matt Dunning  73' LK 18 Phil Waugh FL 19 David Pocock  75' FH 20 Sam Cordingley CE 21 Berrick Barnes FB 22 Lachie Turner Coach: Robbie Deans

New Zealand FB 15 Isaia Toeava  75' RW 14 Hosea Gear OC 13 Conrad Smith IC 12 Dan Carter LW 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu FH 10 Stephen Donald  48' SH 9 Jimmy Cowan  51' N8 8 Rodney So'oialo OF 7 Richie McCaw (c) BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Ali Williams LL 4 Brad Thorn  64' TP 3 Neemia Tialata  64' HK 2 Andrew Hore  5' LP 1 Tony Woodcock Replacements: HK 16 Keven Mealamu  5' PR 17 Greg Somerville  64' LK 18 Anthony Boric  64' FL 19 Adam Thomson SH 20 Piri Weepu  51' CE 21 Ma'a Nonu  48' FB 22 Cory Jane  75' Coach: Graham Henry

---

1 November 2008 17:00 WET/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Portugal	13 – 21	Canada	Estádio Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon Referee: Peter Allan (Scotland)
	Try: Silva Con: Leal Pen: Leal (2)		Tries: Kleeberger Pritchard Con: Pritchard Pen: Pritchard (3)

Week 2

8 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01)	Italy	20 – 30	Australia	Stadio Euganeo, Padua Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
	Try: Mi. Bergamasco 30' m Pen: Marcato (2) 7', 12' Orquera (2) 53', 60' Drop: Marcato 26'	(Report)	Tries: Turner 9' m Cooper 73' c Con: Giteau Pen: Mortlock 3' Giteau (5) 18', 39', 48', 51', 78'

---

8 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	England	39 – 13	Pacific Islanders	Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 55,427 Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
	Tries: Sackey (2) 14' c, 75' m Cipriani 37' c Kennedy 44' c Mears 68' c Con: Cipriani (4) Pen: Cipriani (2) 10', 32'	(Report)	Try: Rabeni 15' c Con: Hola Pen: Hola 40' Bai 56'

---

8 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Wales	15 – 20	South Africa	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,119 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
	Pen: Halfpenny 29' Hook (4) 57', 59', 63', 73'	(Report)	Tries: Jacobs 6' c de Villiers 52' c Con: Pienaar (2) Pen: Pienaar (2) 9', 37'

---

8 November 2008 17:15 IST/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Ireland	55 – 0	Canada	Thomond Park, Limerick Attendance: 21,500 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
	Tries: Earls 3' c Kearney (2) 13' c, 35' c Heaslip 30' c Bowe (2) 40' c, 80' m D. Wallace 68' c Quinlan 80' m Con: O'Gara (5) P. Wallace Pen: O'Gara 7'	(Report)

---

8 November 2008 17:15 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Scotland	6 – 32	New Zealand	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 51,511 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
	Pen: Paterson (2) 2', 22'	(Report)	Tries: Tuitavake 8' c Weepu 26' m Kahui 41' c Boric 73' c Con: Donald (2) Carter Pen: Donald (2) 5', 19'

---

8 November 2008 21:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01)	France	12 – 6	Argentina	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 57,300 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
	Pen: Skrela (2) 29', 79' Baby 32' Drop: Skrela 11'	(Report)	Pen: Contepomi (2) 27', 36'

• Kaplan, who went into the match sharing the record for most Tests as referee (46) with Paul Honiss of New Zealand, took sole possession of the record. He replaced the injured Steve Walsh as referee for this match.

---

8 November 2008 16:00 MST (UTC-07)	United States	43 – 9	Uruguay	Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy Attendance: 5,060 Referee: Romain Poite (France)
	Tries: Clever 3' c Wyles 52' c DeBartolo 56' c Ngwenya 59' c Emerick 76' c Erskine 80+2' m Con: Hercus (4), Malifa Pen: Hercus 50'		Pen: Arocena (3) 10', 17', 21'

Week 3

14 November 2008 19:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Wales	34 – 13	Canada	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 59,326 Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
	Tries: Stoddart 24' m Halfpenny (2) 39' m, 80' c Penalty try (2) 58' c, 70' c Con: Biggar (3) Pen: Biggar 46'	(Report)	Try: Smith 74' c Con: Van Camp Pen: Pritchard (2) 10', 31'

---

15 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01)	France	42 – 17	Pacific Islanders	Stade Auguste Bonal, Montbéliard Attendance: 19,645 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
	Tries: Tillous-Borde 24' c Szarzewski 27' c Heymans 46' m Picamoles 70' c Médard 75' c Con: Skrela (4) Pen: Skrela (3) 7', 50', 60'	(Report)	Try: Taione 77' m Pen: Bai (4) 2', 9', 34', 40'

FB 15 Maxime Médard RW 14 Julien Malzieu OC 13 Yannick Jauzion IC 12 Benoit Baby LW 11 Cédric Heymans FH 10 David Skrela SH 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde N8 8 Imanol Harinordoquy OF 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo BF 6 Thierry Dusautoir RL 5 Lionel Nallet (c) LL 4 Romain Millo-Chluski TP 3 Nicolas Mas HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski LP 1 Lionel Faure Replacements: HK 16 Benjamin Kayser PR 17 Benoit Lecouls LK 18 Sébastien Chabal FL 19 Louis Picamoles SH 20 Sébastien Tillous-Borde FH 21 Damien Traille WG 22 Alexis Palisson Coach: Marc Lièvremont

FB 15 Gavin Williams RW 14 Napolioni Nalaga OC 13 Seru Rabeni IC 12 Epi Taione LW 11 Vilimoni Delasau FH 10 Seremaia Bai SH 9 Mosese Rauluni (c) N8 8 Sisa Koyamaibole OF 7 Nili Latu BF 6 Hale T-Pole RL 5 Kele Leawere LL 4 Paino Hehea TP 3 Kisi Pulurconnet HK 2 Tani Fuga LP 1 Kas Lealamanua Replacements: HK 16 Sunia Koto PR 17 Census Johnston LK 18 Filipo Levi FL 19 Viliami Vaki SH 20 Sililo Martens FH 21 Kameli Ratuvou FB 22 Seilala Mapusua Coach: Quddus Fielea

---

15 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01)	Italy	14 – 22	Argentina	Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
	Try: Masi 80' Pen: Marcato (2) 31', 53' Drop: Marcato 44'	(Report)	Try: Carballo 49' c Con: Contepomi Pen: Contepomi (5) 26', 38', 40+1', 43', 74'

---

15 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	England	14 – 28	Australia	Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,688 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
	Try: Easter 36' m Pen: Cipriani (2) 40', 52' Drop: Armitage 22'	(Report)	Try: Ashley-Cooper 69' c Con: Giteau Pen: Giteau (6) 3', 6', 28', 32', 54', 58' Mortlock 64'

FB 15 Delon Armitage RW 14 Paul Sackey OC 13 Jamie Noon IC 12 Riki Flutey LW 11 Ugo Monye FH 10 Danny Cipriani SH 9 Danny Care N8 8 Nick Easter OF 7 Tom Rees BF 6 Tom Croft RL 5 Tom Palmer LL 4 Steve Borthwick (c) TP 3 Phil Vickery HK 2 Lee Mears LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements: HK 16 Dylan Hartley PR 17 Matt Stevens LK 18 Simon Shaw FL 19 James Haskell SH 20 Michael Lipman FH 21 Harry Ellis FB 22 Toby Flood Manager: Martin Johnson

FB 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper RW 14 Peter Hynes OC 13 Ryan Cross IC 12 Stirling Mortlock (c) LW 11 Drew Mitchell FH 10 Matt Giteau SH 9 Luke Burgess N8 8 Richard Brown OF 7 George Smith BF 6 Hugh McMeniman RL 5 Nathan Sharpe LL 4 Mark Chisholm TP 3 Al Baxter HK 2 Stephen Moore LP 1 Benn Robinson Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau PR 17 Matt Dunning LK 18 Dean Mumm FL 19 Wycliff Palu SH 20 Sam Cordingley FH 21 Quade Cooper WG 22 Digby Ioane Coach: Robbie Deans

---

15 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Scotland	10 – 14	South Africa	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 36,037 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
	Try: Hines 39' c Con: Godman Pen: Godman 28'	(Report)	Try: Fourie 57' m Pen: Pienaar (3) 46', 55', 66'

---

15 November 2008 17:15 IST/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Ireland	3 – 22	New Zealand	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 77,500 Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
	Pen: O'Gara 38'	(Report)	Tries: Penalty try 40+2' c Nonu 47' c Thorn 53' m Con: Carter (2) Pen: Carter 26'

FB 15 Girvan Dempsey RW 14 Tommy Bowe OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) IC 12 Luke Fitzgerald LW 11 Robert Kearney FH 10 Ronan O'Gara SH 9 Tomas O'Leary N8 8 Jamie Heaslip OF 7 David Wallace BF 6 Alan Quinlan RL 5 Paul O'Connell LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan TP 3 John Hayes HK 2 Rory Best LP 1 Marcus Horan Replacements: HK 16 Jerry Flannery PR 17 Tony Buckley LK 18 Stephen Ferris FL 19 Shane Jennings SH 20 Eoin Reddan FH 21 Paddy Wallace CE 22 Keith Earls Coach: Declan Kidney

FB 15 Mils Muliaina RW 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu OC 13 Conrad Smith IC 12 Ma'a Nonu LW 11 Joe Rokocoko FH 10 Dan Carter SH 9 Jimmy Cowan N8 8 Rodney So'oialo OF 7 Richie McCaw (c) BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Ali Williams LL 4 Brad Thorn TP 3 Neemia Tialata HK 2 Keven Mealamu LP 1 Tony Woodcock Replacements: HK 16 Corey Flynn PR 17 John Afoa LK 18 Anthony Boric FL 19 Kieran Read SH 20 Piri Weepu FH 21 Stephen Donald FB 22 Isaia Toeava Coach: Graham Henry

---

16 November 2008 15:00 JST (UTC+09)	Japan	29 – 19	United States	Mizuho Rugby Stadium, Nagoya Attendance: 5,111 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
	Tries Holani 33' c Endo 45' c Con: Nicholas (2) Pen: Nicholas (4) 3', 43', 53', 77' Webb 59'		Tries: MacDonald 9' c Ngwenya 39' c Welch 69' m Con: Hercus (2)

Week 4

Going into Week 4, the main storyline was the battle for fourth place in the IRB World Rankings. New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia were entrenched in the top three. The team that stood in fourth place on 1 December would avoid being drawn into the same pool as one of the Tri Nations powers in 2011. Four teams could have ended the week in fourth place: Argentina, England, France, and Wales.

22 November 2008 19:13 JST (UTC+09)	Japan	32 – 17	United States	Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo Attendance: 11,836 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
	Tries: Hatakeyama 7' m Tomioka 28' c Webb 31' c Kikutani 63' c Con: Nicholas (3) Pen: Nicholas (2) 48', 68'		Tries: Wyles 1' m Ngwenya 40+1' m van der Giessen 50' c Con: Hercus

---

22 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01)	Italy	17 – 25	Pacific Islanders	Stadio Giglio, Reggio Emilia Attendance: 13,595 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
	Tries: Ghiraldini 16' c Ma. Bergamasco 65' c Con: Marcato (2) Pen: Marcato 6'		Tries: Delasau 3' c, 29' m Ratuvou 40' c Con: Bai (2) Pen: Bai 18', 42'

• The Pacific Islanders defeat a Test team for the first time in nine attempts.

---

22 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	England	6 – 42	South Africa	Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,113 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
	Pen: Cipriani (2) 2', 29'	(Report)	Tries: Rossouw 15' c Pienaar 19' c Jacobs 51' c Fourie 77' c Habana 80' m Con: Pienaar (3) F. Steyn Pen: Pienaar (3) 6', 25', 63'

---

22 November 2008 14:45 IST/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Ireland	17 – 3	Argentina	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 68,352 Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
	Try: Bowe 77' m Pen: O'Gara (3) 39', 50' 75' Drop: O'Gara 69'	(Report)	Pen: Fernández 36'

The missed conversion by Ronan O'Gara on Ireland's only try of the match proved huge for Argentina. With the other results on the day, the Pumas would have dropped to fifth place, behind England, if O'Gara had converted, as it would have given Ireland a win by more than 15 points. As it turned out, Argentina retained fourth by a narrow margin.

---

22 November 2008 14:45 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Scotland	41 – 0	Canada	Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Attendance: 17,651 Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
	Tries: Walker 2' m, 70' c Cairns 37' c Barclay 42' c Strokosch 56' c Lamont 73' m Con: Godman (3) Parks Pen: Godman 34'	(Report)

---

22 November 2008 17:15 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Wales	9 – 29	New Zealand	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,076 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
	Pen: S. Jones (3) 2', 14', 23'	(Report)	Tries: Nonu 55' c Kaino 80+1' c Con: Carter (2) Pen: Carter (5) 17', 40', 42', 64', 74'

---

22 November 2008 21:00 WET/GMT+01 (UTC+01)	France	13 – 18	Australia	Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 79,231 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
	Try: Penalty try 39' c Con: Skrela Pen: Skrela 48' Drop: Medard 51'	(Report)	Tries: Moore 31' c Hynes 57' m Con: Giteau Pen: Giteau (2) 28', 74'

Week 5

The battle for fourth place in the IRB World Rankings finished this weekend, with Argentina remaining in fourth place without playing as England lost and Wales failed to achieve the 15-point winning margin required. Argentina therefore took top seeding for the following month's 2011 Rugby World Cup draw along with the three Tri-Nations teams.

The other major news of the week was New Zealand's trouncing of England, completing a successful Grand Slam tour for the All Blacks. This was the All Blacks' third such successful tour, with the previous ones being in 1978 and 2005.

29 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	England	6 – 32	New Zealand	Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,180 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
	Pen: Flood 17' Armitage 49'	(Report)	Tries: Muliaina 58' m, 66' m Nonu 72' c Con: Carter Pen: Carter (5) 15', 27', 36', 39', 62'

---

29 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Wales	21 – 18	Australia	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,314 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
	Tries: Sh. Williams 4' m Byrne 32' c Con: S. Jones Pen: S. Jones (2) 28', 78' Drop: S. Jones 68'	(Report)	Tries: Chisholm 14' c Ioane 79' m Con: Giteau Pen: Giteau 46' Drop: Giteau 25'

---

3 December 2008 19:45 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0)	Barbarians	11 – 18	Australia	Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 43,600 Referee: Chris White (England)
	Try: Collins c Pen: Montgomery (2)	(Report)	Tries: Tuqiri m Turner c Con: O' Connor Pen: O'Connor (2)

FB 15 Percy Montgomery RW 14 Joe Rokocoko OC 13 Rico Gear IC 12 Jean de Villiers LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Francois Steyn SH 9 Fourie du Preez N8 8 Schalk Burger OF 7 Richie McCaw BF 6 Jerry Collins RL 5 Johann Muller LL 4 Bakkies Botha TP 3 Census Johnston HK 2 John Smit (c) LP 1 Federico Pucciariello Replacements: HK 16 Mark Regan PR 17 Rodney Blake LK 18 Chris Jack FL 19 Nick Koster SH 20 George Gregan FH 21 Ollie Smith WG 22 Shane Williams Coaches: Jake White Eddie Jones

FB 15 James O'Connor RW 14 Lote Tuqiri OC 13 Ryan Cross IC 12 Adam Ashley-Cooper LW 11 Digby Ioane FH 10 Quade Cooper SH 9 Brett Sheehan N8 8 Richard Brown OF 7 George Smith(c) BF 6 Dean Mumm RL 5 Hugh McMeniman LL 4 Mark Chisholm TP 3 Matt Dunning HK 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau LP 1 Sekope Kepu Replacemnts: HK 16 Adam Freier PR 17 Ben Alexander LK 18 Peter Kimlin FL 19 David Pocock SH 20 Luke Burgess CE 21 Lachie Turner WG 22 Drew Mitchell Coach: Robbie Deans

Effect on World Cup seeding Following the 29 November tests, the twelve teams who qualified automatically for the 2011 Rugby World Cup were seeded thus: Pot 1 New Zealand South Africa Australia Argentina Pot 2 England Wales France Ireland Pot 3 Scotland Fiji Italy Tonga