Next Saturday will be unusually busy with no fewer than three one-off international matches taking place across the British Isles.
They are:
Ireland v Australia at the Kingspan Stadium, Belfast; KO 14.30
England v New Zealand, at the Allianz Stadium, London; KO 14.30
Scotland v Fiji, Hive, Edinburgh; KO 16.45
Quite apart from the excitement all test matches arouse, each fixture has its own particular interest.
The Belfast game will help mark the IRFU’s 150th anniversary. All sorts of events have been organised, but this game will present a rare chance for the Wallaroos to visit the UK on tour.
Their last meeting was at the World Cup in 2017, Ireland winning the pool-stage match 19-17. in the 5th-8th place play-off the Aussies won 36-24. Just one Wallaroo remains from those encounters, Trilleen Pomare, the vice-captain.
The teams present two sides of the same coin: Ireland have been promoted to WXV1, Australia relegated to WXV2, so they won’t be meeting again any time soon. The clash will offer both the chance to measure their progress.
The Twickenham match hardly needs a trumpet call. The world champions meet the No 1 team in the world. But the game will be the first to take place at the newly renamed stadium. Let’s hope the Black Ferns’ coach-driver knows where he’s going. If the Ferns win, it will be their first victory on that stretch of turf.
Scotland’s second warm-up match at the Hive brings Fijiana to town, the first time the two nations have met. Scotland have been hit by sad news. One of the team’s stalwarts, Emma Wassell, has had to withdraw from their WXV2 squad as she faces an operation to remove a tumour. Louise McMillan replaces her.
Better news: the game will offer a moment unlikely ever to be repeated. The match ball will be presented by Taylor Winyard, one of a trio of rowers who set a new record time for crossing the Pacific from Monterey Bay California to Hawaii, just 38 days, better than the male record!