Paul Rees is hoping that the November Test matches provide something to shout about after mixed bags in the Six Nations and Tri-Nations in The Guardian.

"John Clare wrote about dark and dull November days, but how the game in Europe could do with an Indian summer as the autumn internationals beckon. South Africa, New Zealand and Australia arrive in Europe after a Tri-Nations campaign that was hardly more stimulating than the Six Nations championship which preceded it. "The New Zealand coach, Graham Henry, was in typically waspish mood this week when he described most sides in Europe, meaning the Six Nations, as conservative in their approach. Dull, in other words. He cited Wales as the exception, but South Africa have hardly been a byword for adventure this year and their meeting with Ireland at the end of the month, who won the Six Nations by adopting similarly constrictive tactics, could come down to who blinks first. "Henry laments the surfeit of kicking spawned last year by the experimental law variations, but Wales presaged the changes on their way to the 2008 grand slam when they kicked more often than anyone else in the Six Nations, keeping the ball in play and chasing hard. They were opportunistic and waited for the moment."