Eddie Butler, writing in The Guardian, reviews a poor end to November for England and Scotland, but a thrilling one for New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.

"At the end of a desultory month, suddenly we had three cracking Tests between Wales and Australia, France and New Zealand and Ireland and South Africa. Just when it seemed that emergency legislation would have to bring the moratorium on law change to an end, six countries showed that anything was still possible. "I think that's the point: that the outcrop of entertainment involved six countries. France and Wales may have been soundly put in their place by the All Blacks and the Wallabies, but at least they showed every intention of being positive. "South Africa lost, but their assault on the Irish line at the end was the essence of the Croke Park drama. The game had come steeped in acid, as niggle between the two camps dominated the build-up, but in the end it stayed well within the bounds of acceptable, with Brian O'Driscoll's last-ditch tackle on Zane Kirchner the final stamp of approval."