And if they win one of their two remaining games in the Rugby Championship, both against Argentina, they will arrive with that trophy in their collection as well.
Their weekend triumph over the All Blacks by 18-12 in Cape Town in another ferociously physical Test match ensured they will take an eight-point lead in the table into their back-to-back clashes with the Pumas.
They have now won 18 of the 21 matches they have played this year and last, with only the All Blacks and Ireland (twice) have lowered their colours. They will round off their year when they meet Wales at Principality Stadium on Saturday, 23 November (5.40pm kick-off).
What an occasion that promises to be with the Prince William Cup once again up from grabs in the Welsh capital. Tickets for that game, along with those against Fiji (Sunday, 10 November) and Australia (Sunday, 17 November) are currently on sale at WRU member clubs, via the Official WRU Online Ticket Office , by phone and in person at the WRU’s Westgate Street Ticket Office.
The Freedom Cup, first contested in 2004 on the 10-year anniversary of South African democracy, is played for between southern hemisphere heavyweights South Africa and New Zealand and it was the first time in 15 years the Springboks had won it. They have now won four in a row over the All Blacks for the first time since 1949.
Scott Robertson’s New Zealand side have now lost three of their four games in this year’s Rugby Championship and have a double header with Australia to finish.
The Wallabies were beaten by a record margin in Argentina as the Pumas took revenge for their last-gasp defeat in the previous round by hitting back from a 17 point deficit to run out 67-27 victors.
If it was a red letter day for home skipper Julián Montoya, who scored one of his side’s nine tries on the day he became the fourth Argentine player to earn 100 caps, it was definitely a day to forget for James Slipper as he joined George Gregan on a Wallabies record 139 caps.
Among the records set in Santa Fe, it was the most points conceded by any Australian team in a Test match. The 67 points scored by the Pumas added 19 to their previous best against the Wallabies – 48 in 2022 – and the 31-point winning margin was another all-time high.
Austrlia now face three games in a row against the All Blacks – two in the Rugby Championship and one in the Bledisloe Cup – before heading north for the Autumn Nations Series. The Wallabies face England at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on 9 November before coming to Cardiff to face a Welsh side that will be keen to overturn the disappointment of two narrow defeats down under this summer.
WALES AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES – PRINCIPALITY STADIUM
Sunday 10 November
WALES V FIJI – KO 1:40PMSunday 17 November
WALES V AUSTRALIA – KO 4:10PMSaturday 23 November
WALES V SOUTH AFRICA – KO 5:40PM
Tickets Available HERE
