PREDICTIONS FOR 3RD NOV

My predictions for today's games are:

England v South Africa
SA by 10 pts

Wales v Scotland
Wales by 5 pts

Ireland v Italy
Italy by 5 pts

And a second string AB's have just put 69 pts on Japan...

Game on!

TIMES & S.TIMES AUTUMN INT DEBATE LONDON

2018 Autumn Internationals Preview - 1st November 2018
Honourable Artillery Company EC1Y

On stage were Stephen Jones, Stuart Barnes (with a glass of red), Lol Dallaglio and (Big) Jim Hamilton. Not one of them thought England will win tomorrow - enough said. When asked who would they have in England matchday squad, nominations ranged from Cips, Don Armand, Dave Attwood and Elliot Stooke to those injured plus many Wasps players (Lol obviously). And Stuart Barnes said Scotland will not win the World Cup but they could win the Six Nations LOL

Barnesy we love you!

ENGLAND S.AFRICA MATCHDAY SQUAD REVEALED

Farrell at 10, Te'o at 12, Daly at 15, Hartley at hooker, Kruis in second row, Shields at blindside and Wilson at 8. The three quarters look decent, especially with Manu Tuilagi on bench but will need quick ball. Can England's pack physically compete up front with their South African counterparts? The England back row looks light and inexperienced with Curry, Shields and Wilson up against Kolisi, du Toit and (probably) Vermeulen, plus Itoje and Kruis will also have their work cut out against Etzebeth and de Jaeger. England have recalled Hartley to combat Malcolm Marx at hooker, and support two inexperienced international props in Hepburn and Sinckler.

Mark Wilson starts at no.8 versus South Africa

Out wide, it looks like England may have the edge, with Daly, May and Nowell forming an experenced proven try scoring trio at the back, plus master distributors and creators of space in Farrell and Slade - only the fitness of Te'o is a concern. South Africa are without Faf de Klerk and Willie Le Roux in key positions, which puts more pressure on Pollard to prove his undoubted potential. Still, if they select Kriel and de Allende in the centres, plus Damian Allense and Dyantyi out wide they will have a good balance of brute force and lightening pace.

England need to win, both, to stop the losing rot setting in, especially before NZ visit next week, and to gain a psychological edge over their Southern Hemisphere rivals ahead of Japan next year.

Aphiwe Dyantyi - 6 tries in 9 games