2008 end-of-year rugby union internationals

2008 Results May 2026 The 2008 end of year rugby tests, also known as the Autumn internationals saw Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, the Pacific Islanders and Canada tour the northern hemisphere. The tour ended with the traditional 'final challenge' Barbarians match, against Australia, which was the first rugby union Test at the new Wembley Stadium. New Zealand and Australia also contested a Bledisloe Cup match outside of either country for the first time; the match was played in Hong Kong with the hope of raising rugby's profile in China. The test matches took on added significance, with seedings for the 2011 Rugby World Cup draw to take place on 1 December at stake. For the first time in the history of the Rugby World Cup, the International Rugby Board used the IRB World Rankings to seed teams in the World Cup draw. Teams will be assigned to four-strong seeding pots based on their rankings; each team within a pot will be drawn into a different pool for the World Cup finals. New Zealand recorded a second straight grand slam tour. Overview Team/Tour Opponents Argentina in EuropeFRA (lost) – ITA (won) – IRE (lost) Australia in Hong Kong and EuropeNZL (lost) – ITA (won) – ENG (won) – FRA (won) – WAL (lost) New Zealand in Hong Kong and EuropeAUS (won) – SCO (won) – IRE (won) – WAL (won) – ENG (won) South Africa in Great BritainWAL (won) – SCO (won) – ENG (won) Pacific Islands in EuropeENG (lost) – FRA (lost) – ITA (won) United States in JapanJPN (2 matches lost) Canada in EuropePOR (won) – IRE (lost) – WAL (lost) – SCO (lost) Georgia in ScotlandSCO (lost) Week 1 1 November 2008 16:30 HKT (UTC+08) AUS 14–19 (Report) NZL Mitchell (2) 7' c, 27' c Giteau (2) Sivivatu 42' mMcCaw 63' m Carter (3) 14', 24', 32' Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong 39,000 Alan Lewis (Ireland) 1 November 2008 17:00 WET/GMT+0 (UTC+0) POR 13–21 CAN Silva Leal Leal (2) KleebergerPritchard Pritchard Pritchard (3) Estádio Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon Peter Allan (Scotland) Week 2 8 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01) ITA 20–30 (Report) AUS Mi. Bergamasco 30' m Marcato (2) 7', 12'Orquera (2) 53', 60' Marcato 26' Turner 9' mCooper 73' c Giteau Mortlock 3'Giteau (5) 18', 39', 48', 51', 78' Stadio Euganeo, Padua 35,000 Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand) 8 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) ENG 39–13 (Report) Pacific Islanders Sackey (2) 14' c, 75' mCipriani 37' cKennedy 44' cMears 68' c Cipriani (4) Cipriani (2) 10', 32' Rabeni 15' c Hola Hola 40'Bai 56' Twickenham Stadium, London 55,427 Matt Goddard (Australia) 8 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) WAL 15–20 (Report) RSA Halfpenny 29'Hook (4) 57', 59', 63', 73' Jacobs 6' cDe Villiers 52' c Pienaar (2) Pienaar (2) 9', 37' Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 74,119 Alain Rolland (Ireland) 8 November 2008 17:15 IST/GMT+0 (UTC+0) IRE 55–0 (Report) CAN Earls 3' cKearney (2) 13' c, 35' cHeaslip 30' cBowe (2) 40' c, 80' mD. Wallace 68' cQuinlan 80' m O'Gara (5)P. Wallace O'Gara 7' Thomond Park, Limerick 21,500 Christophe Berdos (France) 8 November 2008 17:15 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) SCO 6–32 (Report) NZL Paterson (2) 2', 22' Tuitavake 8' cWeepu 26' mKahui 41' cBoric 73' c Donald (2)Carter Donald (2) 5', 19' Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 51,511 Wayne Barnes (England) 8 November 2008 21:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01) FRA 12–6 (Report) ARG Skrela (2) 29', 79'Baby 32' Skrela 11' Contepomi (2) 27', 36' Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 57,300 Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) Kaplan, who went into the match sharing the record for most Tests as referee (46) with Paul Honiss of New Zealand, took sole possession of the record. He replaced the injured Steve Walsh as referee for this match. 8 November 2008 16:00 MST (UTC-07) USA 43–9 URU Clever 3' cWyles 52' cDeBartolo 56' cNgwenya 59' cEmerick 76' cErskine 80+2' m Hercus (4)Malifa Hercus 50' Arocena (3) 10', 17', 21' Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy 5,060 Romain Poite (France) Week 3 14 November 2008 SCO 69–3 ESPN ReportDaily Record GEO Vernon (2)EvansMcMillanBrownDeweyWebsterWalkerHenderson (2)Newlands Ross (5)Gregor (2) Barkalaia Firhill Stadium, Glasgow 1,100 James Jones (Wales) 14 November 2008 19:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) WAL 34–13 (Report) CAN Stoddart 24' mHalfpenny (2) 39' m, 80' cPenalty try (2) 58' c, 70' c Biggar (3) Biggar 46' Smith 74' c Van Camp Pritchard (2) 10', 31' Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 59,326 Stuart Dickinson (Australia) 15 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01) FRA 42–17 (Report) Pacific Islanders Tillous-Borde 24' cSzarzewski 27' cHeymans 46' mPicamoles 70' cMédard 75' c Skrela (4) Skrela (3) 7', 50', 60' Taione 77' m Bai (4) 2', 9', 34', 40' Stade Auguste Bonal, Montbéliard 19,645 Nigel Owens (Wales) 15 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01) ITA 14–22 (Report) ARG Masi 80' Marcato (2) 31', 53' Marcato 44' Carballo 49' c Contepomi Contepomi (5) 26', 38', 40+1', 43', 74' Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Turin 27,000 Marius Jonker (South Africa) 15 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) ENG 14–28 (Report) AUS Easter 36' m Cipriani (2) 40', 52' Armitage 22' Ashley-Cooper 69' c Giteau Giteau (6) 3', 6', 28', 32', 54', 58'Mortlock 64' Twickenham Stadium, London 80,688 Steve Walsh (New Zealand) 15 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) SCO 10–14 (Report) RSA Hines 39' c Godman Godman 28' Fourie 57' m Pienaar (3) 46', 55', 66' Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 36,037 Dave Pearson (England) 15 November 2008 17:15 IST/GMT+0 (UTC+0) IRE 3–22 (Report) NZL O'Gara 38' Penalty try 40+2' cNonu 47' cThorn 53' m Carter (2) Carter 26' Croke Park, Dublin 77,500 Mark Lawrence (South Africa) 16 November 2008 15:00 JST (UTC+09) JPN 29–19 USA Holani 33' cEndo 45' c Nicholas (2) Nicholas (4) 3', 43', 53', 77'Webb 59' MacDonald 9' cNgwenya 39' cWelch 69' m Hercus (2) Mizuho Rugby Stadium, Nagoya 5,111 Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) Week 4 Going into Week 4, the main storyline was the battle for fourth place in the IRB World Rankings. New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia were entrenched in the top three. The team that stood in fourth place on 1 December would avoid being drawn into the same pool as one of the Tri Nations powers in 2011. Four teams could have ended the week in fourth place: Argentina, England, France, and Wales.http://www.irb.com/rankings/news/newsid=2027698.html Four still in contention to claim fourth spot International Rugby Board 21 November 2008 24 November 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081216131443/http://www.irb.com/rankings/news/newsid%3D2027698.html 16 December 2008 dead dmy-all 22 November 2008 19:13 JST (UTC+09) JPN 32–17 USA Hatakeyama 7' mTomioka 28' cWebb 31' cKikutani 63' c Nicholas (3) Nicholas (2) 48', 68' Wyles 1' mNgwenya 40+1' mVan der Giessen 50' c Hercus Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo 11,836 Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) 22 November 2008 15:00 CET/GMT+01 (UTC+01) ITA 17–25 Pacific Islanders Ghiraldini 16' cMa. Bergamasco 65' c Marcato (2) Marcato 6' Delasau 3' c, 29' mRatuvou 40' c Bai (2) Bai 18', 42' Stadio Giglio, Reggio Emilia 13,595 Wayne Barnes (England) The Pacific Islanders defeated a Test team for the first time in nine attempts. 22 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) ENG 6–42 (Report) RSA Cipriani (2) 2', 29' Rossouw 15' cPienaar 19' cJacobs 51' cFourie 77' cHabana 80' m Pienaar (3)F. Steyn Pienaar (3) 6', 25', 63' Twickenham Stadium, London 81,113 Nigel Owens (Wales) 22 November 2008 14:45 IST/GMT+0 (UTC+0) IRE 17–3 (Report) ARG Bowe 77' m O'Gara (3) 39', 50' 75' O'Gara 69' Fernández 36' Croke Park, Dublin 68,352http://www.irishrugby.ie/21_15131.php Ireland End Series With Crucial Win Over Pumas Irish Rugby Football Union 22 November 2008 22 November 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20090124210656/http://www.irishrugby.ie/21_15131.php 24 January 2009 dead dmy-all Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand) The missed conversion by Ronan O'Gara on Ireland's only try of the match proved decisive for Argentina. With the other results on the day, the Pumas would have dropped to fifth place, behind England, if O'Gara had converted, as it would have given Ireland a win by more than 15 points. As it turned out, Argentina retained fourth by a narrow margin.http://www.irb.com/rankings/news/newsid=2027751.html#wales+climb+place+back+french+loss Wales climb one place on back of French loss International Rugby Board 24 November 2008 24 November 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081216131735/http://www.irb.com/rankings/news/newsid%3D2027751.html#wales+climb+place+back+french+loss 16 December 2008 dead dmy-all 22 November 2008 14:45 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) SCO 41–0 (Report) CAN Walker 2' m, 70' cCairns 37' cBarclay 42' cStrokosch 56' cLamont 73' m Godman (3)Parks Godman 34' Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen 17,651 George Clancy (Ireland) 22 November 2008 17:15 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) WAL 9–29 (Report) NZL S. Jones (3) 2', 14', 23' Nonu 55' cKaino 80+1' c Carter (2) Carter (5) 17', 40', 42', 64', 74' Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 74,076http://www.wru.co.uk/1391_19337.php https://archive.today/20110526163057/http://www.wru.co.uk/1391_19337.php dead 26 May 2011 All Blacks secure Millennium Stadium win Welsh Rugby Union 22 November 2008 22 November 2008 Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) 22 November 2008 21:00 WET/GMT+01 (UTC+01) FRA 13–18 (Report) AUS Penalty try 39' c Skrela Skrela 48' Medard 51' Moore 31' cHynes 57' m Giteau Giteau (2) 28', 74' Stade de France, Saint-Denis 79,231 Craig Joubert (South Africa) Week 5 The battle for fourth place in the IRB World Rankings finished this weekend, with Argentina remaining in fourth place without playing as England lost and Wales failed to achieve the 15-point winning margin required. Argentina therefore took top seeding for the following month's 2011 Rugby World Cup draw along with the three Tri-Nations teams. The other major news of the week was New Zealand's win over England, completing a successful Grand Slam tour for the All Blacks. This was the All Blacks' third such successful tour, with the previous ones being in 1978 and 2005. 29 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) ENG 6–32 (Report) NZL Flood 17'Armitage 49' Muliaina 58' m, 66' mNonu 72' c Carter Carter (5) 15', 27', 36', 39', 62' Twickenham Stadium, London 81,180 Alain Rolland (Ireland) 29 November 2008 14:30 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) WAL 21–18 (Report) AUS Sh. Williams 4' mByrne 32' c S. Jones S. Jones (2) 28', 78' S. Jones 68' Chisholm 14' cIoane 79' m Giteau Giteau 46' Giteau 25' Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 74,314 Alan Lewis (Ireland) 3 December 2008 19:45 BT/GMT+0 (UTC+0) Barbarians 11–18 (Report) AUS Collins c Montgomery (2) Tuqiri mTurner c O' Connor O'Connor (2) Wembley Stadium, London 43,600 Chris White (England) Effect on World Cup seeding Following the 29 November tests, the 12 teams that qualified automatically for the 2011 Rugby World Cup were seeded thus: Pot 1 New Zealand South Africa Australia Argentina Pot 2 England Wales France Ireland Pot 3 Scotland Fiji Italy Tonga Notes and references 2008 Category:2008–09 in European rugby union Category:2008 in Oceanian rugby union Category:2008 in North American rugby union Category:2008 in South American rugby union Category:2008 in South African rugby union