With potentially four Rugby World Cup 2019 match-ups and World Rugby Rankings points at stake, there is much to look forward to this weekend.

Old Rugby World Cup adversaries Wales and Australia feature in a dress rehearsal for their Pool D meeting at RWC 2019, while England will look to back up their 2-0 series win over Argentina in June and give themselves another psychological boost ahead of their Pool C clash with Los Pumas, with victory this time at Twickenham.

Two other games are potential RWC 2019 fixtures, with Samoa still on course to face Saturday’s hosts Scotland in Pool A as the Play-Off Winners, while Georgia and Canada, who meet in Tbilisi, will have it all to do again in Japan if the Canucks can come through a two-legged play-off against Uruguay early next year and qualify as Americas 2.

It will be a special weekend for France winger Yoann Huget, Ireland flanker Sean O'Brien and Hong Kong captain Nick Hewson who all celebrate their 50-cap milestones, as well as the numerous players making their test debuts.

TOUR MATCHES

FRANCE (8) v NEW ZEALAND (1)

Winger Huget wins his 50th cap for France as Les Bleus look to end an eight-year losing run against New Zealand.

The uncapped trio of centre Geoffrey Doumayrou, back-row Judicaël Cancorie and second-row Paul Gabrillagues will all start at the Stade de France, while fellow newcomers Raphaêl Chaume and Anthony Jelonch are on the bench.

The All Blacks begin their European tour with a starting side boasting 591 caps. Senior players – captain Kieran Read, hooker Dane Coles, second-row Sam Whitelock, scrum-back Aaron Smith and centres Sonny Bill Williams and Ryan Crotty – return to the fold having missed last week’s win over the Barbarians.

In brief

  • The All Blacks have played France 57 times since 1906, with 44 wins to the All Blacks, one draw and 12 losses
  • France’s last victory came in Dunedin in June 2009. They have lost the last 10 meetings
  • The last match between the two sides was in Paris in November last year, which the All Blacks won 24-19
  • The All Blacks are three tries away from scoring a record 2,000 test tries

Rankings predictor

New Zealand cannot be knocked off the top of the World Rugby Rankings regardless of their result and those elsewhere. A heavy defeat to Les Bleus, coupled with a big win for England would, however, see their cushion cut to just 0.69 rating points.

For France, victory would be worth a minimum of two points – enough to potentially see them climb one place to seventh.

IRELAND (4) v SOUTH AFRICA (5)

Connacht fans’ favourite Bundee Aki will his first cap for Ireland after Joe Schmidt named him at centre for Saturday’s meeting at the Aviva Stadium.

IRPA Try of the Year 2017 nominees
Four tries have been nominated for the International Rugby Players' Association Try of the Year 2017.

IRPA Try of the Year 2017 contender Sean O'Brien is set to win his 50th cap for Ireland, while Rory Best returns to captain the side having missed the June tour as a member of the British and Irish Lions squad.

Tendai Mtawarira, South Africa's most experienced player with 95 test caps, comes back into the starting line-up at loose-head prop while Steven Kitshoff will move back to the bench after making his first test start against the All Blacks last month.

In the backs, Damian de Allende earns a first start of the year as replacement for Montpellier-based Jan Serfontein, who has played in all of South Africa's nine previous matches in 2017. 

In brief

  • South Africa have won 18 of the 25 tests between the two sides, scoring 69 tries to 31 against, including a 2-1 series win in June 2016
  • South Africa’s biggest win is 38-0 at the old Lansdowne Road in 1912. Ireland’s is 32-15, also at Lansdowne Road, in 2006
  • Ireland are on a four-game winning run
  • Fly-half Elton Jantjies needs two points to reach 200 points in tests for South Africa

Rankings predictor

South Africa have not beaten a side above them in the World Rugby Rankings in 2017 but if the Springboks can address that fact and win well they can climb as high as third if Australia draw or lose against Wales. If that’s the case, and Wales also beat Australia by more than 15 points, Ireland will fall three to sixth.

An Irish victory would not be accompanied any change to their ranking unless Australia lose, in which case they would move up to fourth.

WALES (7) v AUSTRALIA (3) 

Winger Steff Evans, centre Owen Williams and flanker Josh Navidi are handed their home debuts by Warren Gatland after impressing on the June tour to the Pacific, as Wales and Australia prepare to lock horns in Cardiff just under two years out from their Pool D encounter at RWC 2019.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, Gatland welcomes back seven Lions to his starting line-up, including captain Alun Wyn-Jones who is set to win his 111th cap.

For Australia, key half-backs Will Genia (calf) and Bernard Foley (illness) have returned to fitness so Reece Hodge moves back to the wing after his first test at fly-half in Japan last weekend. Michael Hooper captains the side once again.

In brief

  • Australia won 32-8 on their last visit to Cardiff last November. It was their biggest win over Wales for nine years and their 29th victory in 40 tests between the two nations
  • Australia are on a 12-game winning streak against Wales but all bar two of those wins have been by single figure margins
  • Australia have scored 51 tries in 11 tests in 2017. By contrast Wales have only 12 from seven tests

Rankings predictor

The best Wales can hope for is a two-place rise to fifth, but they would have to register their biggest win over the Wallabies for 42 years and hope other results go their way for that to happen. A well-beaten Wales will stay seventh unless France pull off a shock win over the All Blacks.

Australia will go second if they beat Wales by more than 15 points, and England slip up at home to Argentina.

ENGLAND (2) v ARGENTINA (10)

Saturday’s match marks another chance for these teams to get to know each other ahead of their RWC 2019 Pool C meeting at the Tokyo Stadium at RWC 2019.

Bath openside flanker Sam Underhill makes his first senior England appearance at Twickenham, as one of seven survivors from the team that started the last game between the two nations in June.

Mike Brown, George Ford, Dylan Hartley, Nathan Hughes, Chris Robshaw and Henry Slade are the other returnees from that 35-25 victory in Santa Fe.

Slade starts at inside centre alongside George Ford following Eddie Jones’ decision to rest British and Irish Lion Owen Farrell. Maro Itoje has also been stood down after a busy year, with Courtney Lawes selected as George Kruis’ second-row partner.

Los Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade has named a team showing just eight survivors from the Sante Fe match. Martin Landajo, World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year nominee Emiliano Boffelli, Ramiro Moyano and Joaquin Tuculet return in the backs, while hooker and captain Agustin Creevy, second-row Matias Alemanno and back-row duo Tomas Lavanini and Pablo Matera keep their places in the pack.

In brief

  • England scored 73 points across the two tests with Argentina in June
  • Captain Dylan Hartley is set to make his ninth appearance against Argentina, the most by any England player
  • Argentina have only ever beaten England once at Twickenham, 25-18 in November 2006

Rankings predictor

England will not pick up any reward for victory due to the 13-point differential between the nations in the rankings before any home weighting is factored in.

Los Pumas can gain as many as three points, however, if they put their recent disappointing run to bed and rediscover the form that took them to the semi-finals of RWC 2015. A win by more than 15 points could be enough to send Hourcade’s men above a Fijian side beaten in Italy and back to ninth place in the rankings.

SCOTLAND (6) v SAMOA (16)

Is it really two years since these sides played out a 69-point thriller at St James’ Park at RWC 2015?

Scrum-half and captain Greig Laidlaw was the hero that day as Scotland edged a 36-33 win, converting his own try and two others as well as slotting five penalties for a personal haul of 26 points.

The scrum-half duties fall to Ali Price on this occasion as Gregor Townsend selects an all-Glasgow Warriors half-back partnership with Finn Russell named at 10.

Front-rows George Turner and Jamie Bhatti could make their test debuts if used off the bench, as could Newcastle centre Chris Harris. Edinburgh prop Darryl Marfo will win his first Scotland cap from the start.

Samoa have named two debutants in their starting line-up in prop Donald Brighouse and second-row Josh Tyrell. Eight-times capped Tim Nanai-Williams starts at fly-half for the first time in a test.

In brief

  • If Samoa safely negotiate a play-off with a European team next year they’ll find themselves in Pool A alongside Scotland at RWC 2019
  • This is the first time the sides have played each other at Murrayfield since Scotland won 18-11 in 2005
  • Samoa have lost on all five of their previous visits to Scotland
  • Samoa’s only victory over Scotland came at a quadrangular tournament in Durban, South Africa, in 2013, when they won 27-17

Rankings predictor

With nearly 13 points and 10 places between the sides Scotland do not stand to gain any reward for victory.

Samoa will leapfrog Italy and move up to 14th if they pull off a shock victory and the Azzurri either draw or lose at home to Fiji.

GEORGIA (12) v CANADA (24)

Georgia’s most-capped player Merab Kvirikashvili is replaced at full-back by rookie Ioseb Matiashvili, who made his senior debut for the Lelos back in March in the Rugby Europe Championship.

Despite the loss of Kvirikashvili’s experience, there are still five players with 50 caps or more in Milton Haig’s starting XV, including centurion David Kacharava, who will win his 103rd cap at outside centre to leave him three shy of the record.

Two uncapped players make the match-day 23, with Mirian Modebadze set to make his Lelos debut on the left wing. Fellow World Rugby U20 Championship 2017 graduate Giorgi Kveseladze will celebrate his 20th birthday with a first cap if he comes off the bench.

Second-row Josh Larsen, who plays for Northland in New Zealand’s Mitre 10 Cup, is set to win his first cap for Canada in a side showing seven changes to the one beaten 51-9 at home by the Maori All Blacks last weekend.

The match will be streamed live on the Rugby TV Georgia Facebook page, www.facebook.com/RugbyTVGeorgia.

In brief

  • If Canada qualify for RWC 2019 as Americas 2, they will face Georgia in Pool D at the Kumagaya Rugby Stadium
  • The sides have met six times before with three wins apiece
  • Georgia won the last match in Calgary, 13-0 in June
  • Canada have failed to win their last seven games – eight if you include last weekend’s loss to the Maori All Blacks – and have slipped to an all-time low in the rankings of 24th. This time last year they were 18th.

Rankings predictor

The 14-point differential between Georgia and Canada means a home win will not affect the total of either side, although the Canucks will move up a place in defeat if Germany fail to beat Brazil on home soil.

Should Kingsley Jones mark his first test in charge of Canada with a win, the North Americans stand to climb as many as four places to 20th depending on the margin of victory and results elsewhere.

ITALY (14) v FIJI (9)

Jayden Hayward makes his test debut for the Azzurri at full-back in a team captained by evergreen number eight Sergio Parisse. Giovanni Licata, Ian McKinley and Matteo Minozzi will also win their first caps if they come off the bench, the former rewarded for his impressive performances in the U20 Championship in June.

McKinley, who lost the sight in his left eye six years ago, will make history if he steps onto the field as he’ll become the first player to wear World Rugby-approved eye goggles in a test match.

Fiji are captained by Akapusi Qera, still going strong at the age of 33, while sevens superstar Semi Kunatani is handed his test debut alongside him in the back row.

Scrum-half Frank Lomani wins his second cap and his first from the start. 

In brief

  • Fiji edge the head-to-head count with six wins to Italy’s five
  • Fiji have only ever won in Italy once – 50-32 in L’Aquila in 1999
  • Their most recent meeting in Suva in June ended in a 22-19 win for Fiji

Rankings predictor

Italy can climb as high as 12th, and within touching distance of Japan, if they win well.

A first Fijian victory on Italian soil for 18 years would result in them gaining between 0.45 and 0.68 of a point, but it it is impossible for them to climb any higher than their current ranking of ninth unless their Pacific rivals Samoa do a number on Scotland, and win by more than 15 points.

GERMANY (23) v BRAZIL (29)

This is the fifth time Germany have played Brazil since their first meeting in 2015. Germany have won all four previous tests with an average winning margin of 18 points.

Saturday’s game is the first of a three-game series against opposition from the Americas with USA and Chile set to visit Germany in the weeks ahead.

Rankings predictor

Germany can only improve their ranking by one place if they win well and Canada lose away to Georgia and Hong Kong fail to beat Russia at home in the Cup of Nations.

Brazil could actually overtake Germany in the rankings and move up six places to 25th, with Germany dropping to 26th, if they win by more than 15 points.

CUP OF NATIONS

The Hong-Kong hosted quadrangular tournament returns for a third year with last year’s top two sides facing each other in the opening fixture.

Two-time defending Cup of Nations champions Russia take on the host nation, who they beat 27-0 to claim the title in 2016, while tournament debutants Kenya and Chile meet for the first time in a test in the other round one fixture on Friday.

Russia, who have never lost to Hong Kong in four previous tests, will be led out for the 10th time by 34-year-old back-row Andrei Temnov. His Hong Kong counterpart, flanker Nick Hewson, will win his 50th cap.

Russia enter as the highest ranked team in the competition in 20th, while Hong Kong are presently ranked two places lower. It would take a home win of more than 15 points for Hong Kong to change that. In such a scenario, Hong Kong would move up one place and close the gap on Russia to just a tenth.

A repeat of last year’s scoreline would result in Russia leapfrogging Uruguay and Spain and moving up to 18th place – two off their highest-ever ranking.

Kenya go into Friday’s match ranked 27th but could climb as many as three places if they win convincingly and Germany fall to a heavy defeat at home to Brazil.

Chile start the day ranked 28th but would fall out of the top 30 if they lose by more than 15 points. The most Chile stand to gain in victory is a rise of one place to 27th.

The Cup of Nations will be streamed live on the Hong Kong Rugby Union Facebook page, available 15 minutes before kick-off.

RUGBY EUROPE INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Moldova’s Rugby Europe Trophy 2018 game at home to the Netherlands headlines the latest round of fixtures in the region, with lower-tier matches also taking place between Israel and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg and Estonia and Cyprus and Austria.

A place in the world’s top 30 is up for grabs for the higher-ranked Netherlands should they win in Moldova at the fifth attempt.

Moldova would replace the Netherlands in 33rd place should they win well, with the Dutch dropping to 35th.

The World Rugby Rankings will update at 12:00 UK time on Monday.