Scotland to host Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in Autumn Series

Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina will all be coming to Murrayfield to play Scotland in this year’s Autumn Nations Series.

The four matches will take place on consecutive weekends from Saturday October 29.

Australia will be first up, followed by Fiji on November 5, New Zealand on November 12 and Argentina on November 19.

It comes following on from last year’s event which saw supporters return to the stadium with three sell-out crowds in attendance.

The Wallabies are currently led by former Glasgow Warriors head coach Dave Rennie who is assisted by former Scotland defence coach Matt Taylor.

They are currently sitting sixth in the world rankings, one place ahead of Scotland, but the hosts will be aiming to defeat their Aussie counterparts for a fourth consecutive time, having edged a close encounter 15-13 when the sides last met last year.

The Fiji game will mark the first time the two sides have met since 2018 when Tommy Seymour scored a hat-trick among eight home tries in an entertaining 54-17 win.

The All Blacks will then make their long-awaited return to Murrayfield having last visited Edinburgh in 2017 when Scotland almost stole the show after Stuart Hogg made an electric late break only to be denied by a superb Beauden Barrett cover tackle.

Scotland’s final test will be against Argentina, who they are also playing in a three-Test summer tour this July.

The sides last met in Edinburgh 2018, with Sean Maitland’s try and nine points from the boot of Greig Laidlaw helping the hosts to a 14-9 victory in Edinburgh.

Head coach Gregor Townsend said: “The Autumn Nations Series provides a great opportunity for us to take on some of the leading teams in the southern hemisphere in front of our supporters as we look to improve ahead of next year’s Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup.

“We know Australia well having played them a number of times over recent years and it’s always a special occasion when they come to BT Murrayfield.

“Fiji are an exciting team to watch with their free flowing and powerful brand of rugby, and they can be one of the best teams in the world when they get their game right.

“Our contest against New Zealand will be eagerly anticipated by our supporters and players alike, providing world-class opposition. We’re really looking forward to playing them after missing out on the opportunity on two occasions over the past two years due to Covid.

“Our final fixture will be against Argentina which will be another familiar challenge for our squad on the back of this summer’s tour to South America. This final fixture means we will have played three out of the four Rugby Championship sides in a month which will be a great experience for our players.”

Autumn Nations Series 2022 fixtures in full

Scotland v Australia | Saturday 29 October, kick-off 5.30pm

Scotland v Fiji | Saturday 5 November, kick-off 1pm

Scotland v New Zealand | Sunday 13 November, kick-off 2.15pm

Scotland v Argentina | Saturday 19 November, kick-off 3.15pm