Trying to read between the lines in November

It mightn’t be the Six Nations but in a World Cup year, the autumn series of Tests is what GAA fans feel at the start of the national leagues every spring, writes Ronan O'Gara

When you’re hitting updates on the phone, looking for Test teams for the weekend, November’s actually arrived. It mightn’t be the Six Nations but in a World Cup year, the autumn series of Tests is what GAA fans feel at the start of the national leagues every spring. A little quickening of the step.

Nobody faffing around with experimentation. Well, perhaps the France team has that sense of ‘really?’ about it, but that’s classic Gallic anyway. La Rochelle’s Geoffrey Doumayro will be getting an opportunity at centre alongside Mathieu Bastareaud for the Stade de France meeting with the Springboks.