1) Mitchell works his magic on England’s defence
Owen Farrell escapes being cited over André Esterhuizen tackle
New Zealand are heading to Twickenham where they will bump into a familiar adversary. John Mitchell was the All Blacks head coach at the 2003 World Cup but, as England’s new defence coach, now finds himself in charge of halting the game’s most lethal attacking outfit. Buoyed by their narrow win over the Springboks – the history books will not record that Owen Farrell’s last-gasp hit on André Esterhuizen should have been a penalty – England’s new defensive system under Mitchell is being tipped to cause New Zealand problems. “I worked with Mitch a lot at the Bulls and he is going to make a massive difference to them,” predicted the South Africa centre Jesse Kriel. “They had a lot more line speed, which is what Mitch likes. He will give the guys a lot of confidence and they will get a lot more turnovers. He is a wizard and will work his magic.” Robert Kitson
• Farrell escapes being cited over Esterhuizen tackle
• Andy Bull: Farrell the foundation of Jones’s new-look England
• Jones ready for All Blacks after England win ‘arm wrestle’
2) South Africa surrender another lead
Losing from a winning position is becoming a worrying habit for Rassie Erasmus’s side, who also relinquished a 14-point lead against New Zealand in Pretoria in the Rugby Championship. Pay more attention to their basics – Malcolm Marx will surely never throw in as badly against at key moments – and reintroduce Faf de Klerk, Willie le Roux, Vincent Koch, Francois Louw and Franco Mostert, and they will no one’s idea of easybeats in Japan next year. In the shorter term, though, they look likely to be without Eben Etzebeth for the remainder of their European tour after the imposing lock limped off with an ankle problem two minutes into the second half at Twickenham. RK
• Marx comedy of errors undoes South Africa against England
• England 12-11 South Africa: how the players rated
Refusal to bow shows England ready for All Black ‘benchmark’ | Robert Kitson
3) Coles glows again after worrying lay-off
What to make of the try-fest in Tokyo? Should the second-string New Zealand side be lauded for scoring 10 tries or criticised for conceding five? Perhaps best just to celebrate the return to the international stage of Dane Coles, for whom it had been a long time coming. Coles had been sidelined for 12 months after requiring two operations to a knee injury sustained against France last autumn. He has admitted to having doubts as to whether he would return at all and all this after missing out on the 2017 British & Irish Lions series due to series of injury problems. At the peak of his powers he was the world’s best in his position and we can only hope his comeback continues. Gerard Meagher
• Read suggests retirement plans before All Blacks beat Japan 69-31
4) Larmour takes his chance with gusto
Jordan Larmour will come up against tougher opponents than Italy this autumn but when compared to “a young Christian Cullen” by the Azzurri head coach and fellow Irishman, Conor O’Shea, it must be considered high praise indeed. Larmour has had to wait in the wings for his first start, winning his first six caps off the bench, but he faced Italy from the off on Saturday in Chicago and crowned the occasion with a hat-trick. He beat 12 defenders in total, making 249 metres, and his third try is well worth a watch. Larmour, still just 21, has been tipped for big things for a while now and he appears poised to deliver this autumn. GM
• Larmour overwhelms Italy with Chicago hat-trick
Wales win over Australia would not be monkey off back, says Warren Gatland
5) Time for Wales to to break their Australia hex
Right. This time. Surely. We’ve said it before, but if Wales don’t beat Australia this weekend one has to wonder what it will take. Warren Gatland made the reasonable point that they usually start their autumns against a match-hardened southern-hemisphere team. It is also true that there must be something about the way Wales look at the Aussies, because they always seem to encounter them at their best. Or maybe there’s just something about the way Wales play that allows it. Either way, Wales are No 3 in the world. They have had a game under their belt. If not now, when? Michael Aylwin
• Gatland: Win over Australia would not be monkey off back
6) Hastings shows he’s up for the battle
Finn Russell is established as more or less Scotland’s most important player, not just because of his quality but because of his influence. If he has a bad day – and he does have them – so do Scotland. Duncan Weir may be mounting a comeback at Worcester, but for now Scotland are invested in Adam Hastings as an alternative. He started poorly, missing one penalty to touch and scuffing another loose kick downfield but Gregor Townsend, his coach and predecessor, was most pleased with the way he rode those wobbles. He looked confident at the tee and plays with an elegance more reminiscent of John Rutherford than his father. MA
• Match report: Wales 21-10 Scotland