Ireland finished third in the Six Nations. Despite winning four of their five games, a 15-point defeat by France in Dublin proved costly as with only three bonus points picked up overall, they finished two points behind Les Bleus with England one ahead in second.

With 18 players involved in the Lions’ tour to Australia, it was an opportunity for many of those on the fringes to show what they could do as Ireland travelled to Georgia and Portugal in the summer, winning both Tests.

Andy Farrell’s side opened their autumn campaign with a loss to the All Blacks in Chicago, but they bounced back with a win over Japan in Dublin last Saturday.

Australia have had a mixed year, to say the least.

The Lions tour was the height of the Wallabies’ year, although they lost the series 2-1.

A early win over South Africa in the Rugby Championship was promising, but defeats by Argentina and twice by New Zealand saw them finish in a distant third place.

A narrow win over Japan provided some optimism, but they were convincingly beaten by England, and Italy then stunned the Wallabies on Saturday, which means Australia have lost five of their last six matches.