 | |
| Date | 13 November 2020 – 6 December 2020 |
|---|---|
| Countries |  England Fiji France Georgia Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | England |
| Runner-up | France |
| Third place | Ireland |
| Fourth place | Scotland |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 13 |
| Tries scored | 53 (4.08 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Owen Farrell (46) |
| Most tries | Jamie George Nemani Nadolo (3) |
| Player of the tournament | Brice Dulin[1] |
The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoiding extended travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eight teams participated – the teams involved in the Six Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales) plus Georgia and Fiji – divided into two groups of four. Japan were originally going to take part but withdrew due to travel restrictions, resulting in them being replaced by Georgia and moving Fiji to Group B.[2]
Each team played the others in its group once to determine the final group standings; the teams in first place in each group then played each other, as did the teams in second, third, and fourth, to determine the overall standings. The tournament opened with a match between Ireland and Wales at the Aviva Stadium on 13 November 2020, and the final matches were hosted by the teams from Group A on the weekend of 5/6 December 2020 (Georgia's "home" match was played at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland).[3] Wales' home matches were played at Parc y Scarlets due to the Millennium Stadium being decommissioned as a COVID-19 hospital. Fiji were forced to concede all of their group games due to a COVID-19 outbreak in their team camp, but they were able to face Georgia in the 7th/8th-place playoff.[4]
England won the tournament after wins over Ireland, Wales, Georgia, and France.[5]
- ^ "France's Brice Dulin voted Player of the Tournament". Autumn Nations Cup. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ English, Tom (28 August 2020). "Georgia lined up to replace Japan in eight-team Autumn tournament". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ Jones, Chris (10 September 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: Ireland v Wales to kick-off eight-team tournament". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Fiji Covid-19 crisis forces cancellation of Scotland Autumn Nations Cup clash". The Guardian. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
- ^ Henson, Mike (6 December 2020). "Autumn Nations Cup: England beat France in sudden death". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 December 2020.