Here are some of the stories making the news on Friday November 4 ahead of a huge weekend of Test rugby.
Gatland names Rees-Zammit among exciting autumn stars to watch
Warren Gatland has named Wales wing flier Louis Rees-Zammit among the 12 players the rugby world should watch out for during a hectic autumn campaign.
The November matches start coming thick and fast this weekend, with Wales meeting New Zealand, England clashing with Argentina, Ireland locking horns against South Africa and Scotland playing Fiji.
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World Cup favourites France host Australia, while Italy and Samoa also meet.
Gatland picked out the dozen 'most exciting' stars he plans to pay close attention to over the next four weeks in a column for the Telegraph and chose youngster Rees-Zammit as the main threat for Wales.
"Everyone at the moment is really excited about him given his performances for Gloucester. I look forward to seeing him step up this weekend against the All Blacks and seeing how he has improved at international level," said the former Wales coach.
"He has that blistering pace and finishing ability, but the challenge is how much ball is he going to get. Given how good Test defences are, he will have to go looking for touches.
"We took him on the Lions tour and he is still pretty young. I’m sure the All Blacks will try and shut down his space and challenge him in the air, which is something he has worked on in his game."
England No.10 Marcus Smith also makes the list for Gatland, who says: "Smith has the makings of an absolute superstar and can be the difference for England. I like his maturity, the balance he has in his game with kick-run-pass, he communicates well."
England's Ellis Genge also gets Gatland's vote, as well as Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa), Jordie Barrett (New Zealand), Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland), Darcy Graham (Scotland), Malcolm Marx (South Africa), Pablo Matera (Argentina) and Australian back-row duo Rob Valetini and Pete Samu.
The 12th Gatland star is France scrum-half Antoine Dupont.
"He’s the best player in the world, isn’t he? A player people go to watch and has developed over a number of years into becoming the best," writes Gatland.
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Pivac - Let's make more history
Wales boss Wayne Pivac says his players "are really excited" about the prospect of making more rugby history this weekend.
Under Pivac Wales finally beat the Springboks on South African soil for the first time in the summer. Roll on a few months and there is a growing confidence they can become the first Wales team to beat New Zealand since 1953.
"The players have created some history and they want to create some more," said Pivac.
"Everybody respects that the All Blacks are a quality team. There’s been some change and you can see it’s positive change. They are playing some really good rugby. So we respect them, but we’ve got to go out there and not fear them.
"The message in our camp is let’s go out there and put our stamp on the game early. We have to start well and we have to go on with it.
“We know how they play the game and we have got to make sure we can match that speed they play at and if possible slow them down a little bit.”
Hook - What Wales must do to stop Blacks
James Hook has told Wales they must keep Beauden Barrett out of the limelight if they are to have any chance of ending that dark 69-year history of failure against New Zealand.
Hook – who reckons Barrett is still the best blend of runner and creator in the world – believes the New Zealander will conjure enough opportunities to take the game out of Welsh hands if he’s permitted to thrive.
A year ago, Barrett scored two tries and helped the Kiwis score seven in total as Wales were ripped apart 54-16. It was the two-time world player of the year’s 100th cap.
This year, Barrett is starting at full-back, with Richie Mo’unga at outside-half.
But according to former Wales outside-half Hook, wherever Barrett pops up the only way to stop him is to cut off his supply lines.
“He’s got a fantastic kicking game, too. The only way to stop him is to prevent his forwards getting on the front foot, which, in turn, means he’s not on the front foot," says Hook ahead of the opening game of the autumn, which will be shown in extended highlights form on S4C.
“He’s got pace to burn and he’s an attacking threat all over the field. He may not be the best goalkicker in the world, but the rest of his game makes up for that in my book.
“That’s Wales only hope – to have him spending more time defending than attacking.
“I think the All Blacks are more vulnerable than in the past and they are in something of a transitional stage. We have to attack New Zealand in the same way Japan attacked them last week. We have to show attacking intent because that’s the only way to win this game.
“We have got players like Louis Rees-Zammit who can do incredible things in control of a rugby ball. We also have world class players in the back row like Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric. We have to get the ball in their hands and get them making an impact in the game.”
Vunipola puts country before cash
Billy Vunipola says his single-minded pursuit of reviving his England career compelled him to turn down lucrative corporate entertaining work at Twickenham ( reports the Press Association) .
Vunipola was among a group of senior players culled by Eddie Jones a year ago amid doubts from the head coach over their appetite to complete another World Cup cycle and he missed an entire autumn campaign and Six Nations as a result.
In response, the Saracens number eight took himself out of the limelight, declining the opportunity to earn close to six figures hosting supporters at England home games and observing a self-imposed media blackout.
He wanted his club form to do the talking and the move paid off when he was recalled for the successful July tour to Australia. Against Argentina on Sunday he will continue his international rebirth when he starts in the back row.
"I watched every single England game. I didn't want to be one of those who was bitter and not watch the games. But I admit, I didn't want to be at Twickenham. There are marquees everywhere and they want to throw cash at you to do appearances," said Vunipola.
"I didn't want to do it because you say one thing wrong, someone sends it to the press and I'm in the same position I would have been in if I did media. So I was very careful.
"Being injured is different to being fit and not being picked. There's a different feeling, it's almost envy and you don't want envy because you want the England team and the players to do well.
"But as a human being, as a competitor, you want to be involved in that arena. I want to be playing, not sitting with 100 drunk people asking me questions about Eddie."
Farrell 'in awe' of centurion Murray
Ireland boss Andy Farrell says he is "in awe" of Conor Murray after handing the scrum-half a rare recent start on the occasion of his 100th Test cap.
Munster man Murray will become his country's eighth centurion on Saturday when world champions South Africa visit a sold-out Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The 33-year-old had been a mainstay of the Irish team for more than a decade after making his international debut against France in 2011 but has slipped behind Jamison Gibson-Park in the pecking order in the past year.
Despite restricting him to just one start since the 2021 Six Nations, head coach Farrell dubbed Murray a "top-class bloke" and a "legend of Irish rugby" during a glowing tribute.
"I just think somebody who stands up to be counted time and time again, to get to a point like that, I'm in awe of it because the hardest thing is to stay at the top," said Farrell.
"Of course there are ups and downs but the biggest compliment I could pay Conor - he's a legend of Irish rugby and his abilities are second to none - is that he is a top, top-class bloke.
"I don't know anyone who has a bad word to say about him."
Murray joins Brian O'Driscoll, Ronan O'Gara, Rory Best, Cian Healy, Paul O'Connell, John Hayes and captain Johnny Sexton on the exclusive list of Ireland centurions.
Hogg back for Scots
Stuart Hogg will start his first Scotland match since losing the captaincy to Jamie Ritchie when he returns to the side for Saturday's home game with Fiji.
The inclusion of the Exeter full-back is one of six changes to the team that started last weekend's defeat by Australia.
Adam Hastings takes over from Blair Kinghorn at number 10, with the Edinburgh playmaker dropping to the bench following his costly last-gasp penalty miss against the Wallabies.
Chris Harris, Cammy Redpath, George Turner and Richie Gray are also added to the team.
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