Every Nations Championship team GRADED

There have been statement victories, surprise results and no shortage of high-quality rugby, leaving the standings finely poised. Before the tournament resumes in November and builds towards Finals Weekend, we graded every team on their performances so far.

England's tour was a mixed one. They produced two impressive victories but fell short in the match that mattered most.

They were comfortably beaten by the Springboks at Ellis Park on the opening weekend. While there is no shame in losing to the world champions, the result underlined the gap that still exists between the two sides.

They responded with a 73-8 victory over a struggling Fiji team at the Hill Dickinson Stadium before producing an excellent win over Argentina in Santiago del Estero.

Although the 31-24 victory over Los Pumas was impressive, England's discipline and their final 10 minutes once again highlighted their inability to deliver a complete 80-minute performance.

Overall, it was a solid tour for Steve Borthwick's side, but not one that will live long in the memory.

Considering expectations, Scotland could hardly have asked for a better tour.

A 47-38 victory over Argentina set the tone before they pushed South Africa all the way in a narrow defeat, producing one of their most spirited performances in recent years. They then finished with what was effectively an away fixture against Fiji at Murrayfield.

The performance in Edinburgh was far from convincing, but Scotland still found a way to win. It also exposed a lack of depth that could prove costly against the very best teams, providing an important reality check.

While there were areas to improve, Gregor Townsend and his players will be pleased with both their performances and their results.

A heavy defeat to New Zealand, a narrow win over Australia and victory against Japan made it a respectable, if unspectacular, summer for Ireland.

Winning two of their three matches is a decent return, although the success over Japan came in Newcastle, Australia after the IRFU opted not to tour Japan, so it did not carry the feel of a true away fixture.

Ireland produced some excellent rugby in spells but also looked vulnerable at times. Andy Farrell has plenty to build on, although he will need more consistency from his squad ahead of next year's World Cup if they are to move beyond the quarter-finals.

There were more positives than many expected from Wales' summer.

Fiji may not be among the world's strongest teams, but Wales have struggled for victories in recent times and produced a convincing display in Cardiff to win by 15 points.

A spirited performance in Argentina followed despite ending in defeat, before they concluded the tour with a difficult trip to South Africa.

Although a below-par Springboks side still secured a comfortable shutout victory, the performance represented an improvement on last year's 73-0 defeat.

There were encouraging signs throughout the tour, and Steve Tandy's side appear to be moving in the right direction.

France enjoyed an impressive tour, particularly given their mixed record away from Europe.

Even without several key players, they pushed New Zealand all the way in the opening match, losing by just two points in Christchurch.

Comfortable victories over Australia and Japan followed, with neither result ever looking seriously in doubt. More than anything, the tour demonstrated France's strength in depth and their ability to compete with the world's leading sides.

After such an encouraging Six Nations campaign, Italy endured a hugely disappointing summer.

Defeat to Japan in their opening match was followed by heavy losses to New Zealand and Australia, a far cry from the progress they had shown earlier in the year.

While a number of refereeing decisions went against them in New Zealand, Italy were well below the required standard throughout. At times they resembled the Italian teams of old, looking outmatched before kick-off.

It was a timely wake-up call, and they will hope home advantage during the autumn internationals helps them return to the level they showed in the Six Nations.

"Meh" sums up the Wallabies' summer, just over a year before they host the Rugby World Cup. They pushed Ireland all the way but still came up short, before France proved too strong in a comfortable victory.

A 57-10 win over Italy was a positive way for Joe Schmidt to end his tenure, but overall it was not the summer Australia would have wanted. They will need significant improvement over the next year.

Had a few key moments gone their way against Ireland, their grade would have been higher.

Dave Rennie has made an outstanding start with the All Blacks, and his tenure could hardly have begun much better. Their only real blemish was allowing France to stay in the contest for as long as they did, although beating the Six Nations champions remains an impressive achievement.

Their dominant victory over Ireland at Eden Park showed they have rediscovered their aura, and they looked a far stronger side than they did under Scott Robertson last year.

The All Blacks will head to Australia next year believing they are genuine World Cup contenders, and their performances this summer have backed up that belief.

Given the advantage of playing at home, defeats to Scotland and England, along with an unconvincing win over Wales, fell well below the standards expected of Felipe Contepomi's side.

Their defence struggled throughout the series, particularly against Scotland. While their attack showed flashes of quality, it lacked consistency.

Against England, they also displayed an ugly side to their game. At times, they appeared more interested in provoking the opposition, arguing with the referee and disrupting the contest than simply playing rugby.

Contepomi's hostile reaction after the match to England playing music in their dressing room only reinforced the impression of a team that struggles to accept defeat, much like Argentina's football team after losing the World Cup final to Spain.

The Springboks have looked unstoppable, cruising to three victories without ever appearing to move beyond second gear. They remain the complete rugby team, combining immense forward power with outstanding pace in the backs, while their squad depth is exceptional.

With Rassie Erasmus continuing to refine an already outstanding side, South Africa look well placed to challenge for a third successive Rugby World Cup title in Australia next year.

Victories over Italy and a strong performance against France at home demonstrated that Japan remain among rugby's leading nations. They combined physicality with technical quality and comfortably exceeded expectations across the series.

Their defeat to Ireland deserves some context, given they were forced to play the match in Australia after the IRFU refused to travel. That makes it difficult to judge them too harshly on that result.

They also remain above Wales in the world rankings, giving them plenty of reason to be satisfied with their summer.

The main positive came in their performance against Scotland, even though it ended in defeat. It is also worth recognising the circumstances that saw every fixture played away from home, with the Fiji Rugby Union opting to stage matches abroad to generate additional revenue.

On the field, Senirusi Seruvakula appears to have taken the team backwards. Fiji looked disorganised, lacked any clear structure and seemed a shadow of the side that impressed under Mick Byrne during the autumn.

The 73-8 defeat to England was alarming, and they would also have expected a far better result against Wales. Overall, it was a very disappointing summer.

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