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Australia have made a winning start to life under the charge of new head coach Joe Schmidt, defeating Wales twice before seeing off Georgia 40-29 in Sydney on Saturday.
The New Zealander took charge in January, signing a two-year contract, and the former Ireland supremo now starts planning for the tougher assignments looming on the horizon.
First up is the Rugby Championship in August and September, with the Wallabies facing two matches at home to world champions South Africa, two games in Argentina and then home and away clashes with New Zealand.
Following those exertions, Schmidt's men head to the northern hemisphere for four Tests in three weeks in November, as they take on England, Wales, Scotland and finally Ireland.
Wallabies' November Tests
- Saturday 9th November - England v Australia, Twickenham
- Saturday 16th November - Wales v Australia, Principality Stadium
- Saturday 23rd November - Scotland v Australia, Murrayfield
- Saturday 30th November - Ireland v Australia, Aviva Stadium
How to watch the Wallabies' November Tests
All four matches will be available to watch on Channel 9 and Stan Sport.
Schmidt experience to drive Wallabies on
Having no doubt been stretched to the max during the Rugby Championship, Schmidt will be hoping to utilise all of his knowledge of northern hemisphere rugby to help Australia to impress in the UK and Ireland.
The 58-year-old Kiwi spent six years at the helm for Ireland between 2013 and 2019, helping them to three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2018 - having previously won two European Champions Cups with Leinster.
A clash with his former employers concludes the European tour, but first up comes a Twickenham showdown with old foes England.
The Wallabies won 33-13 at the London venue during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but have lost on all four of their subsequent visits to Twickenham, while they have been beaten in 10 out of 11 meetings since that victory nine years ago.
Seven days on, Australia head to Cardiff to take on Wales, having won a thriller 39-34 two years ago at the Principality Stadium, while since then the Wallabies have won twice on home soil and been thrashed 40-6 in Lyon during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
From Wales, Schmidt and co travel north to Murrayfield to face a Scotland side who have won three of the last four meetings between the two sides.
However, their most recent showdown, in Edinburgh in October 2022, went the way of the Wallabies by just a single point, as a Bernard Foley penalty 10 minutes from time secured a 16-15 victory.
Dublin finale the main event
Finally on the November schedule comes a visit to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with Six Nations champions Ireland having certainly not taken a step back since Schmidt exited five years ago.
Englishman Andy Farrell has overseen Six Nations title triumphs in both 2023 and 2024, with the Irish claiming another Grand Slam on the first of those occasions.
However, having risen to be ranked as the top team in world rugby, they were unfortunate to run into the All Blacks in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, losing a thriller 28-24 in Paris.
Recent history between the two sides is certainly on Ireland's side, as they have won five of the last six meetings with the Wallabies.
However, the five losses during that time have all come in closely-fought match-ups, with the biggest losing margin just five points, so Schmidt will be hopeful that his new side can once again trouble his former employers.
