Duo can challenge All Blacks

Former New Zealand captain Sean Fitzpatrick believes England and Ireland possess the greatest threat to ending the All Blacks’ hegemony at the World Cup.

New Zealand are overwhelming favourites to clinch a third successive crown in Japan later this year but the natural order was disturbed by Ireland clinching a famous win over the Kiwis in Dublin last November.

Defeat for New Zealand came just a week after they were pushed all the way by England, who have beaten Ireland and France in the Guinness Six Nations recently.

Fitzpatrick expects both northern hemisphere sides as well as Wales – currently on an 11-match winning sequence – to shine on the global stage.

However, he thinks no top-tier nation can be ruled out of contention at a tournament where none of them can boast home advantage.

The 1987 World Cup winner said: “No disrespect to Japan because they can beat the big boys as we saw in 2015 (when they defeated South Africa) but it’s the first neutral World Cup in terms of the home advantage.

“The All Blacks are the defending champions, they probably are still the team to beat and I say that every World Cup.

“I always thought that the major challenge would come from the northern hemisphere and I still think that after what happened in the autumn and what’s happening in the Six Nations. England have really gone to another level, Ireland have real depth and to win World Cups, you need depth and Ireland’s got that without question and so have England.”