In battle of the hemispheres no one should

It’s the tournament that has traditionally highlighted the domination of the Southern Hemisphere countries over their rivals in Europe.

But with the 2019 Rugby World Cup less than a year away, there are clear signs that the balance of power is shifting in the sport.

Since the competition was established in 1987, the trophy has been secured seven times by New Zealand – on three occasions – and South Africa and Australia twice, with England’s Class of 2003 the sole Northern Hemisphere winners.

And yet, last weekend’s autumn internationals demonstrated the changes which are taking place.

Whether it’s Wales earning a well-deserved success over the Wallabies, England coming desperately close to besting the All Blacks, Ireland maintaining their recent hot streak with a 28-17 victory over Argentina, or France amassing a sizeable lead against South Africa, only to press the self-destruct button before slumping to a last-gasp 29-26 loss.

Nobody is pretending that New Zealand won’t start as favourites when the World Cup kicks off in Japan next September and, as champions in 2011 and 2015, they remain a dynamic and occasionally irrepressible force in their domain.

It was to their immense credit they rallied from trailing England by 15-0 at Twickenham to edge the pulsating contest 16-15.

But they were fortunate when a late try by the hosts was chalked off. And they do not have the swaggering, immovable strut previous sides.

Formidable? Yes. Invincible? Definitely not.

Indeed, if any team produced the mixture of clinical precision and off-the-cuff brilliance that has typified New Zealand collectives in the past, it was Scotland during the second half against Fiji at Murrayfield.

Granted, they were boosted by the of

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