Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Gregor Paul looks ahead to New Zealand's upcoming visit to Great Britain and Ireland and argues that while England and their Six Nations rivals are improving, they are still lagging some way behind the all-conquering All Blacks.
"What creates doubt around England, and the northern hemisphere in general (with France a possible exception), is they tend to be 6-12 months behind the global benchmark.
"This current England squad may indeed be the fittest Johnson has ever seen, but the claim they have reached world-class levels could be out of date. The All Blacks have probably moved the bar significantly higher on that front and what may have been world class last year could be some way behind now. England are probably fit, but fit enough to beat the All Blacks? Unlikely.
"The other concern buried under the northern hemisphere's optimism and excitement about rugby's new direction is the failure to realise the amount of ground they need to make up.”
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