England are closing in on the tier-one record for consecutive Test victories, but they can’t be regarded as the world’s best team until they’ve beaten the best, writes CRAIG LEWIS.
Between securing back-to-back world titles in 2011 and 2015, the All Blacks have unequivocally set the benchmark in world rugby. Even after legendary players such as Richie McCaw and Dan Carter retired after the 2015 event, New Zealand continued to raise the bar, with legendary former All Black Jeff Wilson suggesting last year that the 2016 team was even better than the World Cup winners.
Indeed, it was while going through the World Cup unbeaten that the All Blacks began an unbeaten streak to reach the magical figure of 18 tier-one Test wins in succession after beating Australia in a Bledisloe Cup clash.
Although New Zealand were expected to stretch that record, the Irish executed an ambush in Chicago last November, while England have methodically racked up win after win, and are now only two victories away from surpassing the All Blacks.
Yet, can the records really be compared? When one looks at the respective sequence of results, quality of opposition and nature of the scorelines, the answer is an emphatic no! For all intents and purposes, England are still some way from being able to lay claim to being the No 1 side in the world, with Eddie Jones having already intimated as much.
Before going any further, here is how the two winning sequences match up ahead of England’s encounter against Scotland this Saturday.
New Zealand:
Match 1 (15 August 2015) vs Australia, Auckland, 41-13
Match 2 (20 September 2015) vs Argentina, London, 26-16
Match 3 (24 September 2015) vs Namibia, London, 58-14
Match 4 (2 October 2015) vs Georgia, Cardiff, 43-10
Match 5 (9 October 2015) vs Tonga, Newcastle, 47-9
Match 6 (17 October 2015) vs France, Cardiff, 62-13
Match 7 (24 October 2015) vs South Africa, London, 20-18
Match 8 (31 October 2015) vs Australia, London, 34-17
Match 9 (11 June 2016) vs Wales, Auckland, 39-21
Match 10 (18 June 2016) vs Wales, Wellington, 36-22
Match 11 (25 June 2016) vs Wales, Dunedin, 46-6
Match 12 (20 August 2016) vs Australia, Sydney, 42-8
Match 13 (27 August 2016) vs Australia, Wellington, 29-9
Match 14 (10 September 2016) vs Argentina, Hamilton, 57-22
Match 15 (17 September 2016) vs South Africa, Christchurch, 41-13
Match 16 (1 October 2016) vs Argentina, Buenos Aires, 36-17
Match 17 (8 October 2016) vs South Africa, Durban, 57-15
Match 18 (22 October 2016) vs Australia, Auckland, 37-10
England:
Match 1 (10 October 2015) vs Uruguay, Manchester, 60-3
Match 2 (6 February 2016) vs Scotland, Edinburgh, 15-9
Match 3 (14 February 2016) vs Italy, Rome, 40-9
Match 4 (27 February 2016) vs Ireland, London, 21-10
Match 5 (12 March 2016) vs Wales, London, 25-21
Match 6 (19 March 2016) vs France, Paris, 31-21
Match 7 (29 May 2016) vs Wales, London, 27-13
Match 8 (11 June 2016) vs Australia, Brisbane, 39-28
Match 9 (18 June 2016) vs Australia, Melbourne, 23-7
Match 10 (25 June 2016) vs Australia, Sydney, 44-40
Match 11 (12 November 2016) vs South Africa, London, 37-21
Match 12 (19 November 2016) vs Fiji, London, 58-15
Match 13 (26 November 2016) vs Argentina, London, 27-14
Match 14 (3 December 2016) vs Australia, London, 37-21
Match 15 (4 February 2017) vs France, London, 19-16
Match 16 (11 February 2017) vs Wales, Cardiff, 21-16
Match 17 (26 February 2017) vs Italy, London, 36-15
Not for a second should England’s sequence of impressive results be scoffed at. Jones has done a marvellous job in reviving English rugby, following the disastrous 2015 World Cup, but even he has admitted that this team is just at the beginning of their journey.
Indeed, the struggles they’ve endured recently in overcoming France, Italy and Wales would suggest that there are some chinks in their armour. And while they are expected to overcome Scotland at Twickenham this Saturday, Ireland will be licking their lips at the prospect of denying them the outright record when the two teams meet in Dublin on 18 March.
VIDEO: Highlights of England vs Italy (2017)
Whatever the case may be, England will know that their winning sequence has not included a win over the All Blacks. Indeed, the same could be said of the Kiwis in that they didn't face England in their winning run, but if these two teams were to come up against each other right now, I know where my money would placed for a winner.
The New Zealand side that racked up 18 successive wins was a team in their prime. They played in high-pressure knockout matches at a World Cup, and still came up as convincing winners. They consistently faced Australia, South Africa and Argentina, and not only won, but did so with ease and style.
Just recently, Jones suggested that there are still a few degrees of separation between the All Blacks and England, while last March he said that if England continued to develop, they would then have a side capable of beating New Zealand within three years.
Should England go on to secure the tier-one winning sequence record (don’t forget the ‘mighty’ Cyprus still hold the overall record at 24), it will be an historic achievement. But until they’ve beaten the All Blacks, it may be a record that requires an asterisk: *did not play the world No 1 team.
Photo: Dave Rogers/Getty Images
