Rugby’s battle of the hemispheres: south can turn the tide in July Tests

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Back at the end of November the evidence seemed pretty conclusive. France and Ireland had just beaten New Zealand on successive weekends, England had knocked over South Africa and Australia while Scotland and Wales had also defeated the Wallabies. Looking down the list of results it felt as if the “battle of the hemispheres” had swung decisively towards the north.

And now? We are about to discover whether any northern smugness was premature or if it was truly a sign of the times. If Ireland win a best-of-three series in New Zealand it would make a colossal statement. And should England, having muddled through the Six Nations, inflict more woe on the Wallabies it would do wonders for the pre-Rugby World Cup confidence of Eddie Jones’s squad.

A little caveat is required: given South Africa’s provinces now compete in the United Rugby Championship and, soon enough, the Heineken Champions Cup, the equator is not as clear a dividing line as it once was. These days it can even be argued that some Welsh players have had more recent first-hand experience of the Highveld than of rugby pitches over the Severn Bridge.

For the purposes of this debate, however, let us stick with strict geographical tradition and contemplate the likeliest winners of a straight head to head between the four home unions and the four Rugby Championship sides. Which means that, with 12 Tests scheduled over the next three weekends, the north need to win seven before they can make any grandiose claims.

It is not going to be easy, particularly as Welsh ambitions