A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

Teams from the southern hemisphere have shown themselves to be superior to their European hosts in the past month. Chris Hewett, our rugby union correspondent, compares the best of the latest generation of players and sees little sign of things changing

Feeling bruised, battered and generally downtrodden? Is your ego in tatters? Are your expectations low? The chances are you are suffering from a debilitating condition known as the Home Unions Rugby Syndrome, an unusually acute form of depression that coincides with visits by specific groups of people - namely All Blacks, Springboks and Wallabies.

Last weekend's convincing reaffirmation of southern hemisphere superiority in London, Cardiff and Paris merely underlined the fact that European rugby, and the British game in particular, is finding it difficult to tread water, let alone start swimming. Statistics seldom paint a complete picture but it is an uncomfortable thought that in percentage terms, the performances of the four home nations against the big three are running at almost unprecedented levels of failure. Only in the decade split in two by the First World War did success prove more elusive. As Phil de Glanville, the England captain, admitted after last weekend's New Zealand Barbarians extravaganza at Twickenham, the game turned on acts of individual brilliance. The genius of Christian Cullen, Andrew Mehrtens, Carlos Spencer and Andrew Blowers, was enough to wreck even the best-laid game plan, just as John Eales and Matthew Burke inspired Australia to last month's victory over Scotland.

There has long been a suspicion that British rugby is simply unable to produce players of comparable skill - at least, not in the numbers found south of the Equator. Yet John Hart, the All Black coach responsible for that spine-tingling display by the New Zealand Barbarians, disagrees. "England, in particular, has such a vast playing base that it must translate into a deep reservoir of talent," he said, preferring to diagnose flawed selection and an obsession with size rather than speed as key factors in England's defeat.

As our comparisons between four of the southern hemisphere's finest and a quartet of obvious contenders for next summer's Lions tour of South Africa clearly demonstrates, Britain is still capable of finding the raw material yet match-winners like Burke and Eales were the finished articles by the time they reached their early 20s, while Tim Stimpson and Simon Shaw are still in international nappies.

If they are to fulfil their potential, they need regular exposure against the men they are looking to emulate. New Zealand and Australia have played 10 full internationals during 1996, the South Africans 11 and crucially, all three sides have been able to knit together in a tour environment. England, by contrast, will play only their sixth Test of the year against Argentina next weekend and have not travelled further than Paris since the World Cup 18 months ago. Jack Rowell, the England coach, spends far less quality time with his charges than he would like and is justified in his regular attacks on both the quantity and quality of his fixture list.

Michael Jones, the New Zealand flanker, repeatedly refers to the "All Black club". The home nations are a million miles away from that sort of intimacy and until they discover how to generate it, the brightest talent in Britain will struggle to match their role models Down Under.

FULL-BACK

THE BEST OF BRITISH

Tim Stimpson

(Newcastle and England) Age: 23. Height: 6ft 3in. Weight: 15st 7lb.

Well, we know he can tackle. Stimpson may have missed the Italian Paolo Vaccari a fortnight ago but, perversely, he made a much better fist of stopping Jonah Lomu dead in his tracks last week. One cap into his Test career, the strapping Durham University graduate already looks a good bet for the Lions next summer; generally sound in defence and unshakeable under the aerial bombardment, he can also hurt opponents with his bruising runs from deep. The sooner Jack Rowell adds kicking to his list of duties, the better.

THE CREAM OF THE SOUTH

Matthew Burke

(New South Wales and Australia) Age: 23. Height: 6ft 1in

Weight: 15st 9lb.

Christian Cullen's running game is one of the wonders of the age but Burke's multi-dimensional talent gives him the slightest of edges in the world pecking order. Far more dependable than his New Zealand rival under the high ball, he also stands comparison with the very best goal-kickers currently on the scene - something entirely beyond the scope of Cullen. Which is not to say that Burke cannot raise a gallop: witness his 80-metre solo try against the All Blacks in Brisbane last summer if you want proof.

HOW THEY COMPARE

The similarities between the world's best and the world's newest are striking: Burke and Stimpson are the same age, almost the same height, carry virtually the same poundage and possess an almost identical range of talents. However, there is something about the Australian system that allows them to blood accomplished players at the top level far more quickly than the British.

SECOND ROW

THE BEST OF BRITISH

Simon Shaw (Bristol and England)

Age: 23. Height: 6ft 9in. Weight: 20st 2lb.

England's industrial base has not disappeared entirely: the rugby team still has an engine room that produces marketable goods on a round-the- clock basis. It's a question of heritage; we have seen Marques and Currie, Beaumont and Colclough, Ackford and Dooley and now Johnson and Shaw. Had it not been for serious injuries to knee and ankle, Shaw would have played for his country as a 21-year-old. Blessed with fly-paper hands, startling pace and an alert rugby mind, he was born for the big stage.

THE CREAM OF THE SOUTH

John Eales (Queensland and Australia)

Age: 26. Height: 6ft 7in. Weight: 17st 8lb.

Eales could have turned out virtually anywhere for Australia - in any sport, that is, not just any position. Such are his ball-playing skills and athletic virtuosity that it is just as easy to see him in Aussie Rules or basketball as union. A once in a lifetime lock who can run, jump, catch, tackle, scrummage, ruck, maul and even kick better than any other second row of his generation, he is one of the few tight forwards in history who can justly be labelled a match-winner. If all that sounds too good to be true, go and watch him play.

HOW THEY COMPARE

Can Shaw hope to emulate Eales as a new-age lock forward who offers brains and brawn as a matching pair? It's a big ask as the Aussies say, but early indications point to the emergence of a potentially great second row, in the southern hemisphere tradition rather than the northern one. Like the outstanding Wallaby, he is the footballer whose clarity of thought increases with the pressure rather than disappears in the opposite direction. Certainly, England's least experienced tight forward would not have looked out of place in the New Zealand Barbarians pack last weekend. High praise indeed.

STAND-OFF

THE BEST OF BRITISH

Gregor Townsend (Northampton and Scotland)

Age: 23. Height: 5ft 11in. Weight: 12st 7lb.

In a perfect world, the Lions selectors would probably pick Scotland's wonderfully unorthodox captain as outside centre, where his sharp pace and bewildering ball skills could be utilised in a loose-forward-free zone. Sadly, Townsend's pre-eminence among British stand-offs is likely to force their hand; if you are lucky enough to have a world-class playmaker, you need to give him access to the ball. The one British No 10 who might reasonably expect a Test place south of the equator - Australia, for instance, would kill for him.

THE CREAM OF THE SOUTH

Andrew Mehrtens (Canterbury and New Zealand).

Age: 23. Height: 5ft 11in. Weight: 13st 9lb.

Yes he was brilliant, but forget Carlos Spencer just for a second. The real diamond of All Black rugby is Mehrtens who, as the national captain Sean Fitzpatrick readily admits, was the catalyst for Jonah Lomu's extraordinary performances at last year's World Cup. Think of a Michael Lynagh with real gas or a buccaneering version of Grant Fox and you have the perfect description of the finest New Zealand first five-eighth since God wore short trousers. He is out there on his own.

HOW THEY COMPARE

Townsend has his limitations with the boot; he does not kick goals for either club or country and as a tactical kicker he is not in the same league as Rob Andrew, the Lions outside-half in 1989 and 1993, let alone Mehrtens. What he can do is unlock tight defences with a shimmy of the hips, a show of the ball or an oblique pass out of the tackle. Mehrtens is more Barry John than Phil Bennett, a deceptive glider with a killer right instep. His purist approach contrasts sharply with Townsend's trickery and the wounds he inflicts tend to be cleaner and more telling.

FLANKER

THE BEST OF BRITISH

Lawrence Dallaglio

(Wasps and England)

Age: 24. Height: 6ft 4in. Weight: 16st 4lb.

Dallaglio is a class act and no one capable of playing with almost equal facility in all three back-row positions should be regarded lightly. But he is naturally more suited to life in the No 8 or No 6 shirt - indeed, he was saying as much himself just over a year ago. For all the resourcefulness he has shown in switching to the open-side berth, England may just be selling him short by keeping them there. Jack Rowell's partiality towards big loose forwards is understandable, but it is becoming more a vice than a habit.

THE CREAM OF THE SOUTH

Andrew Blowers

(Auckland and New Zealand)

Age: 21. Height: 6ft 4in. Weight: 16st 7lb.

If England can boast a grand second row tradition and Wales point to an outside-half factory, New Zealand can celebrate an endless stream of high-class breakaways who have proved themselves quicker, meaner, more physical and more committed than the rest. Blowers is the latest keeper of a flame held in past generations by Nathan, Mourie and Michael Jones. Living proof that the Super-12 provincial tournament can uncover hidden gems, he can look forward with relish to the 1999 World Cup and beyond.

HOW THEY COMPARE

It's down to instinct. All great open-sides have possessed a hunter's instinct, a nose for the scent of blood. Men like Blowers have possessed it all their rugby lives and allow it to dictate their entire approach to the game. According to John Hart, the New Zealand coach, Dallaglio is a natural blindside who should be given his head in that position. You can see his point: while the Wasps captain is close to Blowers in physique, his mind-set is very different. Why waste the most potent loose forward in the English game in his least effective position?