Sean Fitzpatrick: Northern Hemisphere sides pose biggest threat to All Black

While rugby's origins reside in 19th Century England, international silverware in the modern game has traditionally been won by Southern Hemisphere countries.
Of the eight World Cup tournaments, England's victory in 2003 is the only time the trophy has been won by a Northern Hemisphere side; one of either Australia, South Africa and New Zealand have claimed the rest and been represented in every final.

With the All Blacks, world champions in 2011 and 2015, still ranked as the best test side in the world, many would argue this pattern is unlikely to change ahead of next year's tournament.
But with eyes currently on the Six Nations tournaments, one former All Blacks captain thinks there's every reason to believe a European side could emerge victorious in Japan.
"We talk about where the major threat to the All Blacks is going to come from in 2019 -- you'd have to say the Northern Hemisphere at the moment in terms of Scotland, Ireland, England," Sean Fitzpatrick, who won the inaugural World Cup with New Zealand in 1987 and skippered the side that was defeated by South Africa in the 1995 final, told CNN Sport.

Source: Edition.Cnn