Liverpool and Manchester United fans may hate each other with a vengeance - but pool their successes over the past 40-odd years and you’ve got a veritable goldmine of silverware. Since 1963, the Big Two have plundered no fewer than seven European Cups, 23 League titles and 16 FA Cups between them.

Could any one team be more successful than that? In football, maybe not - but while round-ball champions come and go, the record of rugby’s mighty All Blacks is uniquely special. I’ve been following the game for half a century and for virtually all that time, the Kiwi giants have stood supreme as the best team in the world.

Who can forget legendary leaders like Wilson Whineray, Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sean Fitzpatrick, Wayne Shelford and now Richie McCaw?

'No team in any sport has ever dominated for so long. And right now New Zealand probably have their squad of all time'


Surely no team in any sport has ever dominated for so long. And right now New Zealand probably have their best squad of all time, a unit who will almost inevitably be crowned world champions on October 20..

With the Rugby World Cup and the Premier League running in tandem over the next few weeks, I’ve been visualising where English football’s Big Four would rank alongside the might of the oval-ball giants.

The All Blacks would, of course, be Manchester United and Liverpool combined - and then some. In their entire history, they’ve won 75 per cent of the matches they’ve played - and only six nations have ever beaten them. Since they started playing Test matches in 1903, they’ve lost just three of the 62 games they’ve played against Wales, Scotland and Ireland (all to the Welsh). And the last one of those was in 1953!

England are the only home nation with anything resembling a respectable record against the Blacks - but their six victories are more than countered by the 22 defeats they have suffered against a nation whose population is miniscule in comparison.

There are similarities between England’s current fortunes (or misfortunes) in both football and rugby - for example, both are rated among the best teams in Europe. But in rugby terms, that’s nothing to be proud of, with the Southern Hemisphere giants looking in a different league on the basis of the first round of RWC matches.

When it comes to rugby-football comparisons, I equate Phil Vickery’s rugby boys with Leeds United. Four years ago they were giants of the game - today they are third-rate. Their chances of beating South Africa in Friday’s Pool A game in Paris look minimal, certainly on the basis of the Springboks’ 59-7 of a Samoa side who are expected to make life difficult for Brian Ashton’s men.

I see South Africa as the Arsenal of international rugby. In the world’s best wing Bryan Habana, they have a veritable Thierry Henry of speed, guile and scoring power. And fullback Percy Montgomery‘s razor-sharp reactions, blond locks and eye for goal remind me of Dutch maestro Dennis Bergkamp (Yes, I know TH14 has sloped off to Barcelona, and Bergy has long since left the Gunners - but the memories linger on).

Which brings me on to the final member of the Tri Nations giants - Australia. They’ve got to be the Chelsea of rugby. The only team to have won the World Cup, they are hated by the Kiwis and Poms alike. Are Chelsea popular anywhere but at Stamford Bridge? Often accused of arrogance (did anyone mention Jose Mourinho?), the Wallabies are nevertheless winners…like all Aussies. Apart from those who come up against Jonny Wilkinson‘s boot, perhaps.

So there you have it - the Big Three of world rugby, plus the game’s very own Leeds United.

And if you want a side bet on the team to gatecrash the honours game, how about Argentina - the Blackburn Rovers of the RWC? They’ve already downed the might of hosts France and in the mercurial Agustin Pichot have the man I regard as the world’s best scrum-half.

Once written off as a third-rate rugby nation, the Pumas have truly arrived among the big boys. They’ve won five of their last six Tests against the French and have also dumped the Welsh and Irish in recent years as well as beating England at Twickenham.

A veritable Blackburn Rovers, in fact. Two or three years ago, you would always have backed the Lancashire side to finish nearer the bottom of the Premier League than the top - if not to be relegated. But tbe managerial genius of Mark Hughes has turned that round - and now they’re more than a match even for the Big Four.

Until recently, only the most fanatical of rugby aficionados were familiar with the name of Marcelo Loffreda - the coach who has turned the Pumas into a genuine international force. In fact, even after the heroics of his men at Stade de France last Friday, magic Marce will still be a non-entity to most football people

But you can bet he’ll become an English rugby institution after he takes over as Leicester Tigers’ chief coach after the World Cup.

The Sparky of rugby, who won 44 caps for Argentina in an illustrious playing career, is on record as calling for Argentina to be admitted to the Six Nations championship.

The big problem is that the existing members might not fancy perpetually battling it out for the runners-up spot.

Which football club would you liken your favourite Rugby World Cup team to? Post your comments below or sumbit an article to Sportingo.