The pattern over the past few years - since the 2003 World Cup - is that the Northern Hemisphere sides take a collective pasting when they tour down under mid-year, but the end-of-year tours are far closer affairs.

But overall the statistics doesn't look good and only once in the past three years - on the 2005 year-end tours - did the Northern Hemisphere manage to secure more than a 50 percent winning ratio.

The All Blacks, the world's most dominant force and top-ranked team, haven't lost a test against a Northern Hemisphere opponent for three years; a record of 24 consecutive wins, surpassing their previous best unbeaten streak (including one draw) back in the 1960s.

Let's take a look at it year-by-year:

In 2004: The Northern Hemisphere managed to win just 18 percent of their matches on the mid-year tours, they improved to 30 percent in the year-end (November) tours, but ended the year with an overall three-to-one losing ratio (winning just 25 percent of their matches).

In 2005: This was the Northern Hemisphere's best post-World Cup year, even though they managed just an 11 percent winning ration in mid-year. But in November that year they won 52 percent of their encounters with the intruders from the south, giving them an overall 39 percent win ratio for the year.

In 2006: The men in the north had slipped back, just like England. On their mid-year excursions they won a meagre nine percent of their matches and slipped below 50 percent - winning just 41 percent of the just completed November tests. This gives the north a poor 28 percent winning ration for the year.

All statistics are courtesy of Pick and Go!