Over the next four weekends, the rugby nations of Europe will get a very good idea of where they stand in relation to the three big powers in the game in the southern hemisphere.

The rivalry will get its initial expression this afternoon when Ireland play New Zealand, England take on Australia and France play South Africa. Then, for good measure, Wales play Tonga tomorrow. That may not be very revealing; the other three matches most certainly will be.

The Irish face the toughest task of all this afternoon against the team that, on recent evidence, stands apart from all others north or south of the equator. This is an occasion when the Irish will need all their fire and passion and will need to ally those qualities to a keen tactical appreciation and common sense. There is a lot of talent and potential in this Irish side, and I have no doubt that coach Brian Ashton has done his homework, but it is an awesome task for a team that includes five new caps.

But a good performance, even if it is not enough to win, will do a lot for this Ireland team, shorn of so many experienced players because of injury.

New England coach Clive Woodward has also put his faith in some of the untried as well, with five new caps in the team to play Australia. Woodward had many more options than Ashton but has done a demolition job on areas of the team his predecessor, Jack Rowell built. Looking at the side Woodward has chosen, it is very obvious that England's tactical approach is being radically altered.

Next week the Scots enter the fray, when they take on Australia; France play South Africa, and it will be England's turn to face the All Blacks. Then the following week England will meet South Africa, Wales play New Zealand and Ireland play Canada. On December 6th Scotland play South Africa and England play their second match against New Zealand.

Basing an assessment on results over the last two seasons, there is no doubt at all that the All Blacks stand apart. The last occasion they lost a match was 18 months ago in the final test of their South African tour at Ellis Park. The All Blacks had already won the Test series. In the interim, all opposition has been swept aside. Record scores were recorded against South Africa and Australia last summer.

The Lions' Test series win in South Africa was a major achievement and a very big psychological and tangible lift for the game in Britain and Ireland. But while the coming weeks will be revealing in relation to where the European nations stand relative to the big three south of the equator, the real measurement will be how Ireland, England and Wales will get on against the New Zealanders.

During the current decade, the suggestion was that New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, along with France and England, were in the premier division, but that the three in the southern hemisphere were ahead of England and France. The rest were in the lower orders. Now the talk is that the All Blacks are on a level of their own and it is a case of catch-up for the rest.

Well the bigger they come the harder they can fall and a good performance from Ireland this afternoon will do an immense amount for the game here. Then we have the matches against Canada and Italy prior to the Five Nations.

The stakes are high for both the Springboks and the Wallabies over the coming weeks. They are high, too, for Clive Woodward and his England team management colleagues, Fran Cotton and Roger Uttley. The South Africans have certainly taken quite a few backward steps since their World Cup triumph. Prior to their win over Italy last weekend they had lost five of their previous eight internationals. The Australians, too, have had a bad summer and lost to Argentina last weekend. Closer to home, the Irish have never beaten the All Blacks, but there have been some very close calls in matches between the two countries, most notably at Lansdowne Road in 1973 when a last-minute try from Tom Grace brought Ireland level and Barry McGann's conversion drifted just outside an upright. The game ended in a 10-10 draw. The most recent match between the countries was in the World Cup in Ellis Park in 1995. New Zealand won that 43-19. Ireland did not play at all badly in that match but paid a very heavy price for some errors, having taken an early lead.

Ireland will have just three survivors from that match playing today. They are Eric Elwood, Nick Popplewell and Paddy Johns. Popplewell has considerable experience of playing against the All Blacks and has been on a winning team against them at Test level, the second Test of the Lions tour in 1993 when he had a magnificent match. He made his international debut in 1989 against New Zealand. There are those who believe that the 1987-89 team was the best All Black side of the modern era. It was certainly a great team. They won the World Cup and then had an incredible run of success for the next two years, being unbeaten until Australia defeated them in 1990. The link between the 1987 World Cup-winning team and the current side are, of course, hooker and captain Sean Fitzpatrick and coach John Hart. He played a major role in coaching the 1987 team.

The side that came here in 1989 beat Ireland 23-6. Full back John Gallagher, later to play for Ireland A, after a brief unhappy spell in rugby league, was one of the stars of that team. The current Connacht coach, Warren Gatland, was a member of the All Black squad on that tour. In fact Gatland played on the side that defeated Connacht 40-6 in Galway. Va'aiga Tuigamala, Zinzan Brooke, Bruce Deans and Wayne Shelford were also in the squad.

Perhaps by the time the current tour is over there will be those who will think this All Blacks side is the best of the modern era. That may prove to be so. But a personal choice is the 1967 team under the leadership of Brian Lochore. Unfortunately, the Irish part of their tour was cancelled because of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Britain.

I saw that 1967 side, "The Sixth All Blacks", play their internationals against England, Wales and Scotland. They beat England 23-11, Wales 13-6 and Scotland 14-3. That was the match made famous for the sending off of Colin Meads at Murrayfield - only the second time that a player had been sent off in an international. That 1967 side played 15 matches in Britain and France and won 14, and drew one. The draw was against East Wales in Cardiff in the second last match of the tour. The All Black pack in 1967 was magnificent and included Lochore, Lel Tremain, Waka Nathan, Meads, Ian Kirkpatrick, Ken Gray and Sam Strahan. The backs were also excellent. They included Fergie McCormack, at full back, the centre combination was Ian MacRae and Bill Davis, with Earle Kirton and Chris Laidlaw at half back. Now, 30 years on, we have the 1997 vintage, who of course are all professionals. They too will leave their own indelible mark on memory.