Rugby: All Blacks v England - Which winning streak is better?

The All Blacks and England have been a class above the rest of world rugby in the last two seasons.

England can match the All Blacks' 18-test winning streak on Sunday. As it stands, which streak is better? Cameron McMillan attempts to answer the question.

The Australian-coached and New Zealand-captained England rugby team are one victory away from matching the All Blacks.

It might be a bitter pill to swallow for All Blacks fans on two fronts, because it's a New Zealand record on the cusp of going by the wayside after being set a few months ago and also because it's England that could match it.

England play Scotland at Twickenham on Sunday morning, where the Scots haven't won since 1983 going 16 straight games without a victory. Not only that but they've got within single digits just once since 2000.

It's probably hard to admit on this side of the world but Eddie Jones has turned this England team into a powerhouse and they are the clearly, along with the All Blacks, a class above the rest of the world.

England's current streak of 17 wins has one obvious omission however - the All Blacks. It's improves you're chances of creating a winning run if you don't play the best team.

In turn England fans would argue that they never had a chance to face the All Blacks during New Zealand's winning run (to which the reply would be 'get out of pool play next time').

Since the All Blacks and England aren't playing each other this year all we can do is compare stats and results.

How the streaks compare:

Average points per game

All Blacks - 41.7
England 32.9

Average margin of victory

All Blacks - 27.6
England - 16.5

Tries scored

All Blacks - 104
England - 65

Biggest win

All Blacks - 62-13 over France
England - 60-3 over Uruguay

Closest win

All Blacks - 20-18 over South Africa
England - 19-16 over France

Scored 30+

All Blacks - 15 occasions
England - 9 occasions

Held opposition to less than 14

All Blacks - 9 occasions
England - 6 occasions

Wins at home

All Blacks - 8
England - 10

Wins away

All Blacks - 3 (7 neutral)
England - 7

Most impressive wins

All Blacks - The Rugby World Cup knockout run against France, South Africa and Australia
England - The series sweep in Australia.

Average world ranking of opponent

All Blacks - 6.6
England - 7.4

Wins against a top four ranked opponent

All Blacks - 8
England - 5

Conclusion:

As it stands the All Blacks record is more impressive and will still be should England win. But the most important statistic is the wins total and England can pass New Zealand a sweep the Six Nations with a victory in Ireland next weekend.

All Blacks' winning streak (August 15, 2015 to November 4, 2016)

1 - Australia (World ranking 3) 41-13
2 - Argentina (8) 26-16 (RWC)
3 - Namibia (20) 58-14 (RWC)
4 - Georgia (15) 43-10 (RWC)
5 - Tonga (12) 47-9 (RWC)
6 - France (7) 62-13 (RWC)
7 - South Africa (3) 20-18 (RWC)
8 - Australia (2) 34-17 (RWC)
9 - Wales (6) 39-21
10 - Wales (6) 36-22
11 - Wales (6) 46-6
12 - Australia (4) 42-8
13 - Australia (4) 29-9
14 - Argentina (7) 57-22
15 - South Africa (4) 41-13
16 - Argentina (7) 36-17
17 - South Africa (3) 57-15
18 - Australia (3) 37-10

England's winning streak (October 15, 2015 to ...)

1 - Uruguay (19) 60-3 (RWC)
2 - Scotland (9) 15-9
3 - Italy (12) 40-9
4 - Ireland (8) 21-10
5 - Wales (4) 25-21
6 - France (8) 31-21
7 - Wales (5) 27-13
8 - Australia (2) 39-28
9 - Australia (2) 23-7
10 - Australia (4) 44-40
11 - South Africa (4) 37-21
12 - Fiji (10) 58-15
13 - Argentina (9) 27-14
14 - Australia (3) 37-21
15 - France (8) 19-16
16 - Wales (5) 21-16
17 - Italy (14) 36-15