Aussies fear more upsets

South Africa were hammered by the Scots

Rugby's world order has changed dramatically in the last fortnight and is set for a further overhaul, according to the boss of Australian rugby.

Northern hemisphere sides have surprisingly got the better of their southern rivals in five of the last six hemisphere head-to-heads.

England have got to be right up there with New Zealand at this stage

ARU boss John O'Neill's World Cup assessment

And John O'Neill, chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union, warned the string of surprise results could yet continue.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "Before this [the November series of Tests] there would have been talk about the top five being from England, France and the three southern hemisphere sides.

"But, with Scotland's victory over the Springboks [on Saturday] and Ireland beating Australia [the previous weekend], it's not just about the top five which is fantastic.

"And I think we'll see the sport grow and prosper off that."

England in the last two weekends have beaten both New Zealand and Australia, while the biggest surprises saw South Africa lose to Scotland 21-6 and Ireland defeating the Wallabies 18-9.

Battling Scots down Springboks

But former England hooker Brian Moore insisted he was not shocked by the seeming overturn in the game.

He said: "What you're seeing is confirmation that the gap, which was there [between the two hemispheres], has closed and is continuing to close.

Moore is unsurprised by changes in the game

"Hopefully with the success of the Heineken Cup and the Zurich Premiership, which has improved standards over the last few years, that will continue."

Despite England's back-to-back victories against antipodean opposition, Moore warned next year's World Cup would provide a very different obstacle.

"England are not kidding themselves that this is a precursor to the World Cup," he added.

"England haven't managed to win Grand Slam games in the last few years. The occasion has got to them... and you can't get a bigger occasion than the World Cup."

O'Neill, however, insisted the English were now the early favourites for a first World Cup win.

He said: "England have got to be right up there with New Zealand at this stage. Australia and South Africa are a bit off the pace."

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