The northern hemisphere sides had better get used to the cold gripping Europe - and expect more of the same when it comes to their chances of winning next year's Rugby World Cup.

This is the view of legendary former All Black winger Jeff Wilson, who remains unmoved by the supposed strides England, Ireland, Wales and France have made under the new law interpretations.

"I just don't think they've got the game or competition to play at a level or speed to be competitive enough in a World Cup," he said. "If you look at the ability to play for 80 minutes, when the three southern hemisphere teams play well, I really don't think they've got the game and the talent to win it.

"Super rugby allows us to play to those law interpretations, the northern hemisphere teams will be going away from their strengths. "Maybe the French could do it, but they've shown already that they can't win three big games in a row, which is what you need to win a World Cup."

Wilson was one of the many coaches attending Dick Muir's Investec International Rugby Academy course in his new guise as a coach.

Of the southern hemisphere sides, "Goldie" said he fancied his countrymen to finally break a World Cup jinx that left him, and a host of All Black greats, without a winner's medal from the tournament.

"You have to go on form. They won the Grand Slam and they won the Tri-Nations comfortably," said Wilson.

He doesn't subscribe to the view that the pressure of having to host the World Cup and win it for the first time in 23 years will get to the All Blacks.

"The reality is there aren't too many competitions we should be going into where we're not the favourites. No doubt there's going to be added pressure, but there's still going to be a huge amount of support for them.

"If you asked me if we were better off contesting the World Cup elsewhere I'd tell you no way. This is our best chance to win the event.

"If we can get some momentum and the crowd behind us, we should be pretty tough to beat. But there's always that unknown factor, those games that are out of your control, which I well know about, unfortunately."

After a stint breeding horses following his retirement in 2002, it's a surprise that Wilson, 37, has ended up coaching. As a player, he was so gifted he could have played in all the backline positions. His outrageous ability extended to him also representing New Zealand at cricket.

Which begs the question: is it not frustrating for a natural to coach mere mortals?

"It's a misconception (that the game was easy for him)," he said. "I was a good athlete but I worked really hard. I spoke to a lot of the guys here yesterday and said: 'Look, a lot of the things I could do was from practice and hours of training'.

"I was physically gifted, fast enough and was a good enough athlete, but there's no substitute for spending hours on the training pitch."

He said he was enjoying coaching: "You commit a fair portion of your life to playing the game, so I certainly feel there's something I can offer to other guys. It's a great sport to be involved with and there are challenges that are different from when you're playing."

Wilson said the new law interpretations had taken something away from the Springboks' game.

"The breakdown becoming a bit less of a contest meant the All Blacks got a chance to express themselves. Conversely, South Africa, who had been so dominant the year before by being very physical at the breakdown, found their opportunity to be effective there was limited.

"It's really important that we're not trying to all play the game the same, it has to be fair for all. But the challenge for teams like South Africa is whether they change their game or stick to what they know."

A big fan of Sonny Bill Williams, Wilson is not entirely sold on the new Jonah Lomus being manufactured because he was an equally potent member of a back-three that included the great man and Christian Cullen despite being of average size.

"If you look at the way the game has changed you wonder if you can compete because these guys are bigger, stronger, faster," he said. "But I still don't know if they're better rugby players. In the end, brains will always beat brawn: it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it."