It’s the tournament that has traditionally highlighted the domination of the Southern Hemisphere countries over their rivals in Europe.
But with the 2019 Rugby World Cup less than a year away, there are clear signs that the balance of power is shifting in the sport.
Since the competition was established in 1987, the trophy has been secured seven times by New Zealand – on three occasions – and South Africa and Australia twice, with England’s Class of 2003 the sole Northern Hemisphere winners.
And yet, last weekend’s autumn internationals demonstrated the changes which are taking place.
Whether it’s Wales earning a well-deserved success over the Wallabies, England coming desperately close to besting the All Blacks, Ireland maintaining their recent hot streak with a 28-17 victory over Argentina, or France amassing a sizeable lead against South Africa, only to press the self-destruct button before slumping to a last-gasp 29-26 loss.
Nobody is pretending that New Zealand won’t start as favourites when the World Cup kicks off in Japan next September and, as champions in 2011 and 2015, they remain a dynamic and occasionally irrepressible force in their domain.
It was to their immense credit they rallied from trailing England by 15-0 at Twickenham to edge the pulsating contest 16-15.
But they were fortunate when a late try by the hosts was chalked off. And they do not have the swaggering, immovable strut of previous sides.
Formidable? Yes. Invincible? Definitely not.
Indeed, if any team produced the mixture of clinical precision and off-the-cuff brilliance that has typified New Zealand collectives in the past, it was Scotland during the second half against Fiji at Murrayfield.
Granted, they were boosted by the indiscipline of their opponents and Tommy Seymour will have to work much harder to score try hat-tricks against better defences, but the Scots demonstrated their new-found confidence and class in abundance.
Or rather, a cakewalk.
Such displays are becoming a common occurrence among the Six Nations representatives, with the sorry exception of Italy.
And Wales exposed the one-dimensional nature of their Australian opponents in Cardiff, where the 9-6 margin would have been event greater had it not been for some uncharacteristic kicking lapses from Leigh Halfpenny.
As a spectacle, it was a horrible damp squib, but the result was instructive.
The green-and-gold brigade huffed and puffed, but they have only won three of their last 11 internationals and the heady days of Campese, Eales and Lynagh seem like an awfully long time ago.
This Saturday’s fixtures offer a lip-smacking contrast of styles and cultures. Scotland meet South Africa and should look at the fashion in which the French surged into a 23-9 lead against Rassie Erasmus’ personnel early in the second half.
The latter eventually prevailed, but that was principally due to the collapse of their hosts and one can’t foresee Gregor Townsend’s team being similarly profligate.
In Dublin, meanwhile, the Irish will officially become the IRB’s top-ranked side if they can overcome the All Blacks and while it promises to be a coruscating battle – and the NZ contingent will be seeking to extend their eight-year stay at the summit – the fact Joe Schmidt’s men have advanced so far speaks volumes.
The times they are a-changing. And nowadays it’s clear the North is no longer happy just to offer Southern comfort.
