Where ever an Englishman looks in the rugby world there is usually something or somebody from New Zealand impeding his progress.

Take for example the Junior Rugby World Cup in which the Red Rose youngsters boast an excellent record – having reached three of the four finals only to lose to the Baby Blacks on each occasion.

It’s no different at senior level where England have not beaten the All Blacks in the last nine attempts spread over nine, often painful, sometimes pitiful, years.

But even by those standards the stranglehold the New Zealand Sevens side currently has over their English counterparts is quite startling.

Ben Ryan’s squad have at least tasted victory against New Zealand, when they took the title in Dubai last December, but that was an exception and not the rule.

By contrast the Kiwis have beaten England in five of the last eight IRB Sevens tournaments, most recently in Glasgow last Sunday by a rather gilded scoreline of 29-14.

Irritatingly England were within five points in the final minute only for DJ Forbes and his crew to cut loose, as they always seem to do.

Which is why England will be hoping to either beat them or avoid them at this weekend’s Marriott London Sevens.

The Twickenham extravaganza marks the final event in the 2011-12 IRB Series, which the New Zealanders are on the brink of winning for a tenth time.