This group can claim World Cup glory

England head towards Japan with prospects as high as any Red Rose team since the 2003 World Cup. Eddie Jones may have come up short in his desire to have his team top of the rankings, as Clive Woodward’s side were as they approached Australia, but such has been the hokey-cokey nature of those standings recently the No1 slot does not have the status it did 16 years ago when England were masters of southern hemisphere opposition and clear favourites to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.

Even if it came down to an extra-time wallop from Jonny Wilkinson’s boot to seal the deal, there was always the sense it would take a mighty performance from any opponent to beat them.

England carry no such armoured sheen with them. But, then again, no one else does either. Even those whose natural inclination is to gag at the notion of an English team on top of the podium are starting to acknowledge the substance behind England’s challenge for honours that can be reduced perhaps to one simple maxim – Lots of Big Blokes Running Hard.

Of course there is more to England. It has been a mantra of Jones’s regime that he wants to return England to the virtues of their traditional game: hard-nosed forward play, steeliness in defence and clever game management. In a nutshell, that is what defined Woodward’s team. His England have not yet scaled those heights. Their scrummage is far from dominant while their driving maul lacks the heft and intricacy of their predecessors.

England have real promise, as long as they can keep their prime assets fit and healthy. They are not yet a proven force. A semi-final is their minimum benchmark for success. England’s first XV, or even match-day 23, are the equal of any in the tournament. Their fringe players, though, have a big step to take if they are required.

England travel with expectation rather than mere hope, genuine contenders for World Cup glory.