Lancaster: Now I have a squad for global glory

STUART LANCASTER insists the Six Nations campaign proves England now possess the strength in depth to win the World Cup after they turned Twickenham back into a fortress.

Lancaster’s squad won four matches out of five despite missing Lions stars Manu Tuilagi, Brad Barritt and Owen Farrell plus No 8 Ben Morgan for the entire campaign.

With the likes of George Ford, Jonathan Joseph, George Kruis and Anthony Watson now blooded on the international stage, Lancaster believes England will enter the World Cup in six months’ time in rude health.

‘There has always been a huge sense of belief that we are going in the right direction,’ he said. ‘The challenges we faced with the injury situation leading into the Wales game didn’t dent that belief. From what I see in training we have a tight, connected group who are improving all the time.

‘Clearly we are still a bit young, light on experience, particularly in the back line.

‘That will improve with the likes of Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell and Manu being available, all of whom will be playing in the next few weeks we hope.’ England have beaten World Cup pool rivals Australia and Wales convincingly and with 82,000 fans producing another pulsating atmosphere at Twickenham on Saturday, Lancaster says belief will be skyhigh when the tournament kicks off on September 18. Asked if England can win the World Cup, Lancaster was unequivocal.

‘Yes, definitely,’ he said. ‘We’ve beaten Australia, we’ve beaten Wales, we’ve put 55 points on France. ‘New Zealand we’ve beaten before and pushed them close in the summer series. So, absolutely.

‘You saw the influence the crowd had on the players today. Playing at home is a huge factor as well.’ Lancaster now has four runners- up finishes in four Six Nations campaigns but has no fear his players will be psychologically damaged