World at their feet

STUART LANCASTER says England are on track to peak at the World Cup later this year – just as he predicted four years ago.

Lancaster was sacked when his England team became the first host nation to fail to survive the pool stages back in 2015.

Many of those same players are now powering towards Japan with a team who now find themselves 4-1 second favourites to lift the trophy, behind 6-5 favourites New Zealand.

“All the lads who are on 50 caps were on zero caps when I started,” said Lancaster. “We said then that 2019 would see them peak. It was a race against time for 2015 but 2019 was always going to be a different story. It should be their time.”

Henry Slade and Jamie George went into the 2015 competition with one cap apiece. George Kruis had eight, Jack Nowell nine, and Billy Vunipola 18.

By comparison, on Sunday Eddie Jones’s starting line-up had 555 caps to their name.

Ben Youngs, England’s most-experienced back with 82 caps, has billed next week’s clash with Wales as a championship decider. He said England will go to Cardiff playing at a higher level than at any time since Jones took charge.