Dubai: Former 2003 Rugby World Cup winners Josh Lewsey and Lawrence Dallaglio are sitting on the fence with regards England's World Cup chances later this year, but both agree a strong Six Nations tournament will bode well for their trip to New Zealand in September.
Lewsey told Gulf News: "They say a week in sport and politics is a long time and we are months off the cup. Can we win it? Yes, realistically 2015 is more of an objective but that doesn't rule us out of this one."
"This year holds more importance than ever [off the back of 2003 final win and the 2007 final defeat]. In other years you could put it down to development but now it's about mental strength and fortitude to know you've been there and done it before, you've dug deep and beaten the best."
Reality check
Lewsey surmised: "We can beat any team on the day that's the reality of knockout competition. There are only three important games this year the quarter, semi and final of the World Cup, you've just got to make sure you're there and peaking at the right time."
Dallaglio cautioned: "The World Cup has always been won by Southern Hemisphere teams with the exception of England so let's take it one stage at a time and not get carried away. But going into the World Cup off the back of a very strong Six Nations they'll be confident enough to feel competitive, but talk of them winning it would be very premature."
Both players agreed England had a strong chance at the "wide open" Six Nations provided they got off to a good start in Wales, but they also fancied experienced "last roll of the dice" Ireland and "box of chocolates" France with whom "you never know what you are going to get".
Interestingly their comments mirrored that of Wales and Scotland Jonathon Davies and Gavin Hastings, both interviewed last week by Gulf News at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Davies feared Wales had too many injuries and wasted too many efforts while Hastings said Scotland were young and upcoming but couldn't score.
