1 September 2011
 |
| Lawrence Dallaglio |
The 39 year old won the World Cup with England in 2003 so knows what it takes to win. He believes that Martin Johnson's side will not be strong enough to take on the likes of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Click Read More to see what he had to say and view our statistical overview of England's chances based .
"What can we realistically expect from England?" he said.
He went on to admit "Hand on heart, England are not favourites."
"They are not the number 1 side in the world; they are not number 2."
The facts also stack up against England. They are maybe a little confusing but do highlight problems for England:
At the end of the Rugby World Cup 2003, England were top of the IRB rankings on 90.24 rating points. The All Blacks were 2nd and had 89.90 rating points. Now, ahead of the 2011 World Cup England are 5th on 82.59 rating points. New Zealand are top of the rankings on 90.55 rating points, which is higher than England were after winning the 2003 World Cup and the All Blacks haven't won the world cup yet.
If those statistics seem confusing fear not, they mean little but do show that New Zealand seem the real favourites ahead of this world cup and the stats support them.
Dallaglio added one more comment. "Will this team be better after the World Cup? Undoubtedly."
Follow more World Cup news by clicking RWC in the navigation bar or following us on Twitter and participating in discussions, use hashtag #Scrum5. Email yourviews@scrumfive.net.
He went on to admit "Hand on heart, England are not favourites."
"They are not the number 1 side in the world; they are not number 2."
At the end of the Rugby World Cup 2003, England were top of the IRB rankings on 90.24 rating points. The All Blacks were 2nd and had 89.90 rating points. Now, ahead of the 2011 World Cup England are 5th on 82.59 rating points. New Zealand are top of the rankings on 90.55 rating points, which is higher than England were after winning the 2003 World Cup and the All Blacks haven't won the world cup yet.
If those statistics seem confusing fear not, they mean little but do show that New Zealand seem the real favourites ahead of this world cup and the stats support them.Dallaglio added one more comment. "Will this team be better after the World Cup? Undoubtedly."
Follow more World Cup news by clicking RWC in the navigation bar or following us on Twitter and participating in discussions, use hashtag #Scrum5. Email yourviews@scrumfive.net.
