World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson believes the ground work has been done for England to recapture the Webb Ellis trophy on home soil next year.

Wilkinson, whose drop goal won the World Cup for England in 2003, said the foundations have been laid for Stuart Lancaster’s team to build the momentum needed to launch a credible challenge at the tournament that gets underway next September.

“We are in a good place, a really good place,” he told reporters.

“The work has been done to create the platform to give the guys something solid to launch from in every game, and that gives you the consistency of knowing that you are going to be there and thereabouts even against the best.

“The rest, I guess, is what’s being built and will be shown more and more this year against the big teams. You have got to win, you have got to learn how to win and get that momentum going.”

Crucial to building that momentum will be the Autumn internationals in which England face southern hemisphere powerhouses New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Prior to lifting the World Cup, Wilkinson’s England were all-conquering, winning every match in 2003 apart from one warm-up against France in Paris.

“Winning every game before a World Cup does not guarantee you winning a World Cup,” he said.

“There’s a certain element of pride and passion and desire reflected in whether you want to win the Autumn Series and whether you want to win the Six Nations as well...

“We need to try to win those things. That will be a sign of the desire and the pride of the guys, so it is important.

“But for me, it’s understanding that being in good form is much better than walking into the World Cup saying we have an unbeaten record.”