Rob Andrew has told England their 2011 World Cup campaign effectively starts against the All Blacks at Eden Park this Saturday.

England are currently ranked fifth in the world and need to break into the top four by December 1 to go into the World Cup draw as one of the main seeds.

In doing so, England would avoid the likes of New Zealand and South Africa in the group stages of the 2011 tournament - and therefore greatly improve their chances of glory.

"The June and November internationals are Test matches in their own right and must be treated as such - but they are also absolutely critical Test matches for your World Cup pool in 2011," Andrew said.

"The seedings will be determined on December 1, 2008 and that will significantly impact your World Cup chances in 2011.

"The top four seeds at the moment are South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia. If we stay fifth we are guaranteed to be in with one of them."

England tackle the All Blacks twice over the next fortnight, again in November and also face Australia, South Africa and the Pacific Islands at Twickenham before the World Cup draw is made.

The International Rugby Board's rankings system is fiendishly complicated but it is safe to suggest England, under Andrew for this tour and then Martin Johnson next season, must bloody some southern hemisphere noses over the next six months to stand any chance of reaching that top four.

It is only eight months since England lost to South Africa in the last World Cup final and already the next tournament is beginning to dominate the international arena.

Andrew accepts the impending draw has added extra spice to this tour and a section of his squad was selected with 2011 in mind, to give them a taste of rugby in New Zealand.

Like many other countries, England are using the start of a new World Cup cycle to rebuild. The team Andrew will name tomorrow for the first Test features no more than a handful of the players that started England's win over Ireland only three months ago.

But Andrew is also anxious not to get swept up in the World Cup "obsession", which threatens to devalue all other Test match rugby.

It is a fine line to tread for Andrew. He is on tour as stand-in team manager targeting immediate results, but his day job as the RFU's elite rugby director is about planning for long-term success.

"There is an obsession with the World Cup and actually we are sitting in a country that has the biggest obsession with it of all," he said today.

"New Zealand haven't won it since 1987 and the reason is they have become too obsessed with it.

"As an organisation we know we have a group of players who need to start the journey towards the next World Cup. A lot of the selections have been made on that basis.

"But we should not lose focus on each Test match that comes along. You have to look immediately at what is in front of you.

"We are looking at the detail of what is required for this Test match on Saturday. For some of these guys, this may well be the only time they play a Test match in New Zealand.

"I never played a Test match for England in New Zealand in my whole career, so from that point of view it is a one-off."

The All Blacks have also had to ring the changes after losing a number of star players to northern hemisphere rugby and coach Graham Henry is under great pressure to deliver following the World Cup disappointment.

There is an air of despondency hanging over New Zealand rugby at present that Saturday's 21-11 win over Ireland in atrocious conditions failed to lift.

But Andrew dismissed any notion the All Blacks will be an easy target this weekend.

"Not in the slightest," he said.

"If you look very closely at the way they played on Saturday, the way their captain Richie McCaw performed in some of the most atrocious conditions, I would imagine there are certain elements the New Zealand coaches are very pleased with.

"They have made some changes but they have a deep well of players and they showed that at the weekend."

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