Greenwood: England will reach the Rugby World Cup Final

England’s 2003 World Cup winner Will Greenwood believes the fact that coach Stuart Lancaster has beaten every team at Twickenham except South Africa should be enough to clinch a place in the final at the very least.

Greenwood, capped 55 times in a seven-year Test career, told Yahoo Sport that the “placebo of familiarity” will provide England with a huge boost.

He said: “Historically, in all sports, nothing beats the advantage of playing on home soil. You only have to see how it helped UK athletes in the 2012 Olympics.”

However, the failure to remain unbeaten in a Six Nations or Autumn International series under Lancaster means England remain vulnerable – especially as they face both Wales and Australia in their pool at the World Cup.

Greenwood points to England’s superb defence, powerful pack, the most exciting set of backs they have had in years and the fact that no Northern Hemisphere side has won in England since 2012 as key factors.

“The defence has been tremendous – except in that France match where they had to score lots of points so left gaps everywhere.

“But they usually keep opposition chances to a minimum with a work ethic that sees them hunt opponents down with real hunger and appetite.”

He added: “The England pack is awesome, strength in every department, and when a legend like Sean Fitzpatrick says he thinks the English forwards are to be feared, that says it all.”

Greenwood also points to the new backs that have come through in the past two years – the likes of Jonathan Joseph, George Ford and Anthony Watson – adding an extra dimension to England’s game.

“You look at the likes of Ford and and Owen Farrell. They are both hugely effective 10s but offer totally different things. This is great for England because it gives them options to change things, vary things and have effective levels of cover.

“These players not only tackle brilliantly, they are creative, quick and physical.”

England have failed to win the Six Nations since 2011 but have been runners-up four successive times under Lancaster, losing once every year.

“The team’s biggest problem is inconsistency – they do not have the winning habit,” said Greenwood.

“Lancaster has never won a Grand Slam or a series clean sweep – so he needs to lay down a 42-day challenge to get through the seven matches unbeaten.

“It won’t be easy as most top teams roll off the tongue and the great ones tend to be settled – England still seem to be unsure what their best line-up is.

“They will need the familiarity of playing together if they want to be serious contenders because the likes of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa already know their first 15.

“So England will need to buck the trend if they are to win the World Cup – but in a one-off match they are capable of beating any team in the world.”

Greenwood is one of the coaches at SportFest on August 1-2, a weekend of sporting action for 5-16 year-olds on the Getty family estate in Wormsley, Buckinghamshire.

Rugby, football, cricket, tennis and athletics are among the many sports, and big names like Martin Johnson, John Barnes, Daley Thompson, Greg Rusedski, Matthew Pinsent and Andrew Strauss will be actively coaching.

Greenwood said: “I only wish there had been things like SportFest when I was youngster.

“A multitude of sports with proven winners to learn from and a great weekend in a glorious setting.

“It is great to see kids enjoying their sport with such enthusiasm and energy in this IT world we live in and take away so much from the weekend.

“Parents love it to – many of them rediscover their own passion for sport and cannot wait to return the following year.”

Vitality SportFest is a unique weekend festival for families hosted by the greatest names in sport. We inspire families to play, live and love sport! For tickets click here. To see just how much fun SportFest is, click here.  

Will Greenwood was talking to Mark Lawford