Robbo's World Cup hopes still alive

England coach says his side can still defend the Rugby World Cup

England coach Andy Robinson has reacted to his side's resounding Test series whitewash in Australia by claiming they can still win next year's Rugby World Cup.

England slumped to their fifth consecutive defeat with Saturday's 43-18 rout in Melbourne, bringing up their worst sequence of results for 22 years.

A successful World Cup defence now looks highly unlikely but Robinson has rounded on his growing army of critics by declaring England are on the right track.

"I'm very confident about where we're going and I think England's rugby coverage should be as well," he told BBC Radio.

"Yes it's another loss and people can start writing that it's five losses on the trot but we have moved forward in Australia.

"I'm very confident that we can put out a team capable of winning the World Cup.

"We'd have to work very hard to achieve that but with the right plans in place we can win it.

"Remember our performances last autumn when we destroyed Australia and narrowly lost to New Zealand, so we can get this right."

England's forwards can mix it with any pack in the game but behind the scrum the world champions are in disarray.

Robinson is pleased by the emergence of several inexperience faces Down Under over the last two weeks but admits the backline needs urgent reconstruction work.

"Test rugby is a step up in class and the young players have done pretty well," he said.

"Peter Richards had a couple of starts and we're pleased with him. Mathew Tait did well, as did Tom Varndell.

"And again we have shown the depth we have up front – players like Ben Kay, Chris Jones and George Chuter did very well.

"We're developing outstanding international forwards and we just have to look at developing world class players in our backs.

"We must look at our game management and execution because we're all disappointed at the result.

"We must improve the skill levels of the players – their passing and running lines.

"We need to be more adventurous and keep the ball in hand. We have to make the correct decisions under pressure.

"The intensity of an international game is pretty full-on and the Australian defence was pretty physical.

"But there were enough spaces for us to attack."

Robinson has also called for English rugby's new elite director to be "given a free hand" when he is appointed by Twickenham top brass.

England's 2003 World Cup mastermind Sir Clive Woodward, former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones and ex-Springboks chief Nick Mallett are reportedly among front-runners to fill the newly-created post – complete with a sizeable six-figure salary.

Robinson, whose players are reeling from a 22-year Test match low of five successive defeats, believes the role is critical towards planning potential future success.

The new man could be in place by late next month, with Robinson offering a clear outline of what must happen as England headed home from Australia today in poor shape for next year's World Cup defence.

"England is producing lots of good international rugby players. We've brought them on tour, and we have left a number behind, but we are not giving these guys a chance to become world-class," he said.

"The system we have in England is not affording them the opportunity to become world-class players because of the patchwork fixture list we have – and we are all over the place there – and we also need to be working harder on our skills.

"When I first got involved, I thought it was going to change, but it hasn't changed. There does need to be a real shake-up of how we produce players and how we have our system for the development of English rugby for the long-term.

"It is about the overall vision, and that is where the elite rugby director has got to come in and give us that. He must be given a free hand to develop a vision where we have a proper structure for developing players.

"Look at at the Super 14 competition [in the southern hemisphere] and the time the players have to develop their skills and their fitness."

Robinson rested numerous leading players for the two-Test Australia trip, including star names like Charlie Hodgson, Mark Cueto, Josh Lewsey, Steve Thompson, Danny Grewcock and Martin Corry, and England predictably suffered respective 34-3 and 43-18 defeats in Sydney and Melbourne, but he maintains he had no choice.

"It is wrong that I don't bring someone like Charlie Hodgson on a tour like this one, but it is right for Charlie and it is right for England to be successful.

"Because of the system we have at the moment, I have got to give those players every opportunity to become better players and have the time.

"I have cut my nose off to spite my face on this trip. It would have been very easy to have said 'sod it' we are bringing those players, but I don't think it was right for them because of the season they've had and what is ahead of them in the next couple of years."

Even while England were on tour, arguments between the Rugby Football Union and Premier Rugby, who oversee the 12 Guinness Premiership clubs, continued to rage.

And it is against such a backdrop that Robinson must try to develop a squad capable of challenging the world's best in France next year.

"We've got to have a vision for our elite, professional game that is not negotiating with the clubs, but it is working with the clubs," he said.

"It should not be the Rugby Football Union or Premier Rugby, it should be one game going forward where everyone has their noses pointing in the same direction and we are not fighting each other.

"I have been saying that for two years."