England still have work to do

They came on this tour without the impressive half-back combination of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham and the retired trio of Tim Horan, Jason Little and David Wilson.

The South Africans have a new coach who is just starting to try to create a team that can win the 2003 World Cup.

It's a failing in this country that we believe World Cups can be won with big wins three years too early.

Just because England have put together four victories over the southern hemisphere this year does not make us red-hot favourites for the 2003 World Cup.

There is still too much rugby to be played and the immediate concern is the small matter of the match with Wales in Cardiff in February - never an easy proposition as I know too well!

What is clear from England's three autumn matches is that we have a pack of forwards that is as good, if not better, than anyone else in the game.

It is also clear our midfield backs still lack a real cutting edge to regularly hurt the best defences. Will Greenwood scored an excellent solo try on Saturday, but on the whole England's backs have not set the world alight this autumn.

There are important questions to ask about the backs such as:

? Does Mike Tindall have the pace for outside-centre?

? Can Matt Perry, so brave in defence, offer more attacking options from full-back?

? What is Iain Balshaw's best position for England?

? Whatever happened to Josh Lewsey, the Wasps full-back?

Jonny Wilkinson has become a world-class points scorer - punishing teams who are eager to concede three points rather than seven.

His short pass to Greenwood proved that orchestrating the back line in attack is something he can develop.

I thought he opted for a very limited game against Australia and the Argentina match was a bit of a non-event, which is why the variation Wilkinson showed on Saturday was welcome.

His defence has always been awesome and England are lucky to have found another No10 like Rob Andrew, who will shore up his area with solid hits.

It means the rest of the defence can drift with real confidence knowing that any inside switch will run straight into Wilkinson.

But until England's midfield play matches to the world-class standard of their forwards, Wilkinson will have limited options and that is a real worry.

He desperately needs Tindall to offer defence-splitting pace from outside-centre and a full-back coming into the line to draw out the opposition and help create space for others.

Perry hasn't done that for England. Balshaw has tremendous pace, as does Lewsey, and they enjoy the full-back role.

I was delighted to see Dan Luger back in the team, having recovered from a worrying groin injury. He ran with real power and pace, which was great as there had been questions whether he could recapture the speed that saw him make such an impact as a new member of the squad.

He could become a really great player if he keeps developing his all-round skills.

It would be a real waste of a key attacking weapon if England allow him to become just a runner/battering ram because opposition defences will read this very quickly.

With the amount of ball and territorial domination the backs enjoy, it is vital England break the first line of defence more often to reward the enormous amount of work by the forwards.

The fact South Africa targeted our back-row men - Richard Hill and Neil Back suffered awful cuts - was a compliment!

They recognised just how vital the back-row men have become to England and that will not change in the near future.

The combination of Hill, Back and Lawrence Dallaglio will have a major impact on any game. It doesn't matter if one of the trio is not firing on all cylinders, as happened with Dallaglio against Argentina, because the other guys will more than make up for that.

As we head into 2001, my wish for England is that they start to produce regular back-line tries in a Six Nations championship they should dominate.

WILL CARLING captained England a world-record 59 times, winning 72 caps between 1988 and 1997. He played 44 consecutive Tests during a career in which he led England to three Grand Slams and the 1991 World Cup Final. He scored 12 tries in those 72 tests and made an appearance for the Lions in 1993.