Former Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan has tipped England for World Cup glory next year.

Impressed by England’s Test victory over Australia in Sydney last month, Bath's new performance director believes Martin Johnson’s men will have the best tournament of all the northern hemisphere sides.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "England, of all the sides at the moment, have probably got the best mix of established, experienced players and enthusiastic quality younger players.

"If that continues to evolve over the next 12 months then they will probably be in pretty good shape for the World Cup.

"Johnno knows what he wants and he knows what it takes to create a winning environment. The key is for him to see that what they achieved in that last Test against Australia is just a staging point rather than a finishing line."