We have the inner belief to dethrone the champions

INSIDE THE ENGLAND CAMP

The biggest game of my life? Yes, but I'm pretty confident I'll have two even bigger ones in the next couple of weeks. However right now the Australians, our quarter-final opponents tomorrow, are in our sights. World champions and the pace-setters of the '90s.

They are a team with no apparent weakness anywhere, oozing quality and experience from No 1 to No 15. A world side would certainly have a fair proportion of their number in it.

The crucial factor that separates a good team from greatness is the ability to put all the elements together to create a whole that is better than the sum of its parts. Along with that, teams create an aura about themselves which often gives them a few points headstart over their opponents. Australia have had this of late, but there are signs that this mystical dominance is being gently eroded.

In the past year, apart from the annual Bledisloe Cup encounter against New Zealand, they have entertained Ireland and Argentina, both of whom have done their bit to shatter the belief that this Aussie side is unbeatable, while Italy should have beaten them in the second of two Tests they played.

Further cracks have appeared in the pool games, including the loss to South Africa. All this sounds like I am rubbishing them but I stress I mean nothing of the sort. They have our ultimate respect; all I am saying is that they no longer do have that tag of invincibility.

So Australia are not what they were. But what makes us believe that we can beat them? We believe this England team is approaching greatness, with an ability to play with the understanding and confidence necessary to emulate Australia. The team is full of tried and tested combinations and has a wholesome blend of youth and experience used to winning ways and crucially expectant of nothing less.

Big talk, and based on what? Dominance in the northern hemisphere? Yes, but I can also point to historic wins over New Zealand and South Africa in recent years. This side is capable of wins against southern hemisphere teams, and I believe we have developed an inner strength and belief which point towards us doing it not just this weekend but in the subsequent fortnight too.

Preparation has gone very well this week. The first couple of meetings were focused on Australia and what they are likely to do, as well as, interestingly, what they allegedly feel about us. Complimentary on the whole, though they do feel we are quite constricted in our ability to play away from the close haven of the forwards.

Armed with this we have gone through our game plan in attack and defence, fine-tuning on the training pitch. Training has been of high quality, done at pace with an extremely low error rate. This is usually a worrying sign for those of a superstitious nature.

The atmosphere in the squad has been very relaxed, despite the ridiculous requirement imposed on ourselves and the other teams to move to Johannesburg for four days after the pool games, before flying to our respective quarter- final locations. This led to some unnecessary upheaval and has meant that we have been unable to acclimatise ourselves fully here in Cape Town. If we win tomorrow then we once again have to return to Johannesburg for four days before returning to Cape Town for the semi-final.

If a semi-final slot were not enough, as an extra incentive the management has organised a trip to Sun City for R and R. A return to its famous Lost City golf course is the alternative to being confined to some Lost City if we are aboard flight SA236 en route to Heathrow on Monday. Where are my golf clubs?