Andy Robinson believes he has players "able to take on the world’s best" despite England’s continued slump at Test level.
England have 14 Tests left before kicking off their World Cup defence next year, with South Africa (four times), France (three times) and New Zealand all included on the agenda.
They have to somehow bounce back from successive defeats against Scotland, France, Ireland and Australia (twice), although Robinson should have several rested front-line players available for the November 5 All Blacks clash at Twickenham.
But they headed home from Melbourne on Monday on the back of a 43-18 second Test drubbing by Australia, which underlined how far England have to go to recapture the glory of World Cup 2003.
"It was a wake-up call for us," said Robinson, reflecting on the six-try Telstra Dome thumping.
"We need to look at our execution – our skill levels under pressure broke down again.
"We gave (wing) Tom Varndell no space to play in, and I felt sorry for him. We allowed Lote Tuqiri to bash him around, which was harsh on Tom.
"Our execution is a key area for us to really look at – passing, running angles, hard lines, being able to offload and support – because if you look at the possession, we dominated again.
"We have very good forwards, but we are looking to develop some quality in our back line.
"There are players here, when put with the players back home, I think there is a side that will be able to take on the world’s best."
