KEY POINTS:
LONDON - England must avoid repeating the mistakes they made after winning the 2003 World Cup when rugby in the country degenerated into a mess, Rob Andrew said.
Speaking on the team's return from six weeks in France when they went from no-hopers to finalists, England's director of rugby said it would take time before decisions were taken on issues like whether coach Brian Ashton would get a new contract.
"We want to spend the next few weeks reflecting, reviewing and then making sure we move forward in terms of the planning for the next World Cup," Andrew told a news conference.
"Unfortunately that didn't happen after the last World Cup and for two or three years English rugby got itself into a real mess."
After winning the title in 2003, England's form and confidence fell apart and they went into this year's World Cup as tournament outsiders.
A 36-0 defeat by eventual champions South Africa in the pool stage compounded fears England would make a humiliating early exit.
But that was the catalyst for a dramatic turnaround which led to a quarterfinal win over Australia and a semifinal victory against hosts France.
"We should be very grateful for these two (Ashton and captain Phil Vickery)...and the rest of the squad for digging us out of a hole in the last six months," said Andrew.
"We have to make sure we build on that and move forward."
Ashton, accused by newspaper reports of a lack of preparation leading up to the World Cup, said there was no magic formula to reaching the final but added that even the best planning did not guarantee success.
"I don't think there is a blueprint," Ashton said. "France had a coach in place for eight years and got knocked out in the semis.
"I honestly think it's what you actually do when you get to the tournament that counts, it's the group of players you've got with you that counts.
"You don't live on the back of three years' planning, you just live from one day to the next with all the injuries and other things that happen."
Ashton said one of the keys for England was the attitude of the squad.
"This group has been unbelievably strong. They have had a lot of pride in how they perform as rugby players but even more pride in how they perform as men," said the coach.
"You can talk blueprints for success as long as you like but without those factors I don't think you're going to get any sniff of a World Cup final."
- REUTERS
