Chris Robshaw believes England are on course to be genuine World Cup contenders in the autumn despite missing out on the Six Nations crown yet again.
The Harlequins talisman endured a bitter-sweet afternoon at Twickenham as he skippered his nation to an enthralling 55-35 victory over France.
The hosts ran in seven tries in a match of pulsating mayhem, but it left them an agonising six points short of Ireland’s points difference and meant they had to settle for the tournament runners-up spot.
“I think we can,” Robshaw said when asked whether England can win the World Cup. “We are playing very well at home and have built a lot of momentum now.
“A lot of questions were asked about our attack but we are moving in the right direction. You look at the good sides in world rugby and it’s about mixing your game up and playing what’s in front of you and hopefully we’ve taken that step.
“To fall short again is tough to take. We went out and gave it our all. But I think we are improving, although we haven’t picked up the silverware, which is what you’re judged on.”
Robshaw, one of four Quins regulars involved at the weekend – alongside Mike Brown, Joe Marler and Nick Easter – continued: “It [the performance against France] gives us a lot of positives when we look at what’s coming in the summer and where we’re playing – back here at Twickenham.
“We’re starting to build a little bit of momentum here and to score 50-plus points against France, considering they’d only conceded two tries the whole tournament, really showed our intent and the way we want to go about our business.”
The flanker, who now has 37 caps to his name, added: “The crowd I think was the loudest I’ve ever heard it, including when we beat New Zealand.
“The place was rocking and that’s what we want. We want it to be that kind of environment. We are building something together – the team and the fans – and we’ve got to keep on doing that.”
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This post was last modified on 23/03/2015