Wednesday, June 21 2006 14:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Former Springbok skipper Andre Vos is convinced England will mount a ferocious defence of their World Cup crown in what he expects to be a wide open tournament in France next year.

Since their win in Australia in 2003, England have been singularly unimpressive and their poor recent form continued with back-to-back Test defeats in Australia earlier this month.

But Vos, who has played for English club side Harlequins since retiring from international rugby in 2002, said there was simply too much talent in the Premiership for England not to regroup.

"After winning the World Cup, England lost that hard core of players that included Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Richard Hill," he told sources.

"When you lose the backbone of a top side like that, it's not particularly surprising that England are battling a bit," he said.

"But they can rebuild with some confidence. If you look at the standard of rugby being played in the Premiership, it's very impressive and it's indicative of the talent England can call upon," he said.

As things stand, Vos regards New Zealand and South Africa as the sides best-equipped to triumph in France, despite criticism of their most recent displays. New Zealand, so impressive on their end of year European tour last year, were given a fright by Ireland in both Tests while South Africa looked clumsy in their 29-15 win over Scotland in Port Elizabeth last weekend.

"Ireland is a quality side and nobody should have been shocked that they performed so well in New Zealand," said Vos.

"And as for Scotland, they beat both England and France in the Six Nations so it was a decent Test series win for the Springboks," he said.

The Springboks were occasionally booed on Saturday as they laboured to beat the Scots, committing a glut of handling errors and failing to provide their backline with decent ball. Vos though insists that the errors will fall away as the season progresses.

"Once the really big games start, like the Tri-Nations, youll see a very different, more polished Bok side," predicted Vos, who is a big fan of South Africa's current coach, Jake White.

"It's encouraging and exciting to see what Jake is doing with the team," he said.

"For so long most of the South African rugby public have simply asked for consistency and Jake has responded to that by building a settled unit. Most importantly he's getting the mix right between youth and experience" he said.

"Usually South Africa enters a major tournament with lot of new guys playing only their second or third Test. But now there is a core of hardened players such as Victor (Matfield) and Percy (Montgomery) whose input is huge alongside some exciting youngsters such as Bryan Habana," he said.

Vos also believes White has got the balance in the side right.

"There is loads of imagination and individual flair in South African rugby but you can't express those qualities if you don't hang on to the ball," he argued.

"Our control in contact is not what it should be. New Zealand and particularly Australia are very good in holding on to the ball," he said.

"That's why it's wrong to rule out Australia as well simply because they dont have a huge scrum. They've shown consistently that a massive front row is not the be all and end all of international rugby," he said.

"For them first phase possession is not that vital because for them it's not unusual to recycle that ball through nine or 10 phases," he said.

On New Zealand, Vos added, "Everybody likes to say that the All Blacks peak at the wrong time. But sooner or later, with a team of that exceptional class, they have to come good.

"I suppose the truly exciting thing about the World Cup is that so many teams can make something special happen so it's virtually impossible to say who will win it," he said. "In such a situation a team with flair and courage can do some real damage. That's why France, playing at home, is just so incredibly dangerous," he said.

"If you look at the rugby they served up at the end of last year and by their clubs during the Heineken Cup, you have to say that the French are in with a big chance," he said.