The current Six Nations champions have recorded victories over all their main rivals in the past year and travel Down Under at the summit of the Zurich World and International Rugby Board Rankings, although the bookies make New Zealand slight favourites.

The weight of expectation thus weighs heavily on Woodward’s Grand Slam heroes, but the coach insists his team have learnt to thrive on the big-match occasion and declared there will be no hiding place for his players.

“The pressure that is put on England by the media and the public is nothing compared to the pressure the team puts on itself – everyone is very focussed and no-one wants to let the others down,” he said.

“We can cope with the outside pressure. The players have played some massive games over the last year and they’ve dealt with that very well.

“We’re very proud that we’re going into the World Cup top of the IRB and Zurich World rankings and one of the tournament favourites. But those elements come from outside the team. We can’t control them.

“We’re going to Australia to enjoy it – we won’t hide. It’s going to take a good team to beat us if we play as well as we possibly can. We’ve just got to do ourselves justice on the big stage.”

No stone has been left unturned by Woodward and his battery of assistants as they attempt to mould England into potential world champions, with the luxurious surroundings of Pennyhill Park hotel in Bagshot providing the back-drop for their intensive preparations.

The 30-strong squad will be one of the best-prepared teams – in any sport – to have left these shores, and even the sweltering weather of recent months has helped to ensure Johnson and Co will be ready for Down Under.

Wallaby great David Campese stated last week that northern hemisphere teams like England will struggle to adapt to the Australian heat, but Woodward believes his side are well equipped to deal with the temperatures Down Under following a long, hot summer in Bagshot.

“The recent weather has been fantastic for training – ideal for the World Cup. The biggest thing about playing in those temperatures is the physical fitness of the players and we’ve been working hard on that,” said Woodward.

“The weather over here hasn’t seen us acclimatise to what it will be like in Australia but it has helped our preparations. We also played in intense heat when we faced France in Marseille recently, so we know what to expect.

“Training in the heat has helped us but anyway, the games will be at 8pm at night so it probably won’t be such an issue.”

England are currently negotiating the worst of their World Cup training schedule with Woodward revealing that the players will have more time to relax when they eventually arrive in Perth.

“By the time we get to the World Cup we’ll be ready. The whole idea was to have done all the hard work by the time we get out out there. It will just be a case of putting on the finishing touches,” he said.

“We’ll arrive at the tournament very fresh after having some hard sessions here. When we get to Australia we can look at some technical stuff and get over the jet lag with some very light sessions,” added Woodward, who also guided England through the 1999 World Cup.

Once again Woodward stated the need to focus on the first pool game against Georgia on October 12, but he did offer his opinion on the internal conflicts which have hampered South Africa’s build-up to the tournament.

England face the Springboks in Perth on October 18 in a crucial Pool C encounter and Woodward said: “Sometimes things happen to a team which from the outside might seem negative. But internally it can been a massive strength in that it bonds everyone together.

“Handled correctly, any team in South Africa’s situation should draw huge strength from what’s gone on. Once their first game against Uruguay kicks off they will be able to put all that behind them. They will be a real force in the World Cup.”