World Cup winner Jason Robinson believes that the current England team will need some help from Lady Luck to win the trophy.
England, 12/1 with bookmaker to triumph in New Zealand, go into the tournament as one of the Northern Hemisphere’s leading hopes, but Robinson thinks that Martin Johnson’s side have a mammoth task ahead of them.
He said: “We know teams can beat New Zealand and we know plenty of other sides can beat each other on their day – that’s the great thing about a World Cup.
“It can all boil down to who is the best team on the day; there can be surprises and the best teams do not always pull through.
“But England will need a few favours along the way if they are to have any chance of bringing the trophy back home.”
England are 10/3 to reach a third consecutive final, with the Northern Hemisphere 7/1 to provide the World Cup winner.