England

Colours: White
Honours: World Champions (2003), Six Nations Grand Slam (2003), Five Nations Grand Slam (1913, 1914, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1928, 1957, 1980, 1991, 1992 & 1995), World Cup runners-up (1991).

Coach: After a poor 2006 England ended the year by appointing former Bath man Brian Ashton as head coach. Ashton had already been with England as attack coach so was the sensible choice to fill the void at the top. All that remains to be seen now is if he can change England's recent poor form.

Captain: A new coach and a new captain in 2007 as England appoint Wasps prop Phil Vickery to lead the side towards the World Cup. Vickery inspired England from the bench as they beat South Africa at the end of last year and will lead his team into battle from the front. There is no doubt that he will put his body on the line for his team mates as he looks to be at the helm as England embark on a big year.

Player to watch: Brian Ashton has picked a squad full of youth and experience, and it will be interesting to see how they cope. The old heads of Mike Catt and Phil Vickery will need to be at their best to help the likes of Shane Geragthy and Toby Flood settle into the squad. Then their is the most talked about man in English rugby - Andy Farrell. The former rugby league legend has had a hard time of it since the RFU signed him but Ashton has shown faith in him, can he hit the heights England need him to?

Profile: Traditional under-achievers on the international scene despite vast playing resources, England underwent something of a revolution in the late 1980s and were the northern hemisphere side to break the south's rugby hegemony after winning the Rugby World Cup in 2003, having moved to No.1 in the world rankings in the course of 2002.

Up until that period, England's glories had been few and far between, with great successes often followed immediately by failure. But the tenure of Geoff Cooke as England manager between 1988 and 1994 saw a period of sustained success for England, with structures put in place to enable the national team to finally fight its weight on the world stage.

Not that it has been plain-sailing all the way in recent years with the fabled Grand Slam slipping through England's fingers during the Five/Six Nations championships in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and their Rugby World Cup campaign in 1999 coming off the rails in spectacular style at the quarter-final stage when they were roundly beaten by South Africa in Paris.

Since the 2003 World Cup triumph, many of the players who led England to the pinnacle of the game have retired, including inspirational captain Martin Johnson.

Currently under the guidance of RWC-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward's right-hand man Andy Robinson, England are in a transitional phase, but are still up with the best in the world, and there were signs in November 2005 that they are beginning to prosper again.