Sam Warburton makes bold prediction about England at the next World Cup

This bold prediction comes 24 years after England's historic triumph in Sydney, where they clinched the 2003 title with a nail-biting extra-time win over the Wallabies.

England, who were runners-up in both 2007 and 2019, faced heartbreak in the semifinals of the latest World Cup last October. They were narrowly defeated by defending champions South Africa, succumbing to a last-minute penalty from Handre Pollard in Paris.

“England will 100 percent be up there among the favourites for the next World Cup, without a doubt,” reckoned the Canterbury ambassador.

“Watching their games in both tests against New Zealand, they just had some tough calls from the referee so they are only an interpretation away from two very good results.

“The players they have got: In international rugby, you need big, skillful athletes and they have got so many skillful, aggressive athletes.

“[George] Martin has been a revelation.

“He had always shown promise in the earlier stages of his career but since the World Cup, he has been world class in that second row with Maro Itoje.

“With [Chandler] Cunningham-South, I always wanted him to start in the Six Nations and he has now been starting. England have got a serious team to challenge in the World Cup. They will be a lot better next year and they will be competing for the Six Nations.”

Writing in his Times column, Wales' Rugby World Cup co-captain Jac Morgan was the sole Welshman in his starting XV.

Warburton also surprised many by including Bath tighthead Archie Griffin on the bench, following the 22-year-old's impressive performances for Wales in Australia this summer.

He also selected Wales hooker Dewi Lake among his replacements.

Despite Wales' nine consecutive Test defeats, the former Lions captain remains confident in their potential to contribute strongly to the Lions next summer.

15. Blair Kinghorn

14. Tommy Freeman

13. Robbie Henshaw

12. Sione Tuipulotu

11. Duhan van der Merwe

10. Marcus Smith

9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Ellis Genge

2. Dan Sheehan

3. Tadhg Furlong

4. George Martin

5. Joe McCarthy

6. Ollie Chessum

7. Jac Morgan

8. Ben Earl. 

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Andrew Porter, Archie Griffin, Maro Itoje, Caelan Doris, Alex Mitchell, Finn Russell, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.