Dubai: England's preparations for next year's World Cup defence may be in tatters after this week's removal of coach Andy Robinson but Jason Leonard, the sport's most capped forward, believes there is still time for the champions to make their mark in France.
Robinson was forced out of office after losing 13 of his 22 games in charge, culminating with a disastrous reverse against South Africa at Twickenham.
Rob Andrew, the RFU's recently appointed elite director of rugby, has stated that decisions over a replacement will not be rushed, leaving a huge vacuum with the start of the Six Nations just two months away.
But Leonard, in Dubai for the sevens, said: "Having a long and successful run-in to the World Cup does not necessarily mean that you're going to win the final. If England can win their big group games against South Africa and Samoa then they'll be in the quarters, and in a knock-out situation anything is still possible."
Leonard, who played with and under Robinson, admitted he had huge sympathy with the former flanker. "Hand on heart, Andy's a great coach, and the players and the rest of the coaching staff had total confidence in him," he said.
"He must have been doing something right for that to be the case, but maybe he wasn't doing it quickly enough to meet expectations.
"Andy did make mistakes, which he has admitted to, but there were a lot of factors behind all those England losses. "The players did not do well, we have a ton of guys still out injured and the system is not conducive to producing quality internationals. Eight years into professionalism and everyone is still at loggerheads."
Most likely way ahead now is for the current coaches to stay in their jobs. "I can see Rob coming in and taking more of an administrative role, directing the ship ...it's not perfect, but we need to make the best of the situation we're in."
