England coach Clive Woodward believes he has got his World Cup squad selection "spot on" thanks to delaying his announcement.
Woodward admitted today that he would have picked a different squad had he selected his 30-strong party before the recent warm-up tests.
Speaking with Sky Sports NewsWoodward said: "We did this a bit different this time. If I'm brutally honest, if we'd picked the 30 players six weeks ago there'd be a few differences.
"It has allowed me to get it spot on in terms of picking the right 30 players."
Woodward had words of comfort for Simon Shaw and Graham Rowntree, who were both left out of the squad for the tournament, which starts in October in Australia.
He added: "Simon Shaw and Graham Rowntree were the two toughest calls I've had to make. They've done everything right and sometimes it's hard to explain to a player why they've been left out.
"The only comfort I have for them is that if there was an injury they'd be the first ones on the plane. Those two are the only two I feel bad about."
Woodward is going into the tournament is positive mood and believes England are better placed to succeed than last time out in 1999. "In `99, looking back, I was just nowhere near as experienced as I am now."