ENGLAND enter the final furlong of their World Cup preparations tonight not expecting to have to reach for the whip. Assuming the Premiership All-Stars are permitted to take the field under the terms of the Trade Descriptions Act, the fun will revolve around guessing which of Martin Johnson's squad will emerge fastest from the stalls once the real race starts. Had Will Carling, Frank Bunce, Zinzan Brooke, Francois Pienaar et al been fit, we might yet be applauding the Rugby Football Union's ability to dress up necessary match practice as a must-see floodlit extravaganza. In fact, heavy rain is forecast and the most joyous faces are likely to belong to Johnson and his team-mates if and when they return to the dressing-rooms unscathed.

Richard Cockerill, Jonny Wilkinson and Phil de Glanville will, all the same, be among those striving mightily to impress. It is fair to assume the starting XV against Italy will, injury permitting, form the basis of the side picked to face New Zealand; for all the talk of squad solidarity, kicking off any tournament on the bench is no one's idea of a dream job.

Including the A match against the United States, England's limberingup exercises have to date yielded 263 points in four games with a mere 39 conceded. So far, they have confirmed little except the belief Clive Woodward's charges will be among the fittest and most closeknit squads in the World Cup.

Generally if you want to know how good England really are, ask a New Zealander. Brooke, for so long an All Black fixture, has a sneaking suspicion that England will not be overcome easily. "I think the forward pack England have got is actually on a par with New Zealand," reveals Brooke, who has been coaching the All-Stars. "I look at Lawrence Dallaglio and England's loose forward trio and I think it's one of the best. There's a certain confidence within the England side and the elements have got to be a factor. I think it'll be one of the closest World Cups we've seen."

France are now sweating over the fitness of Marc Dal Maso after the second-choice hooker injured his knee in training. Maso (30) twisted his knee and damaged ligaments and will undergo tests during the weekend to decide if he is fit to play in the World Cup. Marc De Rougemont is standing by to take his place in the squad.