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England have turned a corner - Lewsey

Former England full-back Josh Lewsey believes England's defeat to South Africa will prevent Martin Johnson's side from getting carried away ahead of next year's World Cup.

England came out of the autumn internationals with two wins and two defeats, including a dominant victory over Australia.

However, Martin Johnson's side were outmuscled by the Springboks at Twickenham, and Lewsey believes it will spur the team on to continue to work hard.

"I think England have finally turned a corner," Lewsey said. "It's been a long time coming. I don't know what happened but towards the end of last season, I think we were playing quite a contrived style and it didn't suit us.

"Through Johnno, the coaches and the players, they seem to be aligned and you get the impression the environment seems to be right. You look at the young guys coming through, which has made a difference, but fundamentally he's got the environment and that is palpable and you see the guys are enjoying what they are doing."

Lewsey believes England have taken a step forward, but knows they have some way to go if they are to emulate the 2003 World Cup triumph in New Zealand next year.

"The last game against South Africa was a bit of a kick up the backside, but I think that will work well for us will continue to work as hard from last summer as they have now, onwards, because they realise they are not quite there yet," he said.

"Against South Africa I think we got outpowered a little bit, but its learning to have that all-round ability; winning tight, closing out games when it's needed, but also playing the wide fancy stuff when it's needed as well. I think it was a massive step forward for the English game."

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