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George Ford and Owen Farrell key to England's World Cup bid, Paul Gustard says

Owen Farrell (R) and George Ford hold the Cook Cup after England's series victory over Australia
Image: Owen Farrell (R) and George Ford are key to World Cup bid, says Paul Gustard

Paul Gustard believes George Ford and Owen Farrell can build the attacking menace to steer England to World Cup glory in 2019.

England equalled the record 14 consecutive wins achieved by Sir Clive Woodward's class of 2003 with Saturday's 37-21 victory over Australia at Twickenham.

Eddie Jones' side have pulled off a perfect calendar year of 13 wins in 13  matches - but assistant coach Gustard insists England still have "plenty of room for improvement".

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Eddie Jones is full of praise for his England side after they finished 2016 unbeaten

"There's two sides to the ball always aren't there? The defensive side and the attacking element," said Gustard.

"You can pick a team that's going to be defensively very solid, or you can pick a team that's going to attack, and then work on them defensively.

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Tom Wood and Jonathan Joseph give their reaction following England's win over Australia at Twickenham

"We have identified that to win the World Cup, you need to score a lot of points. You need to score tries.

"That's the way the game's going, the game's favouring attack. And if you've got two playmakers on the field at the same time, in George Ford and Owen Farrell, then you're going to strengthen your case and be able to do that.

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Highlights of England's win over Australia at Twickenham

"We've got a litany of talent in the Premiership, English-qualified players that can do some magical things.

"We need to harness that, give them a framework to attack and a framework to play. And Owen and George have obviously been at the forefront of all those."

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Ben Youngs picks up man of the match after his performance in England's win over Australia

Gustard remains adamant England can still scale new heights in 2017, admitting "all the players speak about is being No 1 in the world".

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03: Dylan Hartley of England (C) celebrate with the trophy after winning the Old Mutual Wealth Series during the Old Mutual Weal
Image: Dylan Hartley of England (C) celebrates after beating Australia

"It will be hard to top 2016 but not impossible," said Gustard. "We've got the players and the talent - and if you've got the players and the talent you've got a good chance.

"We believe in the group that we've got and we think we're improving as a team. But we actually think there's still plenty of room for improvement."

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