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Tait the next England full-back?

Mathew Tait: Which number will appear on his back next year?

South Africa technical advisor Eddie Jones believes Mathew Tait has all the attributes to be a natural successor to Jason Robinson as England's full-back.

Newcastle centre Tait came of age during a valiant England performance in the World Cup final against South Africa.

But the former Wallabies coach believes his long-term Test future could be in the number fifteen shirt.

England boss Brian Ashton must try to fill the void left by Robinson's retirement from Test rugby after winning 51 caps and scoring 27 tries.

Jones, whose hopes of World Cup glory in his previous job were partially undone by Robinson's touchdown during the 2003 final, feels 21-year-old Tait might be the answer.

"He is a really good player who has really developed during this World Cup," said Jones.

"He has good footwork and has the potential to develop into a very good centre or a full-back. In fact, he's probably suited to fifteen.

"If I was Rob Andrew (Rugby Football Union elite rugby director) I would get Newcastle to play him at full-back.

"He has got gas, he can make outside breaks and he has a long kick."

Tait, who made his England debut as an 18-year-old against Wales during the 2005 Six Nations, was only denied a dazzling solo try by a stunning tackle from Springboks lock Victor Matfield.

And he also looked comfortable after moving to full-back when Robinson went off nursing a shoulder injury.

Tait's quality individual display though, could not mask his acute sense of disappointment after England missed out on retaining the world title.

"We are devastated. We believed going into the game that we could win, even up until 60 to 65 minutes," said Tait.

"We've had a tough few weeks, but we pulled together. It is disappointment from our point of view that we couldn't finish it off.

"Sport is about winning, and we haven't got the ultimate prize. It is up to me and the younger guys in the future.

"Myself, Toby Flood and the other young guys must now work our backsides off over the next four years to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"Throughout the tournament, South Africa have been the better side. We thought we could do it, but we didn't, so we've got to take it on the chin."

And Jones backed Tait's opinion that South Africa - the tournament's solitary unbeaten team - were ultimately its best combination.

"The final was Test match rugby - a slugathon," added Jones.

"If people don't like that type of rugby, then they don't like Test match rugby.

"I thought we showed that we were the best team in the competition. World Cup finals are knock-em-down, grind-'em-out kind of affairs.

"Everybody thought the scrum was going to be the main factor, but instead it was the line-out. That is the beauty of rugby, you just never know.

"England need to develop a style of pay that plays on the strength of their pack, but one that is also cohesive with their backline.

"They needed to roll the ball forward, keep the ball forward, and they did that with the forwards, but the backs were ten to fifteen metres behind the gain line when they received the ball."