Twickenham factor vital to England's hopes says Leonard

Jason Leonard believes the Twickenham factor will be the key to England's hopes of winning the Rugby World Cup.

If England reach the World Cup final on October 31, then Twickenham will have hosted six of their seven games, with the solitary exception being an Etihad Stadium pool clash against minnows Uruguay.

England 2003 World Cup winner Leonard, who is now serving as Rugby Football Union president, believes the home fires could take some extinguishing.

"I think the England team is looking pretty good, particularly with the strength in depth we have now," Leonard said.

"We are in a healthy position with the World Cup just around the corner.

"We have shown that we can take on the best on our day.

"If all goes well, all of our games should be at Twickenham, apart from the one against Uruguay in Manchester, which will be fantastic going on the road.

"The home crowd will be very vocal getting behind the team, and they (England) will be very hard to beat.

"I think it is a big deal playing at Twickenham, and I think England's best performances have been when the crowd is participating as well, and I expect that to be exactly the same in this World Cup."

Leonard has no doubt that a strong World Cup legacy is right at the top of the tournament's agenda.

"The biggest thing about having a World Cup here is what we leave behind," he added.

"It's our legacy, it's the success of a Rugby World Cup, and this will be the biggest and best World Cup so far.

"I think we will see a massive up-swing in participation from boys, girls, young and old, and at all levels.

"The game of rugby is a game of inclusion, not exclusion, and the most important thing is that the future benefits."