Time for England to deliver
England have not exactly marched imperiously to the penultimate knockout stage, with South Africa, Samoa and latterly Wales providing fierce opposition.
But the dream of global supremacy so coveted by Woodward and his players is still alive, and victory over France would take England into just their second World Cup final.
"We have struggled in a few games, but we are here now and the biggest thing for me is picking from a full-strength side. It has given us a real buzz there is a tremendous atmosphere in the camp," he said.
"There are a lot of English people everywhere, and I have no doubt that they will see the real England on Sunday. England are really going to turn up."
England have yet to hit the heights of such memorable performances that accounted for New Zealand and Australia Down Under during the summer, but Woodward's team against France is bolstered by an in-form Mike Catt and a fit-again Richard Hill.
"There has been an upbeat mood for the whole of the World Cup campaign, but when we do play badly and win, we are a very self-critical bunch and we do have long faces for about 24 hours," he added.
"These things happen it is not a perfect world and the time to be ultra-critical is when you are being successful."
Woodward revealed yesterday that among the many messages of support the squad has received, was a fax from 1966 England World Cup winner Jack Charlton.
"We got a lovely fax from Jack Charlton. He made it very clear that it was about winning. It doesn't matter how you get there, you have just got to get there, that's all."
Centre Catt's assertive midfield form, and flanker Hill's proven world-class ability despite missing the last four games, could help England move through the gears to find a higher level of performance that they will need against France.
"Mike Tindall (who has been replaced by Catt) has done absolutely nothing wrong. It was just a tactical change," Woodward said.
"We needed to get a ball player in the midfield. There has been a lot of pressure coming through on the nines and 10s, and we need to get a bit more width to the game. Catt is a genuine second five-eighth, where Will Greenwood and Tindall are genuine centres.
"I think that Catt has strengthened the team for this weekend, and we are at full-strength. I am looking forward to it."
Most of Australia, it appears, both expect and want France to win. They are the only country to have toppled England twice in the last 22 Tests, which is no mean achievement given that recent red rose scalps include Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, a total of six times.
France know how to beat England, yet Woodward has also enjoyed his fair share of success against Les Bleus, recording five victories from eight starts during his six-year coaching reign.
But perhaps most significantly of all, Woodward can at last send out his strongest team into the World Cup arena.
By Woodward's own declaration, "sheer bloodymindedness" has got England through some of the stickier parts in their World Cup campaign.
But tomorrow is the time to deliver, a time to silence the doubters and illustrate exactly why they are ranked as world rugby's top team.
There are no second chances. Get it wrong, and England face the numbing anti-climax of a third and fourth place play-off game against Australia or New Zealand in Sydney next Thursday.
Get it right, and England will be in the 2003 World Cup final and within sight of their Holy Grail.
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