Dooley: It doesn't matter how England win

Wade Dooley believes England have learned from mistakes made in 1991 and can win the World Cup against Australia.

The former lock, who earned 55 England caps between 1985-1993, was part of captain Will Carling’s side that bowed to public pressure and lost the World Cup final to Australia playing expansive rugby, having built their previous success on forward dominance.

Clive Woodward’s team have had to put up with similar criticism as they face the same challenge on Saturday, but Dooley insists style is irrelevant.

He said: “They’re the best team in the world – it just needs to be rubber-stamped. I hope they won’t do what we did.

“We were at home and we wanted to please people and win with style.

“Pleasing people isn’t important and I don’t care if we win the final 3-0.”

Dooley, who is a police officer in Blackpool, sees Mike Tindall’s selection at centre, ahead of Mike Catt, as typical of Woodward’s management methods.

“It’s typical Woodward, but he knows his own mind. Catt came in and everyone was impressed with the way he played.

“I can only think that Tindall is there for the power game and Catt is held in reserve to take some of the responsibility off Jonny Wilkinson later on,” Dooley added.

The 44-year-old also considers the fact that several players may retire after the tournament could prove decisive.

“People like Jason Leonard, Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio, Catt and Martin Johnson may be thinking that this is the last time they’ll pull on the England shirt.

“They’ll want to go out on a high and I’m sure they can do it.”