England lock Maro Itoje has insisted that his side have "optimism and belief" that they can perform well in the Rugby World Cup, despite their poor form in the buildup to the tournament.
Steve Borthwick's side have lost five of their last six Test outings, including suffering their first-ever defeat to Fiji in their most recent warm-up match.
As a result, the 2019 World Cup finalists have slumped to eighth in the world rankings - below both Fiji and Pool D rivals Argentina.
England will open their World Cup campaign against Argentina on Saturday night and, despite many making Los Pumas favourites for the encounter, Itoje is confident that his side are on the verge of showing their "huge" potential.
"I genuinely believe that come Argentina on Saturday night, we will take a big step forward. There is a real sense of optimism and belief about what we can do and where we can take it," Itoje told BBC Sport.
© Reuters
"It is important when you go through those tough periods to stick together and get stronger. We are not in a position where we are suffering from poor quality in terms of staff and players.
"We have high quality in both areas, it is just about us allowing us to put it all together. Our potential is huge and I have always thought that. Over the last few games we have not shown what our potential is.
"That has been a great learning curve for us, but if we get this one right then we are on our path and journey with so much to look forward to. Certain games aren't just another game, certain games due to the magnitude of the game are incredibly important.
"We want to be a team that plays good winning rugby and we want to have a dominant set-piece, our decision-makers need to make good decisions and find space and put us in the right area in the field."
Argentina beat England 30-29 at Twickenham last November, although even if they lose on Saturday, Borthwick's side are still expected to make the quarter-finals, with Japan, Chile and Samoa making up Pool D.
The 2003 World Cup winners would likely face either Wales, Australia or Fiji in the quarter-finals, meaning that they cannot meet any of the top-five ranked teams in the world until the semi-finals at the earliest.
Barney Corkhill
