Wing Mark Cueto believes England must put their post-World Cup blues behind them next month and prove they are capable of defending the crown in 2007. The form of the Sale speedster was one of the few bright spots last season as England lost four of their eight Tests.
"Everyone talked about last season as a redevelopment year," he told BBC Sport.
"But 12 months and eight games on, that shouldn't be the case anymore. That can't be relevant. Our squad is awesome with a lot of different faces now."
 |  Last season was a great season for me |
Cueto's eight tries in his first eight internationals earned him a belated call-up to the Lions tour of New Zealand, where he picked up a Test cap in the third and final Test of the series whitewash. The 25-year-old gets a chance for revenge against the All Blacks, who arrive in Britain on Friday, on 19 November, either side of appointments with Australia (12 Nov) and Samoa (26 Nov).
"New Zealand will be the main focus after what happened with the Lions," Cueto added.
"That, and the fact they're probably number one in world rugby right now.
"Last season was a great season for me, I really enjoyed it, and it would be brilliant to be involved with England again."
Cueto is one player coach Andy Robinson can count on as he seeks to revive England's fortunes from a world ranking of sixth.
| MARK CUETO FACTFILE Born: 26 Dec 1979 Club: Sale Position: Wing Test caps: 8 Test points: 40 - 8 tries Hobbies: Golf and pool |
Cueto's club form this week saw him named the Guinness Premiership player of the month, with his club Sale riding high so far this season. The Sharks are top of the Premiership having defeated champions Wasps and beat European stalwarts Munster in their opening Heineken Cup fixture.
Sale had a similar run at the start of last season before losing form when some of their key players were on international duty.
But Cueto is confident that will not be a problem when he, Charlie Hodgson and the rest are away during November.
"The last two or three seasons we've been there or thereabouts," he added, "but we couldn't quite compete over the course of a season.
"We wanted a bit more this year and we now have the strength in depth that perhaps we were missing in past seasons.
"Last year we had 20-22 good players but, when we had injuries or guys away on international duty, that resulted in some poor performances.
"We've not only improved the numbers of the squad but the quality as well, and now there's never been so much competition for places at Sale.
MMIX
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