Ashton (left) and Foden (right) should have played a year earlier says Fitzpatrick

By Matt Slater BBC sports news reporter

Martin Johnson's England are on the up but their revival has come too late to make them real World Cup contenders, says All Blacks great Sean Fitzpatrick.

Home-and-away wins over Australia and a good start to the Six Nations have seen England climb the rankings.

It is a big improvement on recent years but the former New Zealand star thinks it should have started earlier.

"England have really impressed me but the unfortunate thing for them is they may have left it a bit late," he said.

"The Chris Ashtons, Ben Fodens and Ben Youngs of this world should perhaps have been playing a year earlier - they should have been given their chance sooner."

This is an important Six Nations for Martin Johnson. It's his last competition before the World Cup apart from a few warm-up games Sean Fitzpatrick

England lead the Six Nations after two rounds and face France next at Twickenham. Victory on 26 February would provide a massive boost for Johnson's side and cause rugby fans in the southern hemisphere to sit up and take notice.

"The Six Nations is a fantastic event to watch because of all the history and passion that surrounds it," said Fitzpatrick.

"But the quality of rugby hasn't always been that great. What I'd like to see is one team stick its hand up and play some great rugby to lay down a real marker for the World Cup.

"This is an important Six Nations for Martin Johnson. It's his last competition before the World Cup [which starts in New Zealand on 9 September] - apart from a few warm-up games - so these are the games where the players will really develop their combinations."

Despite Fitzpatrick's admiration for the improved performances of England in the last nine months, he still believes the Tri-Nations teams will be the sides to beat later this year, with the All Blacks being strong favourites to win on home soil.

"It's hard to question what the team are doing in terms of preparation," the 47-year-old said.

"They're playing the best rugby of the [coach] Graham Henry era and key players like Richie McCaw and Dan Carter have four more years of experience than they had in France [at the 2007 World Cup].

"McCaw is leading the team superbly and they've got a nice blend of youth and experience. It's very hard to pick faults.

"Of course, we've seen other teams fail to win World Cups when they should have done better and some people are wondering how they will handle the pressure at home. But I think they'll handle it fine.

"In 1987 we loved it. It will be like having a stadium with 4.5m fans in it."

Veteran Fitzpatrick has been helping Georgia ahead of the World Cup

Fitzpatrick, who captained the All Blacks a record 51 times, made his breakthrough in that first Rugby World Cup and is therefore one of a surprisingly select band of New Zealand players to be proclaimed as world champions.

But with the current side looking on course for a long overdue second title, Fitzpatrick has been lending his help to the world's 15th-ranked nation, Georgia.

"I've been watching them over the years and I thought they stood out among the newer rugby nations at the 2007 World Cup," he said.

"I've always been amazed by their size - all 6ft 3in and 120kg - but they don't have much depth because they've only got 5,000 registered players.

"Almost by chance I've got a business contact there who introduced me to their coach Richie Dixon and he asked if I could give them some direction. I said I'd love to and I think they've got a good chance of doing OK at the World Cup."

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