By Matt Majendie

Leonard is concerned England have relied too heavily on their forwards

Former prop Jason Leonard has warned England can no longer rely on their forwards to win the Six Nations.

And Leonard, a veteran of 114 England caps, said all-out attack was the only way to win the Six Nations and go on to defend the World Cup next year.

He told BBC Sport: "The problem for England is they've relied on their pack for too many years.

"But they can't just bludgeon their way to win the Six Nations or the World Cup. They've got to change."

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In the wake of their World Cup win, England have been criticised for a lack of firepower in their back division, most notably at centre.

Their first chance to prove their critics wrong is against Wales on Saturday, a team Leonard believes England can learn from.

England don't have the backs to match Wales - only to cancel them out Jason Leonard

"That game is England's pack power against Wales' flying backs," he said. "That's two different styles of rugby.

"England have a pack that can compete with the best in the world, which is currently New Zealand, but Wales have the attitude of 'you score two tries and we'll go on to score three'.

"These days modern rugby is about that sort of fast-flowing style of play. England need to follow Wales and have the ambition to try that."

A year ago, Wales got their Grand Slam-winning season off to a perfect start with an 11-9 win over England in Cardiff. And the pair meet for their opener again this season, but this time at Twickenham.

"This again is the most important game of the tournament for both teams," said Leonard. "Wales will be under pressure to recreate what they did last year, while England desperately need to get themselves on the right road to the World Cup."

Leonard believes Lewsey may be the answer at centre

Leonard is hopeful rather than confident that England will get their Six Nations campaign off to a winning start.

He added: "The problem is England don't have the backs to match Wales - only to cancel them out."

The biggest problem, according to the former front-rower, is England's much-maligned centre partnership of Mike Tindall and Jamie Noon.

Leonard believes Josh Lewsey and James Simpson-Daniel could be another alternative but warned "whoever gets the job should be given a long run at it ahead of the World Cup".

Looking ahead to both the Six Nations and World Cup, however, he admitted England's forwards reliance could still prove a plus.

"Should England really, really struggle they can always revert to starving teams of ball," he said. "But that should be nothing more than a plan B.