WORCESTER Warriors' Richard Blaze admitted his fellow England Under 21 players were relieved after securing fifth spot in the World Championships.

A 32-8 win over Ireland capped a memorable season for England, who have now won nine of their 10 games this season.

Coach Jim Mallinder is convinced his side will form the core of Andy Robinson's squad defending the World Cup in France in just over 12 months' time.

And Mallinder tipped the likes of Worcester's Blaze to make his mark on the international stage this autumn.

The consistently influential lock Blaze said: "In a word we're relieved. We were very disappointed not to make the semis but we reset our goal to make sure we finished fifth and finished the season with nine wins from 10.

"We were determined to put things right after a pretty average performance against Wales. We came as close to our full potential as we have all tournament and it was nice to get back to the sort of form we showed to win the Grand Slam."

In recent years the likes of 2003 World Cup winners Jason Leonard, Matt Dawson, Martin Johnson, Richard Hill, Ben Kay and Josh Lewsey have all progressed through the England junior ranks.

Mallinder said: "When Andy Robinson announces his 50-man World Cup training squad next month, I would say a good handful of these players stand a chance of pushing for a place.

"The Under 21s is a fantastic level to develop as a player and I like what I've seen in France for the last three weeks. Representative rugby is about developing individuals and producing winning teams.

"There is no doubt that this is an incredibly tough tournament but that's when you learn the most about players.

"You see how they cope under pressure, mentally and physically, how they prepare and you learn who the leaders are."

Tries from scrum-half Danny Care, prop Alex Rogers (two) and Gloucester's Anthony Allen pushed England past Ireland, while Ryan Lamb added the extra points with his boot.

England went down to 14 men when Dave Wilson was sent to the sin-bin on 70 minutes but held on thanks to a last-minute try by flanker Michael Hills.

"The boys did everything we asked of them in France," added Mallinder. "I'm convinced this squad will go on and be a very special set of players."

Mallinder's men secured only their second Grand Slam title earlier this year and just missed out to New Zealand on a semi-final place on points difference at the World Championships.