The world champions have looked less than convincing since lifting the Webb Ellis trophy and Woodward admits he will not tolerate further sub-standard displays from his players.

"I have talked to certain guys, individually and collectively. They are world class, but I will replace them, regardless of what happened in Australia, if I can bring some one in who will be better than them, he said.

I dont pick a team on reputation. The whole squad has realised that we are one per cent off the pace at the moment, which is not good enough against teams who are desperate to beat us. The players know they must improve to stay in the team.

Englands RBS 6 Nations campaign resumes against Wales at Twickenham in eight days time and victory is essential if Woodward is to prove the 19-13 rout by Ireland was the only wake-up call his side needed.

The pressure on last years Grand Slam winners will be huge - another defeat will not only end their RBS 6 Nation's championship hopes but also raise questions over the squads ability to shake-off their World cup hangover.

But Woodward believes he has the personnel to front-up to the challenge - and in skipper Lawrence Dallaglio the ideal man to steer England away from danger.

Lawrence has a huge role to play over the coming weeks. I chose him as captain because I knew the post World Cup period was going to be a difficult time, he said.

I needed a guy with broad shoulders to lead the team after Australia. Lawrence was the right choice. I didnt want someone new because I realised what a tough time it would be during the Six Nations.

Leading a team is fine when you are winning games, but the true test of a person is how you respond to defeat. The history of this team, of myself and Dallaglio, shows that we always move forward after a defeat.

Woodward refuses to blame the absence of England kingpins Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson for the Ireland defeat, and admitted that his side are finding it tough to re-adjust to life after the World Cup.

I believe we are good enough to accommodate the loss of Martin and Jonny and still win, especially when we play at home. We have gone to tough places like Argentina without them and still won, he said.

But we are not at our best at the moment. None of us knew what was going to happen after the World Cup. It has been tough, although we wont use that as an excuse.

To win in Australia was fantastic, and no one can ever take that away from us. But we do need to draw a line under it. Professional sport is about next game. Trying to move forward is difficult - I have found that myself.

Its caught up with the whole squad, from me downwards, and the Ireland game was the reality check we needed. We have got an incredible record over the last four years, and we must be at 100% to stay at the top.