England will head to New Zealand on June 2, where they face a two-Test series against Graham Henrys All Blacks, followed by an eagerly-awaited World Cup final rematch against Australia in Brisbane.

The list of absentees reads like an English rugby whos who, with Jonny Wilkinson, Jason Robinson, Will Greenwood and Phil Vickery among those not travelling, in addition to their retired World Cup colleagues like Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Jason Leonard.

Woodward though, who has not tasted defeat against Tri-Nations opposition since June 2000 - a 12-Test unbeaten sequence - is upbeat and relishing the task.

Everyones mindset is to go to New Zealand and Australia and win. Its a short, sharp three Test matches, and that will be the end of what has been a fantastic season for England, said the head coach.

They (New Zealand) know a lot about us in terms of their coaching team, and we know a lot about them. Its a huge challenge at the end of a great season.

And its a great place to go on tour. You want to go to the toughest places like New Zealand and Australia and play.

I think the best thing we can do is go to New Zealand and Australia and finish our season head-to-head with the best teams in the world, and thats what we will do.

Woodwards optimism is backed up by the probability that his first Test line-up against New Zealand in Dunedin on June 12 will include eight of the World Cup final starting XV, plus experienced international campaigners such as Julian White, Danny Grewcock and Simon Shaw.

His biggest worry though, will be how events unfold in English domestic rugby.

Bath and Wasps provide 15 tourists between them, and they face each other in the English Premiership final at Twickenham on May 29, just six days after Wasps meet European Cup final opponents Toulouse.

Of that sizeable contingent, six are expected to feature in Woodwards Test team, with possibly another five on the bench. If injuries take a toll, then some late juggling of resources will be required.

You cant worry about that, insisted Woodward.

The fixture list is in place and you know what games are coming up, and you just hope for the players sake that everyone gets through fully fit.

Weve got a strong back-up squad in terms of the Churchill Cup squad. It will be great if we can leave in a couple of weeks time with the 30 players selected, and I think we can go down there and win.

All the players selected want to go, but theyve got big games for their clubs and theyve got to prioritise those first and then switch their mindset to England mode when we meet.