England's record in European rugby's blue riband event since lifting the World Cup just over two years ago is poor.

They won five of their next 10 RBS 6 Nations games and last season slipped to an embarrassing fourth place.

England launch this year's campaign against Grand Slam champions Wales on February 4 - and simply cannot afford to get things wrong.

Victory over the Welsh, followed by anticipated successes on the road against Italy and Scotland, would set England up for a possible championship decider when they tackle March 12 opponents France in Paris.

But a first Welsh win at Twickenham since 1988 is the nightmare scenario for head coach Robinson as they look to build on a positive autumn series which produced comfortable wins against Australia and Samoa, either side of a narrow loss to New Zealand.

''The aim was to win all three (autumn) matches, and just with my own competitive edge it was disappointing we didn't win the three because I felt we could have done,'' said Robinson.

''We got ourselves into a good enough position to win the game against New Zealand with the possession we had - and in terms of looking at an area of how we improve, it is that we are more ruthless and are able to finish off sides with better attacking play.

''The main thing for us is we've shown we can compete with anybody, which was important, and we've shown a tremendous spirit and tremendous leadership in the team.''

Discovering an attacking edge in midfield is the major challenge for Robinson and his coaching staff, especially with the world champions boasting a juggernaut pack capable of demolishing most opponents.

It was a major negative aspect of the November games that England failed to consistently convert overwhelming possession and pressure into tries behind the scrum.

There are several potential midfield combinations Robinson could consider - having named the likes of Mike Tindall, Jamie Noon, Stuart Abbott, James Simpson-Daniel and Olly Barkley in his 36-man training squad.

But the boldest move would be to switch Wasps ace Josh Lewsey from full-back to his current club position of centre, handing England's most dangerous attacker far more ball than he would normally obtain as last line of defence.

''I believe we can only get better, and that is the pleasing thing,'' added Robinson.

''We all believe within the squad, within the team and within the management that we are at one level at the moment. But we know we can improve in all areas - defence, attack, scrum, lineout, restarts, game understanding, the whole game.

''Everyone is raring to go in terms of improving that, but we've got it around very solid foundations.

''The forwards have shown they can compete with and dominate most sides in the world, and that is a benchmark for us we've got to be at in every game.

''The challenge for us is to get quick ball and then to play with quick ball. In English rugby, it is something we've got to fully understand - how to get quick ball, to keep the tempo up and play with it.''