Dallaglio, the only man to play in all Englands matches when they lifted the Webb Ellis trophy in 2003, is in head coach Brian Ashtons current 40-man squad.

But the 34-year-old faces stiff competition if he is to realise his dream of defending the trophy in France in September.

Johnson, who succeeded Dallaglio when he was axed as England captain, said: Lawrence has been a fantastic player and a captain of England. If his form dictated that he was the best player then I would play him. If it didnt then I wouldnt.

Lawrence has done what Lawrence has done, but you are always selected on what you are going to do. Im not there watching them train. Maybe Joe Worsley, Lawrence Moody and Tom Rees are playing fantastically well and they are the men.

You have to be good enough to be in the team. But the bottom line is you need to pick guys who are playing the best. Lawrence hasnt played a lot of Test rugby in the last couple of years. At times he has not been great with Wasps and he has admitted that himself. At other times he has come through.

But does having him in the team raise the level of everyone elses play and is that worth it? It is an art not a science. That is the coachs job.

Johnson - whose hardly controversial tip to win the trophy is New Zealand - believes England could go as far as the semi-finals in France, although he recognises that Ashtons team is not nearly as competitive as the one he led back in 2003.

If you had said four years ago this was the state England rugby was going to be in then I would not have believed it, but it is where we are so weve got to get on with it, said Johnson.

It has been so inconsistent. I cant really think of a player who has stayed in the team. They have either been injured or lost form. Martin Corry has been one of the few who has stayed in the team and hes changed position. No-one really knows where England are as a team.

There is no comparison with four years ago. We were a team at our peak, or just past it. We had a deep squad of players. They havent got that now.

But if we can get our best team on the field we have a chance of reaching the semi-finals and once there, who knows?