Lawrence Dallaglio treated England's squad to a hefty dose of his winning mentality yesterday by targeting a second successive World Cup final on October 20.

The old warrior announced his imminent return to the Test arena by advising the rest to expect more of the unexpected from the holders in France this autumn.

"I don't consider minimum targets," he said, raising the bar to a level in keeping with world champions.

Dallaglio, who inspired Wasps to an unlikely European Cup triumph over Leicester, will settle for nothing less than another final.

He said: "Big sporting duels are won and lost in the head, and rugby is no different. Before you beat an opponent you have to believe you can beat him. On the day, we can beat any side in the world."

And Dallaglio will flog himself to attain his ambition. He said: "You can't underestimate what it means to wear your country's shirt and represent the dreams of millions of people.

"It's easy to climb a mountain on your own and wave from the top but doing it holding hands, so to speak, as part of a team is a very special feeling. That's the buzz I get out of rugby, that shared success."

Dallaglio, recovering from a minor operation on his left knee, played a limited part in training yesterday as temperatures soared at the training camp in Vilamoura.

He predicts England are "coming nicely to the boil" for what he calls an elimination camp before the squad is cut from 47 to 30 next month.

"There's no point holding back," he said. "I'll be giving it everything as will everyone else. Everyone is in jolly mood now but there will be some pretty unhappy people in a few weeks and I don't want to be one of them.

"I thrive on the underdog tag and springing a surprise, as you saw in the Heineken Cup final. People are questioning England's ability but I'd argue that nobody has seen the real England yet. We have an incredibly strong squad."