Jonny Wilkinson believes he is a better player now than he was when he kicked England to World Cup glory. The Toulon player is widely expected to be named in the squad for November 7's clash with Australia - providing he does not suffer another in his catalogue of injuries during Saturday afternoon's game against Bourgoin.
And he insists he has even more going for him than in his former incarnation, which saw him become a national hero.
The then-Newcastle fly-half's last-gasp drop-goal in the 2003 final in Sydney earned his country a 20-17 victory over hosts Australia - and the Webb Ellis trophy.
And he told The Times: "People will ask me: 'Will you ever be like you were in 2003?' The answer is: 'I am way better now'."
"If you could transport the me now straight into the situations of 2001 and 2003, what would I have done? I think the me now would have been handy.
"I am undoubtedly better. There is no way that the 2001 version would have been able to deal with the 2007 World Cup experience. I don't know how I would have dealt with it. I wouldn't have had the intelligence or the experience."
That tournament in France two years ago saw Wilkinson sit out the opening two games following an ankle injury, only to return and establish himself as a key figure in England's surprising progress to the final.
Attention will inevitably focus on Wilkinson's physical fitness after shoulder, knee, arm, kidney, hernia and rib problems also blighted the middle years of his career.
But the 30-year-old believes his improvements mentally are what sets him apart from his younger self.
"I was suited to 2001 or 2003 because I was surrounded by people like Mike Catt, (Kyran) Bracken or (Matt) Dawson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Will Greenwood, Martin Johnson, pillars all around me," he added.
"I was doing things because I was getting a load of help from them. But that person in 2007, or here in France? Not a chance. I am way better now because I understand what is going on.
"Back then it was like a headache trying to work out 100 things at once. It is almost like you are dissecting and composing, all the time. That much mental strain with the pressure of playing at a high level when I was young, without all that help, wouldn't have combined.
"Now I am processing it without too much effort. That is why, if asked if I will ever be back to where I was in 2003, if the exact same situations ever played out I think I would go all right."
Looking ahead to the possibility of walking out at Twickenham against the Wallabies, Wilkinson was careful to take nothing for granted.
Asked if his mind wanders to the team's training camp in Surrey next week, he admitted: "A little bit. That's natural, but something about me just knocks it straight back.
"If it (a call-up) happens, it will be absolutely amazing."
