• Mark Cueto likens spirit and solidarity in England group to a club side
• Sale Sharks wing ready for full training in Dunedin ahead of Argentina

Mark Cueto has likened the tight relationships in the England squad to that of a club side and considers the spirit and solidarity in the group as a key factor as they approach Rugby World Cup 2011.

After lifting a first RBS 6 Nations title for eight years earlier this year, the squad have spent 12 weeks together in a gruelling pre season schedule to prepare for the tournament.

Martin Johnson has also showed consistency in selection over the last 12 months and, according to 52-cap Cueto, that is an important feature in forging the unity which leads to positive results on the pitch.

Speaking exclusively to RFUtv, he said: "It’s important in any team and if you look at club sides, the successful ones are those that have been together for a long time.

"You know what each other are going to do on the field and you’ve got good relationships and understanding of each other off the field.

"For every international team, because you spend so little time together in comparison to your club side, it is difficult to create that atmosphere but I think we’ve certainly got it with England at the minute.

"We’ve had the consistency in terms of selection on the field, the 15 or 22 has been pretty much the same for the past 12 months and you start to see the benefits of that in the results and also off the field."

Cueto to be fit for Argentina after back spasm

Cueto was the only England player to start all three of the pre-world cup warm-up matches but was forced off in the victory over Ireland in Dublin with a back injury.

The 2005 British and Irish Lion admits it was frustrating after missing the end of the domestic season through suspension but says he will be ready to take a full part in training when England move to Dunedin for their opener against Argentina on September 10.

He added: "The injury is settling down really well, often with back spasms or tightness flying is not the ideal thing but a couple of days doing nothing and letting it relax has done it good.

"Game time in important to get your touches and that spark back and in the two games against Wales I felt a lot better in Cardiff than I did at Twickenham so I was looking forward to Ireland and it being a huge Test.

"It was a shame to come off but the right decision in the end. We all know how important it is to get game time ahead of the world cup and I appreciated the opportunity [to start three games]."