Andrew Sheridan terrorised the Australian front-row at Twickenham two years ago and England would love a repeat performance from their smiling assassin on Saturday.

Sheridan though, is refusing to bask in past glory as England prepare for a World Cup quarter-final showdown with the Wallabies at Stade Velodrome.

The 28-year-old gained rave reviews following his one-man wrecking job on Wallaby props Al Baxter and Matt Dunning.

It was the defining moment of Sheridan's 17-cap Test career, as he left his calling card with an Australian side he has not played against since.

The 6ft 4in, 19 stone Sale Sharks powerhouse is a giant pillar around which England will look to build a victory platform and extend their world title defence into another week.

But if England do not get it right in the set pieces there appears little hope of them threatening the Wallabies.

Sheridan is likely to oppose Wallabies tighthead Guy Shepherdson, with Dunning at loosehead and Baxter on the bench.

He said: ''I am not looking back on what happened a couple of years ago.

''It's about the here and now, and we will see what happens at the weekend.

''There is no point looking back and patting yourself on the back for what happened two years ago.

''We know we've got to put in a big performance, not just in the set pieces, but all over the park, to win this game.

''Their scrum seems very strong at the moment. From the games I've watched, they put a lot of work in, and I expect a big challenge.''

England have recovered encouragingly from the battering they took against South Africa 18 days ago, and Sheridan believes physically punishing back-to-back victories over Samoa and Tonga will benefit them as the tournament arrives at the business end.

He added: ''After the South Africa game we were disappointed at how badly we played.

''Against Samoa and Tonga there was some improvement and we hope we can take that on against Australia.

''There is an element of being battle-hardened in those games, and they don't come much more physical than the three teams we've played."