We've reached knock-out time in the Rugby World Cup and it's been another tough week selection-wise for Brian Ashton.

He's certainly had some questions to mull over and the result is some big calls in some of the key areas of the England team for the quarter-final with Australia.

I think the biggest bonus is bringing Jason Robinson back and you can be sure he will be a reassuring presence in the back three, especially with his kicking prowess. He will take the attack to Australia and hopefully we'll see plenty of his darting, twinkling feet and sensational side-steps causing havoc.

I was on the touchline when Jason limped off against South Africa and my first impression was that he'd pulled a hamstring.

It's absolutely incredible, in fact a miracle of modern science and the condition Jason is in, that three weeks later he is taking the field again for England.

Once he'd recovered from the injury, I'm sure he would have been the first name on Ashton's team sheet and his presence alone will give everyone involved with the men in white a massive boost.

The other major selections were in the centre, where Andy Farrell would have taken the 12 jersey had he not been injured yesterday, and in the front row, where captain Phil Vickery returns after 20 minutes of rugby against Tonga.

Vicks is back into the front row, and despite all the rubbish written about Australia's perceived weakness up front, he will be expecting a tough 80 minutes.

Brian has reinstated his squad captain and he needs to deliver if England are going to win.

You have to admire Brian for sticking to his guns but it's these kind of 50 - 50 calls that a coach has to make in the lead up to a game of this magnitude. It is tough on the player who misses out and Matt Stevens will feel desperately unlucky.

He has shown some form in the matches in which he's played, but Brian has decided to go with his big game, big temperament player. You can be sure that if England win, he will be called a genius, and the selection labelled a masterstroke.

However, if England revert to their form against South Africa and lose dismally, people will be searching for other words, not for publication here.

The Australians will represent a huge test. They are a world-class team, who always tend to judge the big events well, as they have again this time.

They are hugely competitive, in any sport, and they don't care who they play. You can be sure that whatever has been written and said this week will be irrelevant come the first whistle, and people harking back to the final in 2003 is also nonsense.

More than half the personnel have changed and a game last week, let alone four years ago, will have little bearing on events in Marseille.

The tempo of this World Cup has been sensational up until now - and I expect it to rise even more this weekend. Teams will become desperate to win in the last 20 minutes of games, there is no safety barrier any more, this is what four years of hard work comes down to.

England are underdogs and people don't expect them to win. But that's not to say they can't do it. If they get through, it will be one of the great stories from where they were three weeks ago - rock bottom after the mauling by South Africa.