Stuart Lancaster predicts that Steve Borthwick's England will be at full throttle when they face Ireland in their Six Nations finale.
Former Red Rose boss Lancaster has no fears over Borthwick replacing Eddie Jones seven weeks out from the start of the championship and nine months before France 2023.
Borthwick left Leicester Tigers, who he guided to the Premiership summit, for the high-pressure national role.
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And Lancaster - England's head coach between 2011 and 2015 - believes he's perfectly suited to the job.
"I'm delighted, because he's an English coach and has come through the system," said the Leinster senior coach.
"It's a bit like myself, I got the interim job at a very similar time. It was December 2011 - a very short run into the Six Nations.
"We made wholesale changes and won four games out of five. So it's more than achievable to do well with the squad he has."
Lancaster believes the Six Nations will be more competitive than ever.
He assessed: "You've got Italy, who have improved massively, Scotland finished well with their win against Argentina (in November).
"Ireland obviously are strong, France are strong, Wales have Warren Gatland back and England have a new coach.
"England have two home games first, Scotland and Italy, then Wales away, France at home and Ireland away. There's lots to happen before that Ireland game on the St Patricks' weekend.
"Everyone will be very aware of each other's form - and of their strategies - by the time the Ireland-England match comes around."
As Saxons coach, Lancaster shadowed Martin Johnson's Test management team at the 2011 World Cup, allowing him to work out how he would manage England if the time came.
Borthwick previously worked under Jones as forwards coach with Japan and then England. That experience will stand to him now.
“Steve will really benefit from his time with England," he stressed. "He knows the environment.
"He knows the players and knows English rugby, and has proven at Leicester Tigers that he can transform a team into one that can win the title.
“His coaching team is strong. I don’t think it’s as worrying as people make out that he's taking it on at this point. He’ll put his best foot forward.”
Lancaster insists it is too simplistic to argue that Borthwick has profited from a forwards-led game plan alone.
But he notes how, when Leinster assessed the Tigers before their Champions Cup clash last season, it was highlighted how hard it was to play against them.
"He'll make England hard to beat," Lancaster said, noting Borthwick's excellent set piece coaching and predicting he will make the Red Rose defensively solid and organised.
"If you get all those bits and pieces right at international level with the players England have, that will make them competitive no matter what.
"But he'll know, and you can see the evolution in Leicester, the attacking game is equally as important. I don't know who will run the attack but that's a key appointment."
Meanwhile, Lancaster claims Leinster can be knocked off their perch - but disputes their dominance has been down to having a bigger playing pool at their disposal than their rivals.
The Blues have dominated the Irish rugby environment for most of the last 15 years, and certainly since Lancaster arrived in the wake of Connacht's shock and historic PRO12 final defeat of Leo Cullen's men in 2016.
Ahead of his last St Stephen's Day derby between Munster and Leinster - he is moving to Racing in the summer - the 53-year-old said that the other provinces can change the narrative.
“I look at the teams the other provinces select and every time I'm thinking that we need to be at our best to win this game," he remarked.
"All three squads have good players in every position. Clearly to be successful you need a combination of strong identity, a good culture, good players, good coaching and habits ingrained from good training.
"If any team gets that right within Ireland then they’re going to be competitive. We’re lucky that we've started the season well but that counts for nothing, really.
"It’s about the end of the season and winning."
As for the argument that Leinster's success stems from having more access to academy-ready players from rugby orientated schools, Lancaster insists there is much more to it.
"There are clubs I've worked with in England with great pools of talent but there's no genuine link between the academy and the senior team," he said.
"You've got nothing in between - so when young players come through they're not ready, or deemed not ready.
"At Leinster we work very hard on the pathway to develop well conditioned players who have good game intelligence - players who physically can deliver.
"When they step into the senior environment they're included from the start, made to feel welcome and involved in training sessions, given quality chances in training to prove that they can develop and get opportunities off the bench, maybe in the URC.
"So Leinster do have a strong catchment area, but that's not the only answer.
"It's a strong catchment area with good coaching and the integration with the senior squad is the key, and that's what I think we do well."
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