Lee Mears accepts England have a long road to travel before they can reclaim their lost aura – and says the journey must begin at Twickenham tomorrow, writes Steve Cotton.

England, World Cup winners in 2003 and runners-up just 15 months ago, are still reeling from a disastrous autumn series which saw them suffer heavy defeats in successive matches against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

They have now won just one of their last six Tests – against Pacific Islands at the beginning of November – and have slipped to sixth in the world rankings.

But Bath hooker Mears, who will win his 30th cap this weekend, is confident tomorrow's home Six Nations opener against Italy can provide the ideal launch-pad for an England revival.

"This game is massive. We started off the autumn with a win against Pacific Islands – and all of a sudden it was as though we were world-beaters," said Mears.

"But we came up against the three big sides and got a smack of reality. We know this Six Nations poses different challenges, although they are just as difficult.

"And we think we can prove to everybody that we learned a lot from the autumn and have improved as a result."

Mears recognises, however, that England would be foolish to take things too quickly as they attempt to rebuild their status as one of the world's top teams.

"It's going to be small steps, as we learned in the autumn," he said.

"You don't win one game and you're back on top, it's about progressing slowly and surely. That's pretty much how we are going to take this tournament.

"As Wales spoke about last year, we should have beaten them at Twickenham in the first game but they got the rub of the green and from there they ended up being Grand Slam champions.

"We would like to think we could achieve that, but we're just looking at getting the first win on Saturday."

Italy have historically been the weakest of the Six Nations, winning six and drawing one of their 45 matches since entering the European elite in 2000.

But with their top players moving to the biggest clubs in England and France – three of tomorrow's starting XV will be from Parisian giants Stade Français, for example – Mears says they have become the most abrasive team in the whole competition.

"I've played Italy a few times now and they are probably the most abrasive, hard-to-break-down team out there," he said.

"If you think you are going to be able to go out and play attractive rugby against them, it doesn't happen. They make all the tackles and they play a great form of rugby in terms of closing you down. They are also starting to play a bit themselves now."

As well as helping England rebuild some lost momentum and pride, Mears' targets are also personal during the coming five Test weekends.

Mears has seen the competition for his No 2 shirt increase with the emergence of Northampton's Dylan Hartley and is determined to fend off the impressive 22-year-old's charge. "I don't think I let anyone down during the autumn, and hopefully I can get even better during this tournament," said Mears.

"At international level, it's never a case of someone being an out-and-out number one.

"You've got to have good back-up otherwise you're not a great team.

"It's not just Dylan pushing, there's David Paice, George Chuter and a lot of others who could do a good job.

"I know I've only got the shirt for a limited time and I want to hold onto it for as long as possible by playing well."