Sir Clive Woodward came out fighting and declared that England will be back to their World Cup-winning form by the end of this year.

Woodward's world champions face a daunting task in the second Test against New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday.

Woodward has dropped four of the players involved when he masterminded World Cup glory Down Under last autumn, as England look to level the series following a 36-3 drubbing in Dunedin four days ago, which was their third defeat in the last four Tests.

Mike Catt, Matt Dawson, Steve Thompson and Danny Grewcock have all been axed, together with young prospects James Simpson-Daniel and Chris Jones.

Into the line-up come wing Tom Voyce, centre Stuart Abbott, scrum-half Andy Gomarsall, hooker Mark Regan, lock Steve Borthwick and flanker Joe Worsley.

Woodward's major act of surgery means that there are just six survivors from the World Cup final starting XV - Josh Lewsey, Ben Cohen, Mike Tindall, Trevor Woodman, Richard Hill and Lawrence Dallaglio - on duty.

It will be Wasps try machine Voyce's first England start, coming three years after his solitary Test match appearance as a substitute against the USA.

Abbott, meanwhile, ousts Catt, with Gomarsall preferred to Dawson, 32-year-old Regan replacing Thompson, Borthwick taking over from his Bath teammate Grewcock and Worsley selected instead of Jones.

There are six members of Wasps' Heineken Cup and Zurich Premiership-winning team in action as England aim to inflict a first Auckland defeat on the All Blacks by any team since 1994.

A combination of injuries, form loss and retirements from international rugby - notably Martin Johnson, Neil Back and Jason Leonard in the latter bracket - have hit England hard since their World Cup triumph in Sydney.

But head coach Woodward believes that autumn appointments with Australia, South Africa and Canada later this year will see England firing on all cylinders once more.

''I am very proud of the fact that England arrived at the World Cup as favourites and very well prepared,'' he said.

''Since November, it's been different circumstances and different priorities, which we fully accept.

''Coaching England isn't like coaching the other top national teams because of the advantages they have in terms of player contracts and everything else, so you just have to accept that.

''We had massive support from everyone in the build-up to the World Cup, that's why England won it.

''You have to accept that we are at the end of a season now, and it's a case of picking players really on form - which maybe I didn't quite get right last weekend - as opposed to trying to keep the team looking pretty healthy, based on our World Cup team.

''Clearly, one or two of those players are not at their best, and you can't be that for 12 months of the year.

''But from my point of view, I am as confident as ever that England has a great group of players.''

He added: "You've got to be level-headed about what we've achieved this year, and also what we are going through at the moment.

''There has been a massive amount of change in a very short period of time, and we've got to manage it through clearly,'' he added. ''The support I got, and the team got preparing for the World Cup was just fantastic from all the clubs and everyone at the Rugby Football Union. There wasn't a single person who didn't support our efforts to try and win it.

''So when you come back and you've won it, I think it was right for me to step back and say 'Right, the players have to go back and play for their clubs'. It was definitely the right thing to do, that's why coaching England is a little bit different from coaching other teams.

''When we list our top 30 or 35 players, even without the retirements, all back fully fit, I've got no doubt that England will be back to their World Cup form in November.

''When you see the players who aren't here, the likes of Wilkinson, Moody, Vickery, Kay, Greenwood, and Thompson back to his best, you don't get quite as stressed as maybe some other people are.

''You know we will come back when the time is right, hopefully this weekend, because we've got the players - no doubt about that.

''The World Cup was on a level playing field - everyone arrived absolutely at their best - and England won.

''The fall-out since has been a little bit more dramatic than I thought it was going to be, but it is not something I am going to really lose too much sleep over - a little bit, but not too much.''

England's lineout, not helped by Thompson's wayward throwing, badly malfunctioned in Dunedin, while Dawson has lost his spark, having played just one game in two months. Thompson, Catt and Jones have even failed even to win places on the bench.