WALES can do it again. That is prop Iestyn Thomas' conviction approaching Sunday's World Cup quarter-final against England after the dynamic performance against the All Blacks.

Thomas, the former Ebbw Vale and Pontypool loose-head prop now established with Llanelli, was the lynchpin of the mighty forward effort which at one stage had the World Cup favourites rocking.

"England are very big men and their hooker Steve Thompson is 19st which is big for a hooker," admitted Thomas.

"They are a formidable front row and a big pack in general.

"But we've put a lot of hard work in over the past 18 months, doing a lot of work with fitness and weights, and that is starting to pay dividends.

"We have been due a big game, and it's been in there. We did well in the scrums against the All Blacks, we were disruptive on their ball and secure on our own.

"It has given us a huge lift and we can grow in confidence from that. There is plenty there and we can do it again. We want to improve on every performance.

"We have got to think that England on Sunday is just another game and move on, and look at it is being just another game.

"The atmosphere is tremendous and it's great to be involved with it. If we have the support of the Aussies on Sunday that's great as well because we'll need all the support we can get.

"England against Wales, it's always the old enemy, but the fact that it's a World Cup quarter-final makes it a huge game."

But for all the sudden Welsh optimism, Thomas still has a guarded warning for Wales going into the quarter-final, and contradicts the comments made by England stalwart Neil Back yesterday.

"Nobody ever has a perfect game," he said. "We shouldn't have let so many tries in and we've got to tighten our defence up."