Woodward - eyeing Six Nations. (Getty Images)

By Andrew Baldock, PA Sport Rugby Union Correspondent, Sydney

England's World Cup winners departed Australia today with a welcome extra passenger - the Webb Ellis Trophy.

Some 54 days after arriving Down Under, Clive Woodward and company left for home aboard flight BA16, mission gloriously accomplished.

But there will be no let-up as far as head coach Woodward is concerned, not with a Six Nations Championship defence and summer tour of Australia and New Zealand on next year's agenda.

"What I was always clear about was that we would go match by match, getting a huge momentum going into this tournament," he said.

"For the next World Cup, the goal has got to be England arriving as favourites to win the competition. If you arrive as favourites, you know your preparation has been good. That's my mindset.

"We run this like a business, we leave no stone unturned, and it's about getting everything right.

"Now that we've won, I just think we have done 100 things 1% better. We go into extraordinary detail, and we've got to keep moving it on.

"We've never copied anyone else. There was a never time that we sat down and said 'that's what the All Blacks do, that's what the Australians do', because I don't know what they do and I don't care what they do," he added.

"The criticism of four years ago was warranted. If you lose in a World Cup quarter-final, as we did, then you expect to cop it.

"I had only been doing the job for two years, and we went to that tournament as sixth or seventh in the world rankings, and that's basically what we came. You just realise that we needed time.

"I believed that we could do it. I believed we arrived as favourites for this tournament, and we won it. We deserved to win it, and it hasn't come through luck."

Woodward has unstinting admiration for his players, some of whom will return to Zurich Premiership action with their clubs next weekend.

"I think these guys are superstars anyway, in my opinion," he said.

"I always felt that the way the game would rocket would be to create superstars, highly-paid, and that's the way you create huge interest in the game. The players have got to take it in their stride, but I know these guys really well.

"It is a great team - we had a saying that it was going from good to great - and they have always been a very good team. I think that they proved it against all adversity in the final.

"It doesn't matter how you win those games, you have just got to win them, and I am very, very pleased for everyone concerned."

Woodward's planning for the Six Nations will shortly commence, as England target a second successive championship title and Grand Slam.

A celebration match has been arranged for five days before Christmas - an England XV against the New Zealand Barbarians in a non-cap encounter - then it's the Six Nations.

Above all though, the next few days are about unbridled celebration as England arrive back in Britain with their golden prize.

Let the party continue.