Lewis Moody expects Sam Burgess to justify his much-talked-about inclusion in England's Rugby World Cup squad.
The decision of head coach Stuart Lancaster to select former rugby league star Burgess among his centres, at the expense of Luther Burrell, has prompted much debate.
Yet Moody - part of England's victorious side at the 2003 World Cup - believes Lancaster is likely to be proved right.
The former flanker told Omnisport: "I think Sam Burgess was a big call because Luther Burrell has been playing some wonderful rugby and to come in late like Sam has and to get the nod... it's tough on Luther but that's what coaches are there for, they are there to make the tough decisions.
"There's no doubt that Sam Burgess is a winner, you can see the way he carries himself around the park, the presence that he has and the ability he has on the pitch he's an out-and-out ball player.
"He's got the ability to offload, he's got the ability to carry hard and the ability to tackle people aggressively and get us on the front foot.
"I think time will tell that he will be a wise decision and a wise inclusion into that squad."
Moody does have concerns over a potential lack of cohesion among England's backs - pointing to the relationship number 10 George Ford enjoys with Kyle Eastmond, another to miss out on World Cup selection, at Bath.
"Probably the hardest thing for Stuart Lancaster is that you've got George Ford at fly-half and he's been asked to play the same way he does at Bath, but without the tools that he has at Bath in Kyle Eastmond," added Moody.
"When Jonny [Wilkinson] was in his pomp, he had two great communicators in Mike Catt and Will Greenwood that flittered between those inside centre roles outside him and I think as a fly-half there can be a lot of onus being put on you but world class fly-halves often have world class players outside them.
"That's what Jonny had and that's what George has outside him as well in Kyle when he's playing at Bath. What's going to be hard for him is that he's not going to have that on an international stage.
"He'll have Burgess; he'll have [Brad] Barritt. Guys who are wonderful ball-carriers but not necessarily great communicators and [Jonathan] Joseph is obviously his partner in crime at outside. So it will be interesting to see where England go with that and what their game of attack is."