BEST IN WORLD: England coach Stuart Lancaster has labelled the All Blacks as the benchmark in consistency for all sporting teams.

England coach Stuart Lancaster has labelled the All Blacks as the benchmark in consistency for all sporting teams as he prepares his side to play New Zealand five times in the leadup to the next rugby World Cup.

Lancaster has being doing plenty of homework on the All Blacks this winter - he watched them play the Wallabies in Sydney and Wellington and had his assistants watch them play the Springboks in Johannesburg.

He knows that if England are to have any chance of winning the 2015 World Cup on home soil, they have to better the defending champions.

"They are the benchmark, not just for teams in rugby but sporting teams in the world in terms of their consistency," Lancaster said as he began a media blitz ahead of next month's test season in Europe.

"The consistency of performance they've put in has been exceptional."

England play the All Blacks at Twickenham on November 16 then tour New Zealand next year for three tests, and have just confirmed another-end-of-year match in London for 2014.

England upset the All Blacks 38-21 at Twickenham last December, a result that gave them real belief.

Lancaster said his trip Down Under in August had been invaluable.

"I wanted to go out there and see what it was like first-hand and to meet people out there and get a deeper psychology of the teams that we are playing," Lancaster told the Telegraph newspaper.

It was similar when his assistants, Graham Rowntree and Andy Farrell, were in Johannesburg a week ago to witness the All Blacks' epic 38-27 victory over the Boks to secure another Rugby Championship.

"I thought it was an outstanding game of rugby first of all and credit to Nigel Owens for the way he refereed it as well," Lancaster said.

"Sometimes you use the phrase 'a different level' and it was a different level.

"Andy and Graham were out there, and when you go to a game live you see far more and get a feel for the shape of the game. You can look at the back-three positioning, where the space is, lots of things you don't see on TV. You also get a feel for the atmosphere, the environment and the psychology of the teams.

"I went out to Australia and New Zealand at the end of August for the same reasons."

Lancaster told The Independent newspaper that the All Blacks victory at Ellis Park was proof of their standing on a global stage.

"In world sport I would ask whether there is a better team - I am not sure there is. The proof was in South Africa when everything was pointing to New Zealand being beaten but they found a way to win."

He wanted to improve the culture and identity of the England team.

He said playing the best was the best way to improve and that was why he was relishing a punishing schedule.

England play Australia and Argentina at home in November as well as the All Blacks.

Next year's home schedule will involve playing the All Blacks, South Africa, Samoa and Australia at Twickenham.

"To be able to take on these teams in successive weeks is ideal preparation for the World Cup and will tell us a lot about where we are one year out," Lancaster said.