Cipriani gets started for 10

will line up alongside Ford at Leicester this term, laughs out loud recalling Cipriani’s screams at the Wasps backline if they were a metre out of position.

“Their communication is slightly different. Danny is a bit more direct on field with where he wants his players,” said Eastmond.

“Danny is demanding but a stand-off should be. George is too. That’s what forwards and backs want from their 10s. It’s good to play outside those sorts of players.”

So far so good at Gloucester, according to Ackermann, who puts a slightly different slant on matters. “He always puts the team first, encouraging the players around him,” he said.

“Other players have been tapping into his mind, how he thinks about the game and his experience. Looking at training, he’s slotted in perfectly.” It is tempting to bracket Cipriani as the Cavalier, which is true, and Ford the Roundhead, which is not. Eastmond knows from their time together at Bath that he has vision too.

“George can do a lot of things. His running game is big and, after the last year or so, he probably wants to bring that back. Hopefully I can assist,” he said. “Cipriani is naturally gifted. His instincts for the game are as good as anybody’s. He is brilliant to play with.

“George is slightly different in that he is more of a controlled player. He’s naturally gifted too but he is trying to build the game slightly differently.”

Five years Cipriani’s junior, Ford has three times as many England caps but he stagnated last season, mired in the swamp of Leicester struggles. His midfield combination with Owen Farrell has been a mainstay of Jones’s England but there are no guarantees.

The World Cup is 12 months away. There is all to play for.