Jones’ Teamof31 mantra pu

Coach is facing selection dilemma with Nowell and Mako Vunipola fit, says Mick Cleary in Kobe

Astrenuous prebreakfast session at their training base on Rokko Island in Kobe has triggered what will be a test of England’s #Teamof31 mantra, as long-term injury concerns, wing Jack Nowell and prop Mako Vunipola, were declared available for selection for the group games against Argentina and France.

Attack coach Scott Wisemantel likens the impending shoot-outs with the two other tier one countries in Pool C as “approaching the foothills of the mountains after two sprint stages in the Tour de France”, with the certainty that England will be tested far more than they were in their maximum bonus-point victories over Tonga and the United States.

To have a full complement of players available (the citing of Piers Francis notwithstanding) is a boon even if there is a flip side. Eddie Jones has always stressed the need for complete harmony in the 31-man squad and had T-shirts made with the bonding slogan on the rear neck space and squad names listed. The head coach now faces an acute selection dilemma ahead of next Saturday’s game against the Pumas in Tokyo, particularly at loosehead prop, where Joe Marler and Ellis “the baby rhinoceros” Genge have performed so well. Genge’s barrelling run at the Kobe Misaki Stadium was one of the highlights of England’s 45-7 win over the US.

“The way the boys are going, Mako is going to find it hard to get back in,” said the straight-talking Wisemantel. “The boys [there] are doing a good job. Mako has got to compete. If we are going to be consistent with the squad of 31 and the mantra of it, you have to fight to get back in. You just don’t walk straight back into the team. You actually have to fight to get back in.

“Healthy competition is good. It puts a test on togetherness, but togetherness is one of our themes and the players acknowledge it, they openly talk about it. It’s a squad of 31. Socially they hang out and then when they’re on the field they compete and they compete hard. That’s what we want, that competition, so that whether they’re in the 23 or not, they’re competing for places, they’re not just passengers.”

The props, in particular, will be familiar with that concept from Lions tours, when the collective is paramount. Mako Vunipola, Marler, Dan Cole and Kyle Sinckler have all been exposed to that ethos. Genge is the rookie making an