T to test by battle for places

impression, with his speed and ball-carrying power a particular asset off the bench. Jones has riches at his disposal.

This, however, is crunch time in selection. England’s pool is the most challenging in the tournament and, with an end-loaded schedule in terms of difficulty, they will face five successive weekends of high-level intensity were they to get through to the World Cup final.

It is a reasonable assumption that Jones will field his best 15/23 in all those matches, meaning some may see little or no game time between now and the end of the tournament. That is when a mantra is put under the spotlight.

Wisemantel, though, is convinced that this squad are genuinely tight-knit and wholly on-message, revealing that though there was an on-field exchange between Henry Slade and Elliot Daly against Tonga, when the full-back got too flat on to a pass from Slade and botched what ought to have been a straightforward run to the try line, any tension was soon resolved.

“When it’s off the field and there is an issue you’ve got to get it sorted, and get it sorted quickly,” Wisemantel said. “The players know the boundaries. If we’re competing and we’re competing hard and you’re not happy with what I’ve done or I’m not happy with what you’ve done, then we actually sort it out afterwards, like, ‘Mate, don’t do that, what were you thinking?’ It’s real simple. And there has been a bit of that which is good. It creates electricity.

“An example would be from the Tonga game. On the field there was a miscommunication between Sladey and Elliot. Straight afterwards they sorted it. They ripped into each other, ‘I want you here, I need you here.’ We’re talking wants and needs. They sorted it and they sorted it very quickly. I thought it was brilliant.” The availability of Nowell, who has not played since sustaining knee and ankle injuries in the Premiership final on June 1, offers England variety in their options for the rear of the field.

“Jack is a hybrid really,” said Wisemantel. “He’s a winger-cumback-rower, the way he plays. He does add something different.”

The squad have now been given a two-day break as friends and families arrive in Kobe. There are no plans for coaches to be there in person at the Hanazono Stadium in Higashiosaka today to see Argentina take on Tonga.

Instead the management will travel to Tokyo early tomorrow to see two of England’s putative quarter-final opponents, Wales and Australia, meet at the Tokyo Stadium. The players will make that same three-hour bullet train trip later in the day. “We’re all ready to go,” Wisemantel said.