Sam Burgess has been training with England at centre and will not be considered for the World Cup squad as a blindside flanker, the position he made his own at Bath in the final months of last season.
England are completing the first of two weeks’ training at altitude in Colorado and after a month in which the emphasis has been on strength and conditioning, the focus will now turn to rugby with full contact sessions planned for the final days in Denver. Burgess, who made his debut for Bath three months into the campaign after switching from rugby league, will be working with the backs.
“I have had a long chat with Sam and I see him as a centre,” said the England head coach, Stuart Lancaster. “You need your six to be effective in the lineout, as the likes of Tom Wood and James Haskell are, and we have to take into account the fact that we have some inexperience at hooker having lost Dylan Hartley. Our lineout needs to be competitive and we will be at full stretch.
“While Bath came to play Sam at six, they used him in the middle of their defensive line and in attack as a receiver for his ball-carrying threat. Without Manu Tuilagi in the midfield to take up the ball, Sam gives us an option but it is a very competitive position and there is no guarantee for any player when it comes to selection for the World Cup 31.
“The real test for him will come in the next week when we will have 15 on 15 when players have no time to think and instinct kicks in. The next two or three weeks will show if he can make it and players who have been around for a long time are not going to sit back and let someone take their position.”
The England squad will have a week off when they return from Denver before returning to camp to prepare for two warm-up matches against France in August. By the time the third is played, against Ireland at Twickenham at the beginning of September, the squad for the World Cup will already have been announced.
“I am not looking at the August matches against France as warm-ups,” said Lancaster. “They will be full blown internationals as far as I am concerned, ones that we will be out to win playing the rugby we want to produce in the World Cup.
“The southern hemisphere nations will be going into the tournament on the back of the Rugby Championship, but it will be the end of a long season for them, and I know how that feels from summer tours, while we will be just starting out.
“I am not sure that anyone will have an advantage, but having the players for such a long time means we can focus on areas that we do not get a chance to before autumn international campaigns and the Six Nations.”
Unlike Wales, who on Friday announced that the prop Rhodri Jones would miss the World Cup because of an arm injury, England have no serious injury problems. The No8 Ben Morgan will resume full-contact training next week, six months after breaking his ankle and selection for Lancaster, who plans to reduce his squad by six or more before the start of the August internationals, will not be resolved quickly.
“A number of players who may have been regarded as being on the fringes, such as Jamie George, Matt Mullan and Jonny May, have impressed in training,” said Lancaster. “It is hard singling anyone out because all the players have been excellent.
“I have been thinking about the team that will start the tournament against Fiji [18 September], when we will field our strongest side, but at the moment it is all about getting the 31 right, which is why the next few weeks will be crucial for all the players.”
