THE England squad may be no closer to signing contracts with the English RFU than they were two months ago, but the commitment they showed in yesterday's final training session at Roehampton suggested they have another kind out on Italy.
Today's international at Twickenham against a respected side that wants to come into the Five Nations Championship presents a perfect opportunity for an innovative England team to show that new-age rugby is here to stay.
Philip de Glanville, England's new captain, has advanced all sorts of reasons why the Italian defence will be difficult to break down. Yet the blunt truth is that de Glanville's men, who include five new caps, will be expected to put at least 40 points on Italy and, just as important, to throw off the shackles and perform with wit and style.
Twickenham will be only two thirds full because the Italians, who play a rather unadventurous brand of set-piece rugby, are not perceived to be box office. Even so the crowd of 50,000, having paid up to £27 each for a seat, are certain to demand at least four or five tries from a mostly untried England side that has precious little experience of playing with the ball in hand. It is a tall order.
Last December the Twickenham faithful gave vent to the Christmas spirit, slow hand clapping the England players because they found it difficult to cross Western Samoa's line: it was the surest sign that rugby had lost its innocence.
England seem to have a versatile, well-balanced outfit capable of blowing away the opposition with a flexible running game. The Wasps trio of Lawrence Dallaglio, Chris Sheasby and Andy Gomarsall, at open-side, number eight and scrum-half respectively, have a rare opportunity to shape the character of the game together. The 29-year-old Sheasby's chance has come not a moment too soon.
Inevitably much will depend on Mike Catt's ability to fashion a meaningful role for the players about him, not least the centres, Will Carling and de Glanville, who are adept at punching holes in any midfield. Catt possesses the great virtue of playing very flat, so much so that his markers are tempted to stray offside, but his tendency to task risky individual options can unbalance the chemistry of the whole back division.
Developing the kind of rhythm and pattern that would bring the strike runners, Jon Sleightholme, Ado Adebayo and Tim Stimpson, into dynamic action will be difficult enough should the Italians spoil and disrupt England's ball as they are likely to.
"Italy are coming here to prove they should be part of the International Championship, and they're going to try to make it, difficult for us," de Glanville warned. "We don't underestimate them, that's for sure, especially after the recent European Cup games in Milan and Treviso, which showed they can play if you give them time and space. It's disappointing if the public don't have a full perception of their ability."
Perhaps the greatest hurdle England must overcome is their ingrained reliance on a dominant pack and a consistent goal-kicker to get them out of trouble and keep the scoreboard ticking. Only eight months ago England still relied on Dean Richards to maul the opposition into oblivion.
Naturally de Glanville is confident England can transform their game plan. "You will see a completely different attitude carried through by England from the clubs on to the pitch: we are wholly committed to the way we want to play."
One can be fairly certain England will do the Italian job, but whether the public gets tries or tribulations along the way remains open to doubt.