When Clive Woodward put his arm around Ben Cohen's shoulders and led him gently out into the sunshine at Pennyhill Park yesterday, most assumed he was simply reminding his young winger not to get too carried away about his selection for England's psychologically vital Test against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday.
Woodward, unfortunately, had other, far sadder news to impart - the death of the Northampton wing's father.
There was already an air of post-traumatic shock hanging over England's team base even before Cohen's family loss was made public.
If dropping Austin Healey hardly rates as a life and death issue in the great scheme of things, the England team sheet certainly came as a nasty surprise to Healey and, to be fair, just about everyone else.
As England's chief mischief-maker, on and off the field, Healey has become such a core figure under Woodward that his buzzing presence and ability to pop up in all kinds of unlikely places seemed certain to be utilised from the start against Australia, who do not lower their defensive drawbridge to anyone these days unless they possess at least some unconventional ammunition.
Instead, Woodward's first England team since the win over South Africa in the second Test in Bloemfontein is packed full of muscle, the power of the Australian backs having rekindled in the manager's mind the memory of Jonah Lomu's damaging runs in last year's World Cup defeat to New Zealand.
Maybe it was David Tua's discomfort against Lennox Lewis last week which reactivated Woodward's concern about England's power ratio against bigger southern hemisphere opponents; at any rate, the 6ft 3in, 15st Cohen is on the right wing and the 5ft 10in, 14st Healey starts on the bench.
Woodward even suggested Healey had taken the news well; the Leicester man was not so sure. "How do you think I took it?" he grimaced, having learned of his demotion just two minutes before the squad was informed privately on Monday. "I was surprised and a bit gutted, not that I'm arrogant enough to expect to play every game."
Healey's regular duties at outhalf for the Tigers, it would appear, have not helped his cause and his supporters will note that not only are Cohen and Dan Luger both natural left-wings but that Woodward's ringing endorsement of Cohen's form was based partly on last weekend's hat-trick against the might of Birmingham/Solihull.
Phil Vickery has also won a narrow vote over Saracens' Julian White at tight-head with Jason Leonard set to equal Rory Underwood's English record by earning his 85th cap.
England (v Australia at Twickenham on Saturday): M Perry (Bath); D Luger (Saracens), M Tindall (Bath), M Catt (Bath), B Cohen (Northampton); J Wilkinson (Newcastle), K Bracken (Saracens); J Leonard (Harlequins), P Greening (Wasps), P Vickery (Gloucester), M Johnson (Leicester, capt), D Grewcock (Saracens), R Hill (Saracens), N Back (Leicester), L Dallaglio (Wasps). Replacements: M Regan (Bath), D Flatman (Saracens), S Borthwick (Bath), M Corry (Leicester), M Dawson (Northampton), A Healey (Leicester), I Balshaw (Bath).
