Clive Woodward has promoted three of the fastest young guns in the west into his senior squad to face the All Blacks tomorrow week.
It is only a fortnight since Gloucester's James Simpson-Daniel, Marcel Garvey and James Forrester were named in the first intake of the Rugby Football Union's national academy, but the talented Gloucester trio have now won instant elevation to the 30-strong group from which England's head coach will select his starting XVs for this month's Tests against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
There is speculation that all three tyros will feature in the match-day squad of 22 to be announced on Monday, and the extravagantly gifted Simpson-Daniel, 20, who has already embarrassed Jonah Lomu at Twickenham when England hosted the Barbarians in May, certainly appears to be making a well timed dash for a starting place on the wing.
If a seat on the bench seems a more realistic goal for his fellow wing Garvey, only 19, and Forrester, a relative senior citizen at 21, the mere fact that they are in contention to tackle the All Blacks underlines their impact this season. Garvey, who has the powerful, squat build of a sprinter, has played only 12 club games but has scored six tries in as many starts this autumn, including a spectacular hat-trick against Bristol. Forrester, a back-row forward who played junior rugby for Bicester, is a longer-limbed athlete with blinding pace and heaven-sent hands.
Amid all this glittering potential, however, Woodward has kept faith in his most formidable leader Martin Johnson, inked in as captain against the country he represented at colts level in his distant youth.
More unusually the management has also named Phil Vickery and Jonny Wilkinson as official vice-captains, an intriguing move given that their fellow squad members Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson have all captained England in the recent past.
Short of scrawling it in block capitals on the dressing-room wall, Woodward could not have made it clearer that he is concerned solely about England's future, and the dreaded axe has already fallen on poor Kyran Bracken, the only one of the seven names omitted from last month's initial autumn squad who is absent for reasons other than injury or suspension.
Bracken, capped 41 times, did not have his cause helped when Saracens' head coach Wayne Shelford dropped him to the bench last month, and England's No9 shirt has become a straight tug-of-war between Dawson and Gloucester's Andy Gomarsall.
Five players - Charlie Hodgson, Joe Worsley, Dan Luger, Iain Balshaw and Alex Sanderson - were not considered because of injury and the Bristol prop Julian White is suspended, although he will continue to train with the squad.
For the 30 remaining players, including another academy student in Bristol's Phil Christophers, there is no such limit to their ambitions if they emerge unscathed from this weekend's Zurich Premiership matches.
"This autumn provides a great opportunity for us to measure ourselves against the best in the world," stressed Woodward. "The rugby will be fierce and competitive but I know our players will relish the challenge."
England squad: Backs: Robinson (Sale), Stimpson (Leicester), Christophers (Bristol), Cohen (Northampton), Garvey (Gloucester), Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), Johnston (Saracens), Tindall (Bath), Catt (Bath), Greenwood (Bath), Healey (Leicester), Wilkinson (Newcastle), Dawson (Northampton), Gomarsall (Gloucester). Forwards: Leonard (Harlequins), Rowntree (Leicester), Vickery (Gloucester), Woodman (Gloucester), Regan (Leeds), Thompson (Northampton), West (Leicester), Grewcock (Bath), Johnson (Leicester, capt), Kay (Leicester), Shaw (Wasps), Back (Leicester), Forrester (Gloucester), Hill (Saracens), Moody (Leicester), Dallaglio (Wasps).
