The wonder then is how a player with all the qualities required to be a top-class international scrum-half has won only a single cap, and that as a replacement wing during the 2011 World Cup. Injuries have played a big part; Simpson has that unfortunate habit of timing those lay-offs just before squad announcements.

Yet Simpson also strongly believes that no matter what his form or fitness levels, his face simply did not fit during the Stuart Lancaster regime. “A couple of years ago when different coaches were in, I felt like there were clear favourites in the scrum-half spots,” he said. “There were some players getting some caps where I felt slightly frustrated that I was below in the pecking order.” Despite being left out of Jones’s first Six Nations squad, Simpson was encouraged rather than deterred by the new broom wielded by the Australian.

“It seems pretty clear that Eddie picks on form,” Simpson said. “If you are not picked he will tell you the exact reason why. Whereas other coaches in the past have said ‘you need to work on this’ and you come away thinking that’s got no relevance whatsoever. What pointers he can give to you are very position specific and very specific to you. That’s really refreshing. He was talking about my feet placement when I was passing the ball. I was obviously disappointed not to make the Six Nations squad, but I was still impressed.”