As the bricks and mortar keep piling high at Twickenham with the East Stand in the throes of a multi-million pound makeover, so, too, do the aspirations of England soar.

Dylan Hartley, the captain, is exhorting his men “to make a statement” against Argentina in the first of the Old Mutual Wealth Tests today, and while there was a time when such comments would simply slot into the standard pre-match rhetoric, this is different.

This is the start of the two-year countdown to the World Cup, and Argentina are in England’s pool. This is a team who dare not rest for fear of being dropped. This is a team with a wallchart of objectives for every breath they take, every stride they make.

Hartley wants there to be nothing familiar about the England side who trot down the tunnel today, suitably clad in a change strip of charcoal-grey, a visible sign of the transformation under way.

In years past, the talk would have been of paying Argentina due respect, of not underestimating the underdog and while due deference is paid to those verities, England are intent on setting their own enhanced standards, of going out hard and fast to show that they can genuinely aspire to one day topple New Zealand as the world’s No 1 ranked side.