One is a poet, another a dandy, one is diabetic and another loves Beethoven… but together they make the best England rugby side we’ve seen in years. Simon Briggs profiles five of the rising stars.

Rugby union players used to be rigidly divided into two categories: the rugged beasts of burden (forwards), and the floppy-haired creative types (backs). Not Eddie Jones’s England.

When they beat Australia this summer, the decisive score stemmed from a clever little kick by hooker Jamie George – the barrel-chested strongman at the heart of the forward pack. It was a telling moment.