Stuart Lancaster lays down the law to his 'cheeky chappy'

Lancaster is a firm believer that rugby players, just like children, need clear boundaries in which to operate, in the knowledge that if they step outside those boundaries they will be punished.

Danny Care and every other aspiring England international now know where those boundaries lie.

Lancaster has set a marker, something his predecessor Martin Johnson was unwilling, or unable, to do.

"I believe that behaviour shapes performance and the environment," Lancaster said upon his appointment three weeks ago. "We want to make sure there are clear ground rules and clear non-negotiables."

Ultimately, Johnson's failure to establish those "non-negotiables" allowed a culture in which players rode rough shod over management.

His decision not to adequately reprimand Mike Tindall following an alcohol-fuelled night out in Queenstown during the early stages of the World Cup, that led to the England vice-captain getting so drunk he was barely able to stand, proved his biggest single mistake.

Johnson famously defended Tindall by saying "rugby player drinks beer shock" after pictures emerged of the recently married star with a mystery blonde in a nightclub where the best alternative entertainment to drinking alcohol lay in the form of a midget throwing competition.

Johnson's failure to act set a precedent for his squad. He trusted them to behave by not imposing a curfew or alcohol cap and handed them rope by which to hang themselves by allowing them the freedom to call the tune.

Hang themselves they did as one sorry episode was followed by another and England's World Cup campaign was derailed by a string of embarrassing off-field misdemeanours that painted a picture of a squad who had no respect for authority.

Lancaster has been sure not to fall into the same trap. His decision to kick Care out of his first Elite Player Squad will have been taken with a heavy heart as he is known to be a huge fan of the highly-talented Harlequin, who he has known since he was a schoolboy at Leeds Academy.

Care, 25, even credits Lancaster with guiding him through his A-Levels.

"I've got an enormous amount of respect for Lanny," Care said upon hearing of Lancaster's appointment. "He's a very hard-working bloke. When I was at Leeds he made sure I got my homework done as well as my rugby. He'd take me out for extra rugby sessions and was fantastic to me."

Lancaster is also on excellent terms with Care's parents and recently described him as a "cheeky chappy".

As the in-form scrum-half in the Aviva Premiership, he would also have had him pencilled onto his team sheet to face Scotland on February 4.

But after allowing Harlequins to internally discipline Care when he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly a week after he was appointed, Lancaster has decided enough is enough.

England's players now know they will be punished if they cross over the line and it will be fascinating to see how Lancaster's theory plays out and how his "pupils" respond.

"We recognise the responsibility to get the team right, get the culture right and get back on the right track," he said on the day of his appointment.

His swift action will go down well with senior RFU figures who grew exasperated by the constant flow of negative PR generated during the World Cup.

When Lancaster convenes his squad at the end of this month for their pre-Six Nations camp, the players will know he is prepared to back up his rhetoric which actions. They will know where the line is drawn.