Desperate Dan eyes spot

The uncapped Bristol No 8 is continuing his recovery from a serious knee injury that dashed hopes of an England debut during the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Head coach Brian Ashton said: "Dan has made a remarkable recovery to get where he is, but he is still just running in straight lines. We will just have to wait and see."

Ward-Smith is among several players who have not embarked on full-team training in sweltering temperatures on the Portuguese coast, being joined by the likes of Josh Lewsey (Achilles tendon), Lawrence Dallaglio (knee), Paul Sackey (knee), Shane Geraghty (hamstring), Lewis Moody (Achilles tendon) and Jason Robinson (knee).

Ashton, meanwhile, is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to emulate 2003 World Cup-winning supremo Sir Clive Woodward.

Royal Marines physical training instructor Dave Sylvester has been seconded to England's support staff for the build-up and seven-week competition during September and October, with Ashton also tapping in to the expertise of forensic psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, who has helped mould Britain's top cyclists into Olympic and World Championship winners.

Recalling three days of training exercises with the Marines in Dorset last week, Ashton said: "To pull players together you need to put them in a very challenging environment where they have to pull together to be successful.

"A lot of it is teamwork and leadership. I wanted them to be in an environment like they will be in the World Cup, which is hostile and uncomfortable. They lived the life of a Royal Marine, effectively, for three days.

"I also wanted to challenge the players against one another, but also individually. At certain times, players were pulled out of their team and given a challenge against another individual from another team.

"The Marines show adaptability under severe pressure. There were physical and mental pressures, and combined tasks of both, so the players had to make big decisions when they were absolutely out on their feet."