England World Cup Rugby Squad Check In For Military Training

Mark Wilson with Anthony Watson on the high ropes during the camp (Picture: MOD).

England rugby players endured a military survival experience in Cornwall just a day before the final training squad was named for the World Cup in Japan.

Without any way of contacting the outside world, all 31 players had to focus on surviving.

From building a shelter and starting a fire to making a bed from whatever nature provided, they only had their teammates there to support them.

Instructors from the Defence Survive Evade Resist Extract Training Organisation at RAF St Mawgan tested the players’ resilience and teamwork at a secret overnight training camp on the base.

Eddie Jones and his coaching staff watched carefully to see how players reacted and worked together.

At a short ceremony before leaving, George Ford, England player, said the camp was "challenging": “Stuff like this is great for us to take into what we’ve got coming up in the next few weeks.”

Squadron Leader Nikki Lofthouse, RAF Brize Norton, had the idea of inviting the England squad. She said:

“The parallels that can be drawn between elite sport and military skills are many and opportunities like this provide a great mechanism to share best practice.”