England's friendly against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday will be no end-of-season frolic in the sun. All bar one of the matchday squad are leaving next week for the serious matter of a three-Test tour to South Africa.
The England side has a familiar feel despite the absence of squad members from the Premiership finalists, Leicester and Harlequins, even if 11 of the starting line-up would have preferred their outing at Twickenham to have taken place on Saturday: their clubs, Northampton and Saracens, were the losing teams in the play-off semi-finals.
The Wasps wing Christian Wade and the forwards Paul Doran-Jones, Tom Johnson and Chris Fearns have an opportunity before South Africa. England's bench is relatively inexperienced and includes the one player in the 22 not going on tour, the London Irish flanker Jamie Gibson.
"We laid down the law at the start of the week and said that Sunday was a big game, one we had to win," said the England forwards coach, Graham Rowntree. "We are treating it as seriously as we would a Six Nations match: we face a strong side and it will be a good test of where we are."
England will be led by the Northampton back-row Phil Dowson, who lost his place in the starting line-up to Ben Morgan for the last three rounds of the Six Nations, and his club captain, Dylan Hartley, returns to action in the front row after serving an eight-week ban for biting the Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris during England's last outing at Twickenham two months ago.
"Phil is a big character around the group," said Rowntree. "He is a selfless person, always giving advice and energy, even when he has not been picked in the team. He is unwaveringly enthusiastic and I am delighted for him."
It will be England's first match since Mike Catt was appointed backs coach in place of Andy Farrell, who opted to remain with Saracens after the Six Nations. Catt's appointment is on a temporary basis but, if he helps spark an attack that spluttered in the Six Nations, the South Africa-born 2003 World Cup winner may save the Rugby Football Union the cost of advertising the position.
"Attack is an area we are focusing on after the Six Nations," said the full-back, Ben Foden. "Everyone knows what Catty brings to the table there and what he achieved at London Irish. The open style of rugby they played under him should suit England and the guys in the wide channels are looking to get as much ball and space as we can, something Mike is very aware of.
"He wants to see us running strike moves and scoring tries from all over the field. We came under criticism for our attack during the Six Nations and Catty should strengthen that area. We cannot afford to get carried away and lose our shape on Sunday: we have to make sure our defensive structure is right and that we are running the correct moves. There has been a focus on Team England, making sure we get things right."
It is the first of three matches for the Barbarians, who include the former England captain, Mike Tindall, in their line-up in what will probably be his final appearance at Twickenham. They face Ireland at Kingsholm on Tuesday evening before taking on Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, the only occasion when their opponents will be awarded caps.
