There is a strong sense of déjà vu here in Portugal. Not just that England’s players have renewed acquaintance with sunshine away from a dank British summer, but in the reminders of the culture that, over time, carried Clive Woodward’s England to World Cup glory four years ago.

Time, of course, is what England do not have with only 65 days before the World Cup begins in France. But at last there is an element of continuity, of team-building, of working outside the norm that England have found such difficulty in doing for the past three years. Last week’s training with the Royal Marines in Dorset recalled the work done in Devon in 1999 and one of the veterans of that experience, Dave Sylvester, has been seconded from the Marines for the World Cup.

He renews acquaintance with such old hands as Jonny Wilkinson and Lawrence Dallaglio, although the latter is one of six players here whose input has been limited by injury. The London Wasps captain has had an arthroscopy to his left knee, as did Jason Robinson last month, and is in rehabilitation.

He has been joined by Josh Lewsey and Lewis Moody (both Achilles tendon), Paul Sackey (knee), Shane Geraghty (hamstring) and Dan Ward-Smith (knee reconstruction), while Robinson, Andrew Sheridan (hamstring) and Charlie Hodgson (cruciate ligament) have been on modified training regimes.

All are expected to be ready for training when England reconvene at Bath University on July 10, although that may be merely an expression of hope for Ward-Smith, the Bristol No 8. In addition, Brian Ashton, the head coach, hopes to see Mike Tindall, the experienced Gloucester centre, in Bath as he recovers from a broken leg.

Ashton has also brought in a forensic psychiatrist, Dr Steve Peters, who has worked so successfully with the British Cycling Federation. This, too, is reminiscent of the outside consultants used by Woodward.

Ashton said yesterday that he had been surprised by some of the players in the 45-strong squad whose leadership ability has shone through over the past ten days. He suggested that this was, in part, because they had not previously been encouraged to operate as leaders, which seems an implicit criticism of the previous coaching regime. “It’s not about calling lineouts and running back moves,” Ashton said. “It’s the ability to decide what to do when things are going wrong and make them go right.”

“You need to pull players together, put them in a hostile and uncomfortable environment where they must work together to be successful, and they have done that.” Some of the exercises designed by the Marines involved sensory deprivation, testing the ability to make decisions in extremes of tiredness before the translation to Portugal and more specific rugby demands.

“This is the first time this group of players has been fit and available and the process of bonding as a group has been accelerated,” Ashton said. In addition, Peters, picked because of British cycling’s consistency in winning medals at global competitions, has challenged the players’ mental approach, collectively and individually, and Ashton hopes he will be available as a consultant at the World Cup.

— Lote Tuqiri, the Australia wing, has been fined more than £8,300 and will miss the two Tri-Nations matches against South Africa and New Zealand this month. Tuqiri failed a breath test after missing a training session last weekend, having been drinking with friends after the Wallabies’ win over New Zealand last Saturday.