The word “physicality” has been hiked around a lot in England circles over the past three years, the need to win the collisions that are integral to rugby. England did not do that when they were beaten by Ireland in February, nor against Wales, their opponents at Twickenham on Saturday in the Investec Challenge match, in Cardiff in March.

Hence, therefore, the examination this weekend of a loose-forward trio that, for those of a certain age, is reminiscent of the back row favoured by Jack Rowell when he coached England 13 years ago. Martin Corry, Joe Worsley and Nick Easter form a massive unit in a substantial pack, although Wales have matched that with an equally resounding trio in Alun Wyn Jones, Colin Charvis and Michael Owen.

Nobody would claim that Corry, Worsley and Easter represent the optimum England trio in a way that Richard Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio did before and during the 2003 World Cup. A fit Tom Rees would come into that equation, as the only specialist open-side flanker in the World Cup squad, and it is possible that, by the end of next season, James Haskell will have the place.

Indeed, Saturday’s trio would have seemed unlikely last season as Corry made the transition from No 8 to lock, which is where, according to Brian Ashton, the England head coach, his international future lay. Now he is at blind-side flanker, the position in which he erupted into the 2001 Lions team who played against Australia and which Dean Richards, his former director of rugby at Leicester, believes has always been his best position.

It is possible that Corry and Easter will alternate at attacking and defensive scrums, but the Harlequins player will wear the No 8 shirt and attempt to recreate the ball-carrying expertise he showed on the hard grounds of South Africa in May and June. But the most exciting possibility is the restoration of Worsley to the open-side, the position in which he spent a season and a half ten years ago as he was making his way with London Wasps but where he has not appeared in an England jersey.

Worsley and Corry stand 6ft 5in, Easter is an inch shorter; Corry and Easter are 18st 2lb, Worsley 9lb lighter. These dimensions are similar to the trio who played together (and were first choice at the 1995 World Cup) in 1994-95: Tim Rodber (6ft 6in and 16st 7lb), Ben Clarke (6ft 5in, 17st) and Richards (6ft 4in, 17st 8lb). It brought together three players who were, at heart, all No 8s, but Clarke was moved to the open-side while Rodber later wound up, like Corry, at lock.

Compare those two units with Hill (6ft 2in, 15st 13lb), Back (5ft 10in, 14st 9lb) and Dallaglio (6ft 4in, 17st 2lb) in their prime. Size is significant in rugby, but so are skill and judgment, and this trio possessed everything any coach could want in those departments. It is where England, after three merry-go-round years, are deficient, although Corry has 54 caps and Worsley 57.

“Obviously size does help, but this is just trying out the combination,” Worsley said yesterday. “Against South Africa [England’s main rivals in pool A], you have to go in with the best three, whoever the coaches believe they are. Tom plays [at] 7 week in, week out, Lewis Moody has a lot of experience there, they’re just trying to see how I go.

“If I do have to play there in the World Cup, I have to have something under my belt because 7 is one of the harder positions to get the mindset right. You have to be on the ball all the time, but it’s good that Saturday is the first game, I don’t have to change to a different position from the previous week.”

The likely Springboks trio, now that the unfortunate Pierre Spies is out of the equation with blood clots on his lungs, are Schalk Burger (6ft 4in, 17st 5lb), Juan Smith (6ft 4in, 16st 10lb) and Danie Rossouw (6ft 5in, 18st 8lb). Worsley has made seven appearances against South Africa, the past two at blind-side flanker last November, and remains convinced that England should not be outmuscled by them, but Wales will offer the perfect workout.

Stephen Jones, the Wales fly half, had a scan on his groin injury yesterday and it allayed fears that he may miss the World Cup. There is a partial tear to a tendon, but surgery is not required and Jones, although he will miss the warm-up matches against England, Argentina and France, is expected to be fit by the end of August.