Around 6 pmdel Tuesday, England's players sat on their hotel's balcony, turning their hair cut, watching the sun could on the Costa Brava.
The pink glow and meditative spa music painted an image of tranquility ahead of their six -nations opener against Ireland.
On the ground floor, Steve Borthwick went to the media for the first time since his team gathered in Spain. A message about youth, style and performances entered for fans to jump from the couch.
“You talk about the six nations, are they 10 million people who see it on television?” Borthwick said. 'You will have people sitting on their sofas at home with their shirts in England lit, hopefully jumping up and down.
'Hopefully they are working on a Monday morning feeling six inches higher due to the way his team played. That is what we want to bring.
Everything felt far from storm clouds on Twickenham, but the prognosis can quickly change in English rugby.
Steve Borthwick wants to excite England fans and is trying something different against Ireland
Maro Itjeje, in his first test as an England's patron, will have his job in the lineut
The messages about growth and improvement are fine, but the insatiable appetite of the public is for victories.
The winning bifurcados were difficult to get in 2024, only five of 12 tests, and Borthwick is trying a new selection formula to change things.
He has selected the twins of Curry, Tom and Ben, to provide their experience in the background of a Lineaut option. It is a selection commitment that will leave the Irish smell an opportunity.
“Ireland plays many phases, we know that your phase attack is very dangerous and we know that there will be an expectation of doing many cups,” Borthwick said.
'Our back row can run. They have incredible engines, incredible mobility. They are fantastic defensive players, with their approach and their jackal. They carry the ball well and that area of the contest will be of great intensity.
'Clearly, there is always a mixture and compensation of what he decides to do. It is my job to weigh all those considerations and I am sure (the front coach) Paul O'Connell and the Irish line will see this and try to attack us in that area.
'We will have to be very good. I feel very lucky that Maro Itje calls the line to start the game, with Ollie Chesum the next person he called in the game.
Ben Earl will join the Curry brothers in the back row. The No 8 is still licking his wounds of the disappointing autumn campaign and is long enough to know that victory is the currency that matters. Alcist mentalities are needed.
Harlequins Flier Cadan Murey will make his debut with his old friend Marcus Smith
Ben Earl means the errors of England's autumn with a strong campaign of the six nations.
“With a little time to reflect, autumn was felt as a lost opportunity,” Earl admitted. 'But I had never been more driven to return and that is an example of how good the environment is here.
'He has the feeling that if something good happened this week, then people would quickly forget New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. That is the magic of this tournament and the magic of this team, because it is an exciting moment '.
Earl is right. A victory of the statement would take the sun in some way necessary to a sport in the midst of the political ranks on the ethics of the bonus payments of the executive director. Bill Sweeney went to Borthwick and older players before flying to Girona, but internal discussions here have focused exclusively on tactical improvements in the attack and defense. “It's not something we have discussed in the camp,” said Borthwick from Sweeney Row. 'I know Bill has regular contact with senior players and has a very good relationship with older players.
'We are on the eve of the six nations: we are playing one of the best teams in the world in Dublin, in this incredible tournament. That is what is in the minds of the players. Nothing on any other matter than that.
Stylistically, England will seek to keep the ball alive against the Irish. The high tempo attack is on the agenda. They have little to win playing for alignments, at least before downloading the biggest frames in Chessum, Chandler Cunningham-South and Tom Willis of the bank.
Marcus Smith has been paired with his good friend and old companion of Cadan Murley in the background. Smith has been appointed at 10 years, as revealed by Mail Sport, and Murley received a debut in the wing, hoping to offer the instinctive attack play they show in Harlequins.
“I have a good understanding of him and has a good understanding of me,” Murley said. “We used to put rugby on our great TV, see the game and ask:” What do you think here, what do you feel here? “He just knows where I'm going to be, sometimes he doesn't have to look. He knows that I will be ready, pleasant and flat for a kick.
'This is what we dream when we were 16 years old, playing for the Quins Academy, so being here with Marcus makes it even more special.
“The first time I remember seeing it, it was this little Filipino child with an incredible foot game, putting people through holes and thinking:” It will be quite good. “And it was.
Marcus Smith was one of the few players who left the autumn series with any credit
It is a difficult beginning for the six nations of England while traveling to Dublin to face the headlines of Ireland
“I thought:” Follow it and you will probably get to the end of something as an extreme. “With luck, that is what I will do this weekend.
With Curry's twins probably lead the Tackle count in the pack against the Irish machine, Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence have been retained to keep things together in the center of the field.
Defensive meetings have focused on moving away from the “hammer” defense of high risk that cost England to so many attractions in autumn.
Slade was in the center of the plan to shoot outside the line to attack the creator of opposition games, but a setback approach in the Irish capital is expected.
“What we did was very unpredictable,” Slade admitted.
“We are still a line speed team, we still go after players, but we hope Small areas where if one thing is not right, everything else suffers.
'Now there is much better clarity in what we are looking for. We are always trying to evolve the D and find ways to improve things. We still want to be aggressive, we still want to be on the opposition's face, going hard and putting the skills and pressure, but we have seen some areas where we could change a couple of bits. '
As always, the new captain is expected to establish the standard. If you can lead the team for 80 minutes, finishing the streak of defeats, then serenity could last the six whole nations. Otherwise, perspectives will not be so pink.