Injury jinx is central issue for Robinson

Newcastle's 18-year-old Mathew Tait could conceivably be given his international debut alongside his club partner Jamie Noon, but that would be a massive gamble by England as Noon, too, can hardly be described as experienced at top level.

A holding job at inside centre could be done by Gloucester's Henry Paul, included in the training camp in Leeds despite being substituted after just 26 error-strewn minutes of England's last Test against Australia in November.

Other options in the centre involve using the promise of Bath's Olly Barkley at 12 or the huge experience of Ben Cohen or Robinson in the No13 shirt. Youngsters Ollie Smith, of Leicester, and James Simpson-Daniel of Gloucester are further possibilities for England's management to consider at outside centre.

However, whatever midfield combination Robinson comes up with for the Wales clash it will be far from ideal. Indeed, there are currently only three selection certainties in England's back line: Robinson, Josh Lewsey and Hodgson.

Matt Dawson looks like earning a recall at scrum-half, and it will be interesting to see how he and the other experienced union men such as Phil Vickery, Graham Rowntree and Danny Grewcock react to their training session alongside the Leeds Rhinos rugby league squad.

Coach Robinson's long-held admiration for the skills of rugby league lies behind this initiative. It is the first of what both codes see as a regular crossfertilisation of ideas and methods.

Yesterday's work involved rehabilitation following weekend matches, plus specific joint sessions focusing on handling and passing skills as practised in league, combined with a study of running lines and offloading in the tackle.

Robinson's England are particularly keen to apply league tactics to increase their power as an attacking force. Further sessions today will involve players from the two codes intermingling in teams that will play non-contact 'matches' based on both league and then union rules. Tomorrow will see a joint debrief of lessons learned.

Tony Smith, the Leeds Rhinos coach, said: "Rugby union has got a lot closer in its defensive techniques to rugby league, due to coaches like Phil Larder, and working on their attack is the obvious next step. Union defences have improved so much over recent years and the next challenge is to break them down.

"We are primarily focussing on ball-handling skills and running different lines of attack as it's where our strength lies.

"I'm not saying that England will find the Holy Grail here. It's just a matter of looking at things slightly differently."