Eddie Jones made it pretty clear on Tuesday what he wants from Joe Launchbury, following the Wasps captain’s return to the England squad.

“He is an outstanding mauler,” Jones said, before adding: “He’s a guy that is tough around the one-pass play around the ruck. And he brings a lot of experience and at the moment, experience is not something we have a lot of.”

If he plays against Italy then Launchbury will win his 70th Test cap, and his first for England since the 2020 Autumn Nations Cup final against France.

It’s been a frustrating period since that last appearance. Launchbury missed last year’s Six Nations with a fibula stress fracture, then returned only to rupture his ACL last April.

The end of January marked Launchbury’s comeback after nine months out, with 40 minutes for Wasps against Saracens, being replaced at half-time, and then another 60-minute spell in last weekend’s game against Exeter. Wasps won both matches, although Launchbury departed with Wasps tied against Saracens and trailing 26-15 at Exeter.

Wasps have understandably been cautious easing their captain, who turns 31 in April, back into action following a major injury. But England don’t have any time to spare if they are to get their Six Nations campaign back on track after losing to Scotland at Murrayfield.

Regarding the maul point made by Jones, Launchbury has naturally been in the thick of that set-piece area for Wasps over the last two weeks, mainly acting as the conductor attempting to guide traffic and keep players attached.