In the exclusive surroundings of the players’ room at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo Friday evening, the men who will carry England’s hopes in the Rugby World Cup final will gather together.
The invitation is to players only. No coaches. No support staff. Just the gladiators who will take the field in Yokohama 24 hours later.
The exchange will not be a long one – 30 minutes maximum – but the tightness of the brotherhood and the scale of the occasion on the horizon means it will be an intimate and intense one.
The World Cup final will be the performance but this is the time and place where the mood music will be set. This is the Captain’s Meeting and the captain’s meeting is where Owen Farrell comes into his own.
“I just can’t wait for Friday. That is his meeting,” said hooker Jamie George. “He asks us how we are feeling and if anyone has anything to say. Often people will get something off their chest if they are thinking about the game. Usually Mako will say his piece, Maro often has a little bit, Courtney speaks a little bit.
“I think in Owen’s mind its quite nice to hear from people who haven’t been speaking, who haven’t got a huge leadership role in the team. He often draws on their feelings and experiences, and sees how they’re feeling.
“Then he says his bit and without fail you could hear a pin drop. Everyone is hanging on every word that he says.”
For those used to hearing Farrell mutter platitudes in front of the cameras the contrast is total. This is him in his environment. In his element.
“It is very inspirational without tearing the roof down,” said George.
“There is always going to be an element of tactical talk in that but I’d say it is 90 per cent emotion, 10 per cent tactical. He gets that balance quite nicely and it sets the tone for the build-up.
“Owen talks a lot about the build-up starting from the minute you wake up on the Saturday – the image you give off to the people around you, even in the way you walk to breakfast. You are always constantly giving off a message to other people, about what your mindset is and how you are feeling.”
Forty-eight hours out from their date with destiny England’s body language is positive but it would be folly to pretend that reaching the final has not brought its unique challenges.
“There was one thing Eddie highlighted. He said you are going to get 1000 WhatsApp messages a day, everyone asking you for tickets and it has been that way,” said George.
“Eddie and Owen are very good at making sure we stay on task. The main thing is focusing on what we need to do now to get us in the best place for Saturday.
“It would be very easy for us to just think that we have done it. We have done something pretty great but we have an opportunity to do something special.”