Stuart Lancaster hails new England training method

Stuart Lancaster believes that England's new training system has sparked "desire" in the squad to fight for a place in the Six Nations starting team.

The interim head coach, who recently admitted that he has applied for the full-time position, has revealed that he is using performances in training to determine his team selection.

"You make training competitive and that's one of the things I've tried to do, certainly over the last two weeks," said Lancaster.

"For example when we do 15 vs. 15 tomorrow, I'll try to make it so that the players who are on the fringes or are on the bench get a genuine opportunity to play. The session will be competitive, allowing the players to show their skills rather than just give them a bib and tell them to be a defender.

"It's when you get that competition and desire for the shirt that you really start to get high performances."

England take on Italy in their second Six Nations fixture following their 13-6 win over Scotland at the weekend.