Is it time England turned back to lean, mean, evergreen Dan Cole?

After ploughing a furrow for Leicester Tigers’ 41-21 victory over Northampton Saints, Dan Cole slipped daintily into the Joan Carnell media room at Franklin’s Gardens. As a first question, it was tempting to ask when the rest of him would be arriving.

The tighthead prop, who will turn 36 next May when this season enters the home straight, looks strikingly lean these days. He did not feature in the England training squad named on Monday, but is in exceptional form.

Eddie Jones attended the 250th East Midlands derby and must have wondered about a different sort of World Cup bolter.

“Whatever he did in the off-season, in his own time, must have been super,” said Steve Borthwick, who captained Cole on the latter’s Test debut over 12 years ago.

“When he came in on day one of pre-season, he looked in incredible shape. That’s a guy who is determined to keep playing at the top level for a long time.”

Winning the Premiership was no excuse for Tigers to relax. Aled Walters, the conditioning guru at Leicester, produced bespoke summer programmes for each member of the squad. Cole, typically, downplayed his own diligence. “Just not getting fat” and “just not trying not to eat too much” were offered up as secrets to his success.

“We get that tested every two weeks and we get weighed every day, so you can’t go too wrong,” Cole explained. “Aled does a great job of sending out relevant stuff for each of us to do. It’s just about finding a field and running.

“Being 35, if you spend a week on the sofa you wouldn’t be able to get up, so you have to keep your body moving. At 21, you can stop for four or five weeks and pick it up like that.

“We have some great conditioners here and some great veteran players. You want to manage yourself because we’re playing some great rugby and you want to be part of that.”

Cole’s performance against Saints was immense. As he admitted, the hosts left Tigers “shell-shocked” as they scored three tries in the opening 44 minutes to carve out a 21-10 advantage.

Throughout, though, the scrum was a crutch for Leicester, whether as a means to milk penalties and win territory or by providing a platform to launch strike moves. Cole said he was just as satisfied with the shove that brought about Guy Porter’s finish out wide.

Meaning no disrespect towards Northampton, or Emmanuel Iyogun, their promising 21-year-old loosehead prop, but Tigers will have tougher set-piece assignments. And, anyway, Cole is making eye-catching contributions in the loose.

This trucking carry in support of Olly Cracknell, which earned a penalty as tackler Lukhan Salakaia-Loto became trapped, was among his last acts on Saturday:

A fortnight previously, he charged-down Joe Simmonds and lifted a deft pass to Hanro Liebenberg to snatch a try at Sandy Park:

That game also featured some fierce defence. Cole will not step up at first-receiver as much as Kyle Sinckler, Will Stuart or Joe Heyes, but has vitally important attributes.

Nehe Milner-Skudder, the hot-stepping New Zealand wing who was plucked from relative obscurity in the build-up to the 2015 tournament, is coveted as the archetypal World Cup bolter. A front-rower with 95 caps and three more Tests for the British and Irish Lions would be a quite different selection, yet few could begrudge Cole an opportunity to avenge 2019. That year, of course, Walters was in the green and gold corner of South Africa.

Unsurprisingly, Cole did not blink on being informed that Jones had been watching. A query about his England aspirations raised a smile: “I’m enjoying playing for Leicester. I’ve had some lean years here, so to be part of a team that’s competitive and winning games is great.”

Cole’s view on the persistence required to break down a rival scrum could be a metaphor for the Indian summer he is experiencing. Saints were actually leading 21-17 when Heyes replaced him.

“As a scrum, it can be tough for the first three, four, five, even 10 scrums up to 60 minutes,” Cole said. “There have been certain points, especially over the last couple of years, when our bench has come on, won penalties and turned games for us.”

Thanks to three yellow cards for Northampton and four tries in the last 10 minutes, Tigers pulled away rapidly. There was little doubt, however, that Cole had been a huge influence.

Leicester boast a blend of dads and lads and, with Walters in tow, are evidently confident of extracting value from veterans such as Richard Wigglesworth, Chris Ashton, Jimmy Gopperth and Cole. England could well reap the benefits.

Cole’s dry humour is renowned by now. Asked how long he could keep playing under the supervision of Walters, he responded: “Sixty minutes”. His second answer – “forever” – was less sincere. The third will delight Tigers supporters.

“As long as you enjoy the game,” Cole finished. “Yes, it’s physically tough but if you enjoy the game and are looked after by blokes like Aled and Steve, who understand the game and make it simple for guys like myself because training is catered to what we can do.

“We’ve got guys in the team pushing 40 like Gopperth and Wigglesworth. They’ve got five years on me. They’re just an inspiration to all the youngsters out there.”

Five more years of Cole, then? Forget 2023; perhaps it will be the 2027 World Cup that is his swansong.