Ellis Genge has described spending two months at England's camp at The Lensbury hotel as ‘horrible', as Six Nations teams operate within a bubble to limit exposure to a potential Covid-19 outbreak.
France have already fallen foul to an outbreak which led to their Round 3 clash against Scotland being cancelled and are now facing the possibility of playing in late March.
And while England have so far managed to remain untouched, loosehead prop Genge explained how defeats to Scotland and Wales had been difficult to process under the confines of protocols.
“It is just horrible, isn't it. It's hard being around so many people a lot of the time that you don't necessarily want to be with because you are young. You want to get out and do stuff,” Genge said.
“I have a son at home and a dog, who I love dearly and who I can't walk. I want to see my family – my nieces, my mum, my nan, my friends.
“(Prop) Will Stuart said the other day that he can't remember life before the Lensbury. I think it's taken it's toll on people psychologically.
“Talking about the psychological toll, I don't think I am going to run around screaming ‘Lensbury' everywhere, but it's not been easy.
“It's not easy being around people who you don't always necessarily want to be around for this amount of time.
“We are all in it together and I feel this group has invested in each other. We have all agreed to make this sacrifice together and we are starting to see the benefits of that now quite late in the competition.
“For me times of darkness actually bring laughter. I think we now enjoy these situations. We'll look back definitely and have a few moments that we'll laugh about.”
The England camp have created FIFA and golf simulator tournaments to keep the squad occupied, with Genge and Anthony Watson teaming up to defeat Billy Vunipola and Ollie Lawrence in FIFA.
“A little bit of healthy competition brought the group together quite nicely. Play computer, or get a social hit outside with a coffee,” Genge said.
“We usually do this thing called bacon and eggs, which is a 6am start in the gym. No one wants to do it, but we do it. It's a sacrifice. We get up, do it together and it brings us closer together as a team.
“This week they mixed it up and there was a nice little surprise – use your imagination. It wasn't weights. Little things like that keep us on our toes, but it's not been easy at all.”
Jones names his team on Thursday when it will be revealed if Henry Slade has recovered from his calf injury in time to face Ireland.
