On England duty at Pennyhill Park © Getty Images

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Be a "cat among the pigeons" was Graham Rowntree's message to Saracens' uncapped lock George Kruis when he got the call last week informing him he was to report to Pennyhill Park for six weeks of England duty.

Injuries have not been kind to Kruis; to date he has ruptured both MCLs and suffered a fracture dislocation of his wrist after "a prop just fell on it". But rugby moves in circles. Injuries are inevitably another's opportunity. "They haven't been ideal," Kruis tells ESPN. "But Will Fraser's had more injuries than I've had and he's right on track for an England career."

In June Kruis, 24, watched Ed Slater and Geoff Parling play in New Zealand but injury put paid to their chances of playing for England this November. And so when England's squad for the November Tests was named last Wednesday there were the three expected second-rows etched onto the press release - Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury and Dave Attwood - and the bolter Kruis.

"I hoped to get in but there are some good second-rows around even without those injured - there's [Graham] Kitchener, [Michael] Paterson, [Christian] Day who could have all got the nod," Kruis says. "I didn't really know I was in until Wig [Graham Rowntree] phoned me on the Tuesday night and told me I was in the squad for the next five or six weeks.

"He talked to me about what I can offer but he told me to get in there and be like a cat among the pigeons, or along those lines. There are three established players but hopefully they'll pick on how we train."

And that was the message Rowntree preached when he spoke to the press on Wednesday. "George has had consistently a very good season. I've watched him very closely for the past couple of years and was unlucky not to come to New Zealand with us in the summer due to injury. But he will slot straight into what we want. He has a huge game output along with a very good lineout. You need a good balance of carrying horsepower, graft but ultimately ball pressure and stealing opposition ball while doing it appropriately."

With injuries hopefully behind him, Kruis now has an opportunity to put down a marker. Club form counts for so much but World Cup squads will be picked on how players cope in the pressure cooker of international rugby. When you are yet to experience a Test match, how you cope depends on your rugby DNA.

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Kruis' career started on the wing. When he reached his teenage years he was pushed inside to the second-row and although his club Dorking were in Harlequins' catchment area, he was picked up by Saracens when his teacher Robert Clarke, who spotted Richard Haughton, gave Nigel Wray a call and gave him a nod in Kruis' direction. In his first year at Saracens aged 18 he put on three stone and started working under the tutelage of Hugh Vyvyan and then Steve Borthwick. They proved to be invaluable mentors.

"Steve mentored me for five years," Kruis said. "He's a guy who is very, very dedicated and is relentless in preparation. He's old school in that sense. He's very different to any player I've ever played with and ever will. He is relentless but in a good way.

"Borthers would look at things for a couple of hours and I have tried not to over-think things. But it worked amazingly well for him, he made it happen. You just have to find a way that works for you. If he's done it that well, there's a reason behind it.

"Then there is Hugh Vyvyan who is on the other end of the scale. He is quite relaxed and still produced great results. We've got Al Hargreaves now, Jim Hamilton and they have offered help but it lets you put your own stamp on things. It's been nice to pick and choose."

Borthwick has now swapped playing for coaching and is part of the Japan team looking to mastermind victories over Georgia and Romania this November but you like to think he will keep an eye on Kruis' development. For the apprentice, he says Borthwick's mentoring was "positive reinforcement" but he still remembers the "death stare" you received "when you knew you were wrong".

It has been a rapid rise for Kruis; from a slightly gangly winger to someone on the verge of his Test debut. The next time he has a chance to catch breath he will either go fly-fishing with his uncle near Farnham or test out his shotgun on some clay pigeons. Much should have changed by then. It is testament to the esteem in which Kruis is held by the England management that when the additional players were called up by Stuart Lancaster on Sunday, there was not an extra lock added to the party. A Test debut beckons but there is no expectation from Kruis.

"I want to train well and put myself in the shop window. I don't want to hope for too much more but I want to put myself out there and see what happens."