England's new defence coach, Felix Jones, might just be more of a workaholic than his boss, Steve Borthwick.
Jones has been brought into the England set-up after playing a key role for South Africa in their World Cup win last year — and Borthwick has been left stunned by his capacity for hard graft.
Given Borthwick prides himself on his relentlessness, the ease with which he has declared former Ireland full-back Jones almost in a category of his own is more than worth relating.
At 36, Jones already boasts two World Cup winners' medals as a coach, having excelled with the Springboks. The ex-Munster star has wasted no time after being forced into early retirement through injury — and by the sounds of Borthwick's assessment, Jones is still in no mood to hang around.
"I can have an hour-long conversation with him and not get a word in.
"Felix is one of the most intense people I have ever met," said Borthwick. "And coming from me, that's saying something!
"I can meet him or have an hour-long conversation with him on the phone and not get a word in.
"He has so much rugby knowledge, it's unreal. And his work ethic has astounded me, really, genuinely, astounded me — and I've seen some people who work very hard. I don't know whether he sleeps, given the amount of material he works through.
"We were picking apart the contact area recently, and he was showing me things I had never heard any other coach discuss. I think his knowledge is ground-breaking. He has the players transfixed when he speaks, too, and that is superb."
England's defence was greatly improved at the World Cup after last year's troubled Six Nations, but Borthwick will hope Jones can take it to a new level of detail and aggression.
Also on board with England, for the first month of the Six Nations, is Andrew Strawbridge.
The former All Blacks assistant will help England sharpen up their attacking breakdown work in a bid to accelerate their ruck speed.
England are yet to master the art of turning slow ball into quick phase play under Borthwick, and Strawbridge, working as a consultant, will be tasked with adding new ideas in that area.
"All Blacks players said that Andrew is very blunt, he tells it to you up front," said Borthwick. "But they trust him, and one player said to me that he had pretty much saved his career.
"One of the teams I watched a lot and admired greatly was the Chiefs team that won Super Rugby titles in 2012 to 2014, and Andrew was involved there.
"The attitude and mind-set they had in every game, and the way they played, competing for the trophy, that was excellent. Andrew's coaching has been impactful for me for a long period of time."
