Former Bulls player Jamie Peacock is hoping to instil more national pride in England’s rugby union team.

The England rugby league captain and a British soldier are among those who have been invited to speak to Stuart Lancaster’s squad on what it means to represent the country.

Addressing the players on elite performance will be Hugh Morris, the England cricket managing director, and British Cycling boss Dave Brailsford.

Lancaster, whose team will have a training week at West Park Leeds later this month instead of a camp in Portugal, said: “This is an opportunity to bring people in from outside of rugby to talk to the players about what it takes to be elite and what it means to play for England.

“We would find it difficult to bring those outside speakers in if we were abroad.

“One of the talks will be about how to create elite sport with Dave Brailsford and Hugh Morris.

“The other will be about what it means to play for England and what it means to go and fight for your country, so we’ve got a guy who’s been to war and Jamie Peacock, who is a fantastic role model and highly respected.

“This is part of reconnecting with the game, and part of this reconnection, which I feel we’ve lost slightly, is by training in this country.”