Woodward chose to oversee a England training session about 30 thirty miles from the Buckinghamshire venue while Henry involved himself with the Welsh squad in Cardiff.

Instead, England and Wales were represented by injured players Phil Vickery and Mark Taylor. Eddie O'Sullivan travelled from Ireland for the event as did Ian McGeechan (Scotland), Brad Johnstone (Italy) and Bernard Laporte (France).

" Speaking on behalf of both the Six Nations committee and the sponsors Lloyds TSB, I have to say how disappointed I am that a number of faces are missing this morning," Six Nations committee chairman Allan Hosie told the assembled media.

"We value very highly our relationship with Lloyds TSB, and it is a matter of regret that we are not fielding a full team for this, the launch of the 2002 championship."

The sponsorship is worth #30 million over three years.