England are put through their paces under the watchful eye of Stuart Lancaster as they step up Rugby World Cup preparation

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Chris Robshaw and Danny Cipriani among stars training in Bagshot
England set off for Denver this weekend for altitude training
But before that there is a chance to impress Stuart Lancaster on home turf

Published: 18:43 EST, 8 July 2015 | Updated: 07:38 EST, 9 July 2015

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Their World Cup opener may be more than two months away, but England are already stepping up their preparations ahead of the tournament.

Stuart Lancaster's men are flying to Denver this weekend to begin altitude training as they look to arrive at the home tournament in peak condition.

But before then there was some good old-fashioned fitness work at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot.

England captain Chris Robshaw looked to be feeling the heat in the July sun as he was put through his paces, while Danny Cipriani showed off some fancy footwork once the players got a ball in their hands.

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England fly half Danny Cipriani shows off some fancy footwork with the ball in hand during a training session

Stuart Lancaster watches over his squad, five of whom will be cut when they leave the UK this weekend

Captain Chris Robshaw looks to be feeling the strain during an intense session on Wednesday

Wingers Marland Yarde and Semesa Rokoduguni demonstrated their pace as Lancaster's 50-man squad trained in front of photographers, while prop Joe Marler also seemed to be enjoying himself.

It was a chance for all the players to impress, with five of the 50 set to be cut on Friday, and 14 more to depart before the tournament starts.

There are also players from outside the current squad still harbouring hopes of a return, including Wasps scrum half Joe Simpson.

Simpson is set to resume full training next week after suffering a knee injury towards the end of Wasps' Aviva Premiership campaign in May.

The untimely setback meant he was not named in England head coach Stuart Lancaster's extended World Cup training group, with Ben Youngs, Richard Wigglesworth, Danny Care and Lee Dickson the current number nines battling for probably three places.

James Haskell: No time wasted with Stuart Lancaster in training...

Robshaw looks to recover his breath as England step up their Rugby World Cup preparations

Semesa Rokoduguni runs with the ball, covered by the England captain, during the session

Cipriani is put through his paces as the England squad go through a final week's work before flying to Denver

But Simpson, hopes he can still force his way into the selection reckoning, and believes it is Care and Dickson with whom he is competing.

'If everything goes to plan, I will be fully fit,' Simpson said. 'If I had been part of the squad from the start, then who knows?'

'I have my work cut out now. I know I am a long shot, but I have the possibility of being called up into an England training camp, and that for me is special and gives me great drive.

'Ben Youngs had a fantastic year for England, so he will be number one. Richard Wigglesworth will probably be number two, and then the third spot is to scrap for.

'At the same time, I feel my form does give me an opportunity to put myself in the mix - probably not for a starting place if we are honest - but as a squad player and possibly an impact player off the bench.

'That could possibly be my role if I was lucky enough to get called up into the squad.'

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