As England’s defensive juggernaut rolls west towards Wales questions remain over what attacking weapons Eddie Jones’s side have in their armoury and when they may see fit to use them regularly. On Wednesday it was Henry Slade’s turn to insist that they exist, just that circumstances have dictated the bludgeon is more effective than the blade. Last week it was George Ford – another of Jones’s playmakers – saying much the same thing, hailing the influence of Jason Ryles, the new skills coach fresh from his NRL title success with Melbourne Storm, and insisting England are able to spread their wings when the occasion calls for it. There followed a defensive performance for the ages – little appetite for possession but nonetheless dominant and utterly demoralising for Ireland. It was interesting to hear Scott Wisemantel, England’s former attack coach, explain how “kick and clap” rugby can give you short-term improvements but “it is not going to win you the World Cup”. It must be pointed out that Wisemantel, now working for Australia, was talking exclusively about the Wallabies’ longer-term philosophy and not his former employers. That said, England certainly like to kick and as Ireland highlighted before last weekend’s game, there is often a lot of clapping. Another onslaught from England’s forwards is expected against Wales on Saturday and when Jones names his 23-man squad on Thursday, the most eye-catching selection may well be Joe Marler, who could make his first international appearance since receiving a 10-week ban for grabbing the genitals of the Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones at Twickenham in March. In the injury-enforced absence of Ollie Lawrence and the return to fitness of Anthony Watson, however, the irony is that Jones could select one of the most creative backlines of his tenure should Ford return at fly-half and Owen Farrell join Slade in the centres. “In training it’s been going really well with different combinations and some great attacking structure,” Slade said. “If conditions allow and the game dictates that is the best option, we definitely want to be doing it but we’re not going to be doing it for the sake of it, only if it is the right thing to do. I’m sure if we get the right opportunities, it will be.” Jones bristles at the suggestion England are not exactly box office and given his side lost their last competitive fixture in Wales in 2019 he will demand they keep their boots on the throat of opponents they are expected to beat, considering the difficulties Wayne Pivac has had of late. Jones will not have forgotten the March meeting at Twickenham when two late tries dragged Wales back to within three points and though Slade initially struggled to recall it, his lasting memories were telling. “I remember us getting out to a good lead and feeling pretty comfortable and maybe us easing up a little bit,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll make those mistakes again.” As for Marler’s potential inclusion, England’s coaches have been at pains to point out the incident with Alun Wyn Jones has had no bearing on whether he will be selected. England do not want for loosehead props but, with Matt Proudfoot taking over as the forwards coach, Marler established himself as first choice during the spring Six Nations fixtures. “Joe is a fantastic rugby player,” Proudfoot said. “Specifically around the scrum you develop the ability to understand what opposition tightheads do and with Joe’s experience, he understands what the opposition is trying to do and he tries to counter that. Joe is a vital cog in our box and if he’s selected we’ll look to have him involved the best we can.”