There were two rather large objects in Dan Cole's way as he battled to get back into the Leicester Tigers' side in November last year.

During an interview in Oadby, the 22-year-old tight-head prop accepted that it could be a long journey back after recovering from ankle surgery.

Julian White and Martin Castrogiovanni are two international props with 115 caps between them and just happen to play in Cole's position.

For any young aspiring prop in the Guinness Premiership, it was some hurdle to get over.

Fast forward four months and Cole is wearing an England polo shirt in the lavish surroundings of Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa – the national team's training base in leafy Bagshot, Surrey.

High-fashion clothes are the norm, BMWs litter the car park and millionaires' daughters bathe in heated outdoor spas.

Sandwiches are £10 each and if you fancied a bottle of Champagne, you had better bring your bank manager too.

For a hard-nosed, self-effacing lad who was born at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and learned his trade in the back row at South Leicester, it's not the sort of company he is used to.

But, while the setting may be a mile away from what is home in Leicester, Cole has taken to his task with England like a duck to water after an incredible and whirlwind four months.

Some big performances in high-profile Tigers games against Clermont, Wasps and Saracens earned Cole a national call-up.

On his debut off the bench in the win over Wales when David Wilson was substituted, Cole made such an impact that team manager Martin Johnson gave him the nod to start against Italy the following week.

That was followed by another start and another show of strength against Ireland.

Tomorrow at Murrayfield, Cole will stand and sing the national anthem in front of 70,000 Scots firmly established as England's No. 1 tight head.

His rise to the top has come at an astonishing rate but, by his own admission, the honeymoon period is already over.

"I would probably say that after the second game I started, the one against Ireland, I kind of realised that I had to start performing now and that the novelty had worn off," he said.

"I had my debut and then my first start and you suddenly realise that you have no more excuses not to perform.

"That is really when it struck me. At the same time, you are still in an elated state because of what has happened.

"It makes you realise what you are doing when you go home to Leicester and come back here. You are on a different level, so to speak."

For a man who had only started 11 games for Tigers before this season, Cole's rise to the top has been Boy's Own stuff.

At Leicester, with the likes of Castrogiovanni, White and big mate Mefin Davies in close attendance, Cole says he is a sponge who takes in as much information as he can.

But his role with England is different. "From my point of view, everything has happened so quickly," he said.

"After the surgery on my ankle, I was just trying to get into the Leicester team and a few knocks to Julian and Castro have enabled me to do that.

"At Leicester, with the likes of Mefin and Julian around, you learn by looking and you don't say anything.

"When you come here though, you are on the line a bit more.

"It doesn't matter if you are young like I am. Everyone has to do the same job and, in my position, I knew I would have to start talking a bit more.

"You are told that it is your responsibility so you have to grow into that role."

There will be few tougher tests for a young front-rower than a smarting, winless Scotland, away from home. Cole and his team mates are more than ready for it though.

He said: "We lost a game that we should have won against Ireland and beat ourselves up about it in meetings and at training. They may be raring to go this weekend but so are we. We want to fly into the Scots."