But moving him to play in the No.12 shirt has been a major success and Tait led the way in England’s final warm-up game against France.

He delivered a series of shuddering tackles early in the game to get his side onto the front foot, and was a threat in attack with his pace and footwork in an impressive 29-5 victory

And who knows? If the conversion is a continued success, the two Taits might even end up playing alongside each other in midfield for Newcastle and England – something that hasn’t happened since they were team-mates in Consett’s mini rugby teams.

Tait’s run at 12 should be confirmed when England name their side for the first of three group games.

They take on Samoa at Shaw’s Bridge on Thursday (7.30pm), then play Argentina at Belfast Harlequins on April 9 before facing favourites New Zealand at Ravenhill on April 13.

“Moving to 12 is about trying to get me more involved in the game,” said Tait.

“It’s a fairly new position for me. Defensively I’m right on the front line and I’m more of a decision maker rather than someone running onto the ball in space.

“A few of the French boys got a piece of my right shoulder – it’s still a bit sore! I do like the physical aspect and that’s definitely a plus point about playing at 12.

“And I’ve developed in lots of ways this season. I’ve become bigger physically and tactically I’m a bit more open to different ideas, particulary with the different way of defending we use here, so this year’s been a big step forward for me.”

England’s big win over fourth seeds France, with a hat-trick of tries from captain Hugo Ellis and one apiece for Alex Goode and Joe Simpson, has lifted expectations on the eve of the tournament in Belfast.

“After that France game we’ve got a lot more confidence,” said Tait.

“We’ve certainly got a tough draw but we’re looking forward to the challenge of playing these southern hemisphere teams. Now we feel we’ve got some momentum going that we can take into the World Cup.

“Our strengths as a team are that we’ve got a big pack that should be able to give us a good platform. In the backs we might not be the biggest but there’s a lot of pace and skill. I feel we’ve bonded as a team now and we have a great time together.

“We’ve had a look at a few of the Samoans we’ve met and they’re all big boys, so we expect them to be physical and to try and intimidate us but I think we should be able to handle that.”

Match schedule:

April 5: Samoa v England (Shaw’s Bridge, 7.30pm)
April 9: Argentina v England (Belfast Harlequins, 7.30pm)
April 13: New Zealand v England (Ravenhill, 5.30pm)
April 17: Match Day Four
April 21: Match Day Five