Joe Marler has admitted that the mood in the England camp is currently "very tense" as boss Stuart Lancaster begins culling his 50-man squad.

The Red Rose have been training at their Pennyhill Park base for the past fortnight ahead of this autumn's Rugby World Cup on home soil.

Lancaster must now cut down his squad by five members ahead of the next stage of their gruelling pre-tournament camp in Denver, which Marler admits has left a few watching on nervously.

"It's very tense," he told ESPN. "Obviously a lot of boys are looking over their shoulders. [There are] a lot of quality players in the squad and no-one really knows when it gets trimmed down and at what time it gets trimmed down.

"So, you're always being watched, you're always being assessed. All we know is that five boys are going before Denver, no-one really knows about that one and then God knows when it gets trimmed down again."

Harlequins prop Marler started all of England's autumn internationals and Six Nations matches.