England prop Dan Cole has insisted that the new engagement protocols for scrummaging has helped the flow of the game and has made it safer.

The changes, which were enforced in 2013, prevent players from pushing until the referee is happy to allow it.

Cole told The Telegraph: "The scrum is better for the new [engagement] protocols, fewer collapses, less mess. It is more of a contest of technique now than just a battle.

"You no longer wake up on a Sunday morning with a pain through your shoulder and neck. There is more on you as a tighthead these days as your hooker might want to flash for the ball and you have got to be able to take that strain."

Cole is hoping to make England's final World Cup squad, which will be announced at the end of the month.