If England are to wrest Australia’s crown and win the World Cup, which begins on October 25, it will be a case of brains and pace prevailing, rather than brute strength. Tony Smith has built his squad around speed and mobility. “Two of the things that can trouble any team,” the coach said yesterday, when he announced the party of 24 that leaves for Australia on Monday.

In putting pace and agility before size and strength for the four-week tournament, the intention is to run opponents off their feet, starting in the opening group game against Papua New Guinea in Townsville. Smith’s expansive intentions were made clear during Great Britain’s 3-0 series whitewash of New Zealand last year.

“Speed is a massive thing against any team that we play in Australia,” Smith, who is relying on only four specialist props, said. “We have a fast team, with some electric players, both in the forwards and backs. When you have only got 24 players, there needs to be a certain amount of versatility. Taking five front-rowers — over a fifth of your squad — is a gamble, too. There are players I wouldn’t hesitate in pushing up to the front row.”

The obvious casualty of Smith’s policy is Stuart Fielden, although the Wigan Warriors prop, who had been strongly fancied to make the cut after a long-awaited return to form, is expected to be in the standby squad. As well as up front, there is the flexibility among an eight-strong back-row contingent to cover the threadbare resources at centre, with Gareth Ellis and Rob Purdham, the Harlequins captain, both adept at playing in the threequarters.

There was an unexpected call-up for Jamie Langley, the Bradford Bulls forward, who played in Smith’s first game in charge against France last year. Langley’s club colleague, Paul Sykes, another who figured in that match, is recalled as one of only three centres, along with the experienced pair of Keith Senior and Martin Gleeson, the latter one of three representatives from Warrington Wolves.

The squad is dominated by 15 players from Leeds Rhinos and St Helens, the grand finalists, including Lee Smith, whose man-of-the-match display in Leeds’s 24-16 victory at Old Trafford, in which he scored the first of his side’s four tries, sealed his selection. Form also accounted for the choice of another wing, Mark Calderwood, the Hull-bound Wigan player, whose decision to reject a place in the Scotland World Cup squad was vindicated by his selection over Peter Fox, of Hull Kingston Rovers.

“I would have been proud to play for Scotland but England is a different level,” Calderwood said. Of the party, only Calderwood, Purdham, Smith and Ben Westwood have not played a full international. However, the four were in England’s 2006 Federation Shield-winning side at second-tier level.

“The majority have been together for a couple of years as we’ve built towards this tournament,” Smith said. “When we played France in June, the squad had a club-like feel. That’s very important if we’re going to achieve what we’re expecting to achieve.”

Mick Cassidy, 35, a veteran of England’s 1995 World Cup campaign who helped Barrow to win promotion this season from National League Two, is in Ireland’s squad. There is solid Super League experience in Pat Richards, Simon Finnigan, Gareth Haggerty, Stuart Littler and Karl Fitzpatrick.

Andy Kelly, the coach, has also been able to call up Brett White after the player was overlooked by Australia. White played for Melbourne in Sunday’s NRL final defeat by Manly, who have six representatives in the Kangaroos’ party that was named yesterday.