By Charlie Henderson

Easter and Perry put in the hard yards at England's training camp

Shaun Perry and Nick Easter stole the show as England outclassed Wales 62-5 in the first of their World Cup warm-up matches.

Scrum-half Perry crossed for a try, was a constant menace with direct, darting runs and maintained a high tempo to England's game behind a dominant scrum.

Meanwhile number eight Easter also profited from a powerful performance by the pack to cross for four close-range tries.

Just 12 months ago neither had played for England, but now they are set to earn spots in Brian Ashton's 30-man squad for September's tournament in France.

BBC Sport charts their rise to prominence.

When England became world champions in Australia four years ago, Perry and Easter were plying their trade in the sport's backwaters.

Perry, then a plate welder, was playing for Dudley Kingswinford in the Midlands One League.

Easter, having turned his back on "a dogsbody job" with a firm of investment fund managers in the City in 2001, was turning out for Orrell in League One.

And like all English rugby fans they can remember exactly what they were up to on 22 November when Jonny Wilkinson slotted the match-winning drop goal in Sydney.

I'd never have thought four years later I may, fingers crossed, be going to the World Cup Shaun Perry

Perry was supping a pint with the lads in the Dudley Kingswinford clubhouse after starting the day with a "full English". Many more pints were to follow.

"It was a craic, they won the World Cup, happy days and we went out and had a good night. That's how it is," he told BBC Sport.

Easter steered clear of alcohol - for the first part of the day.

"My house was only a couple of minutes from the ground and we were away at Otley, travelling on the day, and I probably had half the team round watching," he told BBC Sport.

"But when Elton Flatley nailed the kick with about a minute to go to level in normal time we had to go after delaying and delaying and delaying, so we managed to listen to extra time on the radio on the way."

Within a year, Easter was at Harlequins and Perry had made the move to League One outfit Coventry.

A further 12 months on and Perry was in the Premiership having been snapped up by Bristol coach and former England number nine Richard Hill.

Despite seeing Quins drop out of the top-flight, Easter was now under the tutelage of another former England player who excelled in his very position, Dean Richards.

Easter was the club's star player as he scored 19 tries in helping them climb out of League One at the first attempt.

While at Bristol, Perry was winning rave reviews and looked set for an England debut before injury robbed him of a place on the 2006 summer tour to Australia.

Perry's first cap duly came against New Zealand at Twickenham in November 2006, but despite scoring on that outing he is the first to concede he struggled to acclimatise.

"The intensity, the pace, even the mental fatigue you suffer, everything's new and takes time to get used to," said the 29-year-old.

He dropped down to the England second team, the Saxons, for the start of the Six Nations against Italy A, in a match in which Easter came off the bench.

SHAUN PERRY Born: 4 May 1978 Position: Scrum-half Debut: v NZ, Nov 2006 Caps: 10 Points: 10 (Two tries) Club: Bristol

Perry has now got used to international surroundings and the sea-change came in a conversation with Ashton after the disappointment of being left on the sidelines on the summer tour to South Africa.

The message came through loud and clear. Shift the weight and get back to your best.

Perry has shed almost a stone after working hard with England nutritionist Matt Lovell and is reaping the rewards.

"I asked myself how badly I wanted it," he reflected of the fall out from his talks with Ashton.

"Matt helped me a tremendous amount. He put me on a diet of no carbs and more supplements.

"I was strict with myself and stuck to it daily, taking tablets at certain times. He has worked wonders."

Easter, 28, also credits Lovell with helping him lose weight and attain peak fitness since breaking into the team in February this year in the Six Nations match against Italy - a week after that Saxons appearance.

NICK EASTER Born: 15 August 1978 Position: Number eight or blindside flanker Debut: v Italy, Feb 2007 Caps: Five Points: 20 (Four tries) Club: Harlequins

But it was a five-week training camp with the England squad in the Algarve that really opened his eyes to the dedication required at the top - a world away from the mad rush in the coach to Otley in 2003.

"If you want to get the best out of yourself you have to aspire to what's possible," he said.

"The training's been pretty brutal, it's the most intense period of rugby I've had with the level of contact and I've become more professional.

"You think you're professional, but you're not as professional as them so I've taken that on board - the extra training sessions they do, how professional they are with their training and diet.

Easter lists "them" as Jonny Wilkinson, Jason Robinson and Steve Borthwick, and it is a theme picked up by Perry as well.

"Players are naturally gifted, but that doesn't mean anything," he reasoned.

"You've got to work on your game day-in, day-out. Jonny's out there all the while and that's not for no reason and is why he's one of the best in the world.

"I'm staying out for half an hour after training just passing, kicking and doing core skills drills.

"They need to be 100% because that's what gets you through the game. I've worked on all of that to try and become a better player."

The effort is paying off as Perry and Easter's smiles at the end of Saturday's triumph bore testimony.

The dream of going from watching the World Cup from afar to playing in it four years later looks set to become reality.