Will Stuart knows his history.

Away from the pitch, the England prop has just finished reading Tom Holland's Rubicon, a book on power and plotting in the Roman Empire.

Beneath that on the bedside table is a biography of military genius Napoleon Bonaparte.

In Stuart's earphones has been a podcast detailing the brutality of the Eastern Front in World War Two.

Professionally, though he has been stewing over more recent events.

Eight months ago, Stuart was forced into his own retreat, coming under severe scrum pressure in two summer Tests in New Zealand.

Coach Steve Borthwick publicly admitted he was looking for reinforcements in Stuart's tight-head prop position.

The 28-year-old was duly left off the list for the first set of central contracts in October.

His job security wasn't helped by a trio of front-row tyros – Afolabi Fasogbon, Billy Sela and Asher Opoku Fordjour – emerging out of England's Under-20 Rugby World Cup success either.

"In the summer I knew I hadn't done myself any kind of justice, that I hadn't put my hand forward," Stuart tells BBC Sport.

"There were open and honest conversations and I was under no illusion that performance-wise I had a lot of work to do.

"I just needed to get my head down, fly into club games, get better and try to cement myself more as a starting tight-head."

In typically understated fashion, he has done just that.

His club side Bath are well clear at the top of the Premiership, while he took on the southern-hemisphere's finest at the set-piece in the autumn and held his own. And, so far in the Six Nations, he has been one of England's big plus points.

Stuart and his front-row colleagues are in profit in the tournament, winning five scrum penalties and conceded three across their face-offs with Ireland, France and Scotland - a stat few would have predicted after their struggles in New Zealand.

"We have taken a step forward from last summer," he adds.

"We came into the autumn, we were very clean, good on our own ball, we were trying to be square and rock solid.

"Now there is a big onus on trying to take another step forward - to being dominant."

Stuart has been helped by the lingering effects of a 2022 elbow dislocation finally dissipating.

But that scrum supremacy is also closer thanks to a more collaborative approach in training.

The focus has shifted from scrapping for starting spots to laying waste to England's opponents.

"When you come in this environment you are competing with other lads to try to play," Stuart says.

"Scrums are very competitive, combative places and it can end up being messy and a bit of a 'man test', with stuff going on the floor. That is not really how you want to train.

"You want to train so that everyone gets better – keeping scrums off the deck and not wasting any reps. It was something that Coley [Dan Cole] spoke about in the summer. Ever since then we have been training very purposefully,

"It is still competitive, but you realise there is no point collapsing in a scrum in training when you are about to get sent backwards. It is about taking your medicine, keeping it up, being clean.

"It feels like the group has all bought into it. It feels like a big shift in that regard."

It is perhaps not a surprise this collective approach has brought the best out of Stuart.

There have been some big characters among England's biggest men in recent years, with Joe Marler, who retired in the autumn, the most notable. Vice-captain Ellis Genge speaks his mind to those inside and outside the camp, while former skipper Jamie George is still a key leader. Even Cole has his own podcast.

Stuart, who will end the Six Nations on 50 caps if he plays against Italy and Wales, prefers a lower profile.

"I am pretty awful," he smiles. "How can I put this? I am not the most sociable person, I am a bit of a hermit.

"I live in a little village outside of Bath and it is very quiet, which is my set-up and how I like it."

It is getting difficult for him to escape the hubbub though.

His form, and Ireland tight-head Tadhg Furlong's injury run, has put him firmly into Lions contention.

Stuart would be a first-time tourist - his Lions memories don't stretch as far back as his books.

He remembers watching the 2013 trip to Australia at school and then, after turning professional, hearing Bath team-mate Jamie Roberts recount his experiences on repeat.

"He was always reminding everyone that he was the Lions man of the tour in 2009, he wouldn't stop going on about it," Stuart jokes. "I think he made us watch his clips.

"I haven't really thought about it. After the last summer I just needed to knuckle down, game by game, and play well. I am just trying to stay along those lines."

Reading up on the past, while not reading too far into the future, has kept him well on course so far.