Joseph in England squad for World Cup
DERBY-BORN centre Jonathan Joseph is in England’s World Cup squad.
The Bath centre won his first cap for 17 months in England’s 33-19 win against Wales in a warm-up match at Twickenham on Sunday.
And yesterday he was named in head coach Eddie Jones’ 31-man squad for the World Cup in Japan, which begins on September 20.
The squad announcement was dominated by the omission of Worcester centre Ben Te’o.
The 32-year-old centre was overlooked in favour of Northampton’s Piers Francis, two weeks after being involved in a scuffle with England team-mate Mike Brown during a social event at the squad’s training camp in Treviso.
Jones would not disclose the reasons behind any of the players left out of his squad, insisting that they all need to be prepared to answer the call if injuries occur.
“I’m not going to go into reasons why he (Te’o) was not selected,” said Jones.
“We have had that conversation with Ben, he understands it.
“Whether he agrees with us or not is another matter. He’s not in our top 31 players at the moment.
“Obviously a number of very disappointed players. We feel for them. They’ve worked hard and they are excellent players.
“The message we have for them is that they have still got to be ready because the circumstances of the World Cup dictates that you have injuries. They could have opportunities down the track.”
Jones confirmed, as expected, that Owen Farrell will captain England in Japan. They begin their campaign with a clash against Tonga on September 22.
Backs: J Cokanasiga (Bath), E Daly (Saracens), O Farrell (Saracens, capt), G Ford (Leicester), P Francis (Northampton), W Heinz (Gloucester), J Joseph (Bath), J May (Leicester), R McConnochie (Bath), J Nowell (Exeter), H Slade (Exeter), M Tuilagi (Leicester), A Watson (Bath), B Youngs (Leicester). Forwards: D Cole (Leicester), L Cowan-Dickie (Exeter), T Curry (Sale Sharks), E Genge (Leicester), J George (Saracens), M Itoje (Saracens), G Kruis (Saracens), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes (Northampton), L Ludlam (Northampton), J Marler (Harlequins), K Sinckler (Harlequins), J Singleton (Worcester), S Underhill (Bath), B Vunipola (Saracens), M Vunipola (Saracens), M Wilson (Newcastle/Sale Sharks).