England rugby

Joseph, who has named his 31-man squad, said playing against heavyweights like New Zealand and Australia over the past four years had helped them develop the mental and physical toughness needed to compete at the global showpiece.

The Brave Blossoms took the Pacific Nations Cup earlier this month by trouncing Fiji, Tonga and the United States, moving up to ninth in the world to match their highest-ever ranking ahead of the Sept. 20-Nov. 2 tournament.

At the heart of England's second triumph in three warmup tests was man of the match Manu Tuilagi, who bristled with power and intent to torment an Irish defense that fell to pieces in the second half.

Ireland scored first through a Jordan Larmour try, but their hopes of the win that would lift it to No. 1 in the world rankings at the expense of Wales quickly disintegrated.

Only Elliot Daly, George Ford, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola survive from the 13-6 loss in Cardiff in a revamped selection that will see Ford and Owen Farrell pair up from the start for the first time in 14 months.

Ford continues at fly-half with captain Farrell starting at inside centre and lining up alongside Manu Tuilagi in midfield. Former age-group international pairing Ford and Farrell last started a Test at 10 and 12 when England lost 23-12 to South Africa in Bloemfontein in 2018.

The 32-year-old played more than 200 games for Wasps, Sale and Leeds and toured Argentina with England in 2013 and now has his mental wellbeing on track after seeking counselling.

But it wasn't that way when he stood on the wrong side of a hotel balcony in Dubai during a mid-season break with Wasps players, thinking of jumping from the 15th floor. 

"I imagine suicide is very different with different people," he told The Guardian in a compelling tale of the pressures of professional rugby.

The 21-year-old was born in Fiji but moved to England with his family when he was three-years-old.

He currently plays for Bath in England and got his first call up to join the England rugby team back in 2017.

Some other players included in the squad by Coach Eddie Jones are Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola, Billy Vunipola, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Anthony Watson and Ben Youngs.

Among those missing out are Brad Shields and Danny Cipriani.

England is pooled Tonga, France, Argentina and USA.

The result means the All Blacks climb back above Wales to top of the world rankings despite the weekend's record defeat to the Wallabies.

An England line-up featuring only a handful of regular first-choice starters overpowered Wales thanks to tries from Billy Vunipola, Joe Cokanasiga and Luke Cowan-Dickie, as well as flawless kicking from captain and flyhalf George Ford.

The injured hooker was one of the high-profile names missing when England coach Eddie Jones announced a squad of 29 players to attend a training camp next week. Also absent was former England captain Chris Robshaw and No 8 Nathan Hughes.

The group did not include players who featured in the English Premiership semifinals or final – champion Saracens, Exeter, Gloucester or Northampton – because of the mandatory five-week rest period. These players will be added in later enlarged squads, with a final 31-man Rugby World Cup party to be named on July 4.

The New Zealander was on Wednesday confirmed as Lions coach for the third successive time after he led the tourists to Australia and New Zealand in 2013 and 2017 respectively.

The 55-year-old is standing down as Wales coach after 12 years once their Rugby World Cup campaign concludes in Japan later this year.

England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) have reportedly been interested in Gatland succeeding Jones but the Kiwi coach was having none of it.

He will add a bit of Fijian flair to the English side.

The 18-year old played only two tournaments for his Bishop Burton before being selected into the England 7s squad.

Meanwhile, England is pooled with Fiji, Argentina, and Ireland.

Folau, a fundamentalist Christian, was informed by Rugby Australia on Thursday he would be sacked if he could offer no good reason for a social media post that said gay people would go to "hell" if they did not "repent".

Vunipola said he had been told by three people to withdraw his apparent support for Folau's post.

"He's saying how we live our lives needs to be closer to how God intended them to be. Man was made for woman to pro create that was the goal no?," Vunipola wrote on Instagram.