England announce World Cup squad - analysis and reaction

Oat Drink: Get behind the selected squad.

Glynn Collins: Where is Cipriani!!!! We are so one dimensional with Farrell and Ford Nowell and Francis OUT Cipriani and Teo IN.

Get the latest on that Gareth Anscombe story here.

Meanwhile, Wales have given an alarming update for their supporters. Starting fly-half Gareth Anscombe is out of the World Cup after getting injured in the warm-up match against England on Sunday.

The Rugby World Cup have put the spotlight on England just in time for this announcement.

Here's what the squad have got to live up to...

Mark Plastow: What has Harry Williams done wrong bad call not taking him imo

Brendan Marks: Lacking that extra something that Cipriani gives you to win matches. Stubborn Eddie.

MunchBunch: Arrogant, big and athletic but 60 minute players, lack of attacking skill and imagination.

Forwards: Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 86 caps) **

Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps)

Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 11 caps)

Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)

Jamie George (Saracens, 37 caps) *

Maro Itoje (Saracens, 27 caps)

George Kruis (Saracens, 32 caps) *

Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 59 caps) *

Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 72 caps) **

Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)

Joe Marler (Harlequins, 58 caps) *

Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 22 caps)

Jack Singleton (Saracens, 1 cap)

Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 9 caps)

Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 42 caps) *

Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 53 caps) *

Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons / Sale Sharks, 13 caps)

Backs: Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 5 caps)

Elliot Daly (Saracens, 31 caps)

Owen Farrell (Saracens, 70 caps) *

George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 56 caps) *

Piers Francis (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)

Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)

Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 41 caps) *

Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 45 caps) *

Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath Rugby, uncapped)

Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 33 caps) *

Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 22 caps) *

Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 33 caps) *

Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 34 caps) *

Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 86 caps) **

* number of Rugby World Cup tournaments played

If you're just joining us, here's the squad again in full.

The top stories are flanker Lewis Ludlam and uncapped Ruaridh McConnochie's unexpected call-ups.

Ben Te'o has been left out, with Piers Francis in, and Willi Heinz's performance against Wales has secured him the second scrum-half spot in the side.

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Speaking of Gloucester players... many find it surprising that fly-half Danny Cipriani never really got much of a chance to make it into Eddie Jones' squad.

Cipriani was included in the official World Cup training squad, but not the group who travelled to Treviso or the squad for the Wales match.

The 31-year-old won RPA Player of the Year and Premiership Player of the Season in May for his performances with Gloucester, but obviously doesn't fit in with Jones' plans.

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Mr Deputy Head: I'm really quite struggling to understand why there is only 1 Gloucester player in the WC Squad!

Charlie Usher: Absolute madness from Eddie Jones to only take 2 tightheads!

Milo: No Alex Dombrandt after the season he’s had?????

Ludlam has watched, sat behind some good players. He is 23, physically mature, and when the door opens you have got to be ready.

When you get the chance, you have to step up and he has done that. He showed tenacity and an understanding of the team dynamic [against Wales].

He carried the ball in attack, made plenty of tackles in defence, and showed the physical resilience when he got that stinger to the shoulder. He got off the ground, got away from the physio, got back into the defensive line even, to paint the picture that there is no gap.

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Gary Snoad-Jones: Solid squad for England. I think Mike Brown could feel hard done by to miss out and I'd take Hartley along for his leadership qualities in the camp but not in the squad.

Philip West: Very happy with it. It’s certainly a squad that can compete, and with plenty of physicality and try-scoring firepower as well. Jones clearly has a plan for how he wants to approach this tournament, and that’s reassuring.

Chris: Genuinely the one change I'd make is to include Spencer as a 9. Either at the unfortunate expense of Heinz or instead of Francis or McConnochie (only because he's uncapped). But that's a team that definitely CAN win the world cup.

The glimpse that I have had [of Lewis Ludlam], you just feel that he looks like an international player. He looks like he sits nicely. Early on, he was tapping the rest of the team on the heads – senior pros – saying, ‘let’s do this’. He slots in nicely.

The balance of that back row, either with Tom Curry or if he steps into 7 with Courtney Lawes or Billy Vunipola – no-one wants to come up against those guys.

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England have put together a nine-minute video to accompany this news, complete with pics of every player as kids.

Jones has gone pretty early with this, naming his squad weeks in advance of the World Rugby deadline of 8 September.

“We have taken the decision to go early because of what we learned from previous campaigns,” he said.

“We want the squad to know early and now we can get on and be the best prepared England side there has ever been, ready to win the World Cup.”

Brad Shields’ absence is also notable. The former New Zealand under-20 flanker was fast-tracked into the side in the summer of 2018 by Jones, but is currently sidelined with a foot problem.

Jones had already omitted a string of experienced players, with former captains Dylan Hartley and Chris Robshaw missing out, along with Mike Brown, Danny Care, Nathan Hughes and Danny Cipriani.

“A lot of good players have missed out, we feel for them, I feel for them personally,” Jones said.

“But as we know the World Cup is an incredible tournament where opportunities can present themselves and all those players who have missed out have been told they have to be ready.”

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Conversely, Te’o’s fall from grace has been drastic. The cross-code star has long been a favourite of Eddie Jones’, having been fast-tracked into the set-up for the tour of Australia in 2016 before he had played a single minute of club rugby in England.

Even when injury restricted his involvement at Worcester, Te’o was still regularly drafted into England camps by Jones.

But he was not involved last week in the build-up to the clash against Wales, with Jones telling the BBC on Saturday Te’o “was not in the best 31.”

While Jones has refused to confirm or deny whether Te’o was involved in an altercation in Treviso, it’s understood the player was the aggressor in an incident involving Mike Brown.

Jones’ decision to only select two tighthead props in Kyle Sinckler and Dan Cole and two scrum-halves in Heinz and Ben Youngs has freed up a place, and McConnochie is included as one of six back-three players, along with Joe Cokanasiga, Elliot Daly, Anthony Watson, Jonny May and Jack Nowell, although Nowell is struggling with injury.

Like McConnochie and Heinz, hooker Jack Singleton is named just 24 hours after winning his first cap.

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Ludlam’s rise to the World Cup squad has been meteoric. He was included in a training squad for the first time in June, and has impressed enough to make the plane to Japan, with the injured Brad Shields missing out.

World Cup winning scrum-half Matt Dawson said Ludlam “just looks like an international player” during his impressive debut against Wales on Sunday.

McConnochie’s elevation has been even more dramatic. The former sevens player only switched to the XV-a-side game a year ago, but enjoyed a breakthrough season at The Rec.