Joseph fit to return for England

Barritt and Joseph, who scored four tries in the Six Nations Championship last season, were the first-choice centre pairing for the opening Pool A win against Fiji, with George Ford at fly-half.

It is a somewhat harsh fate for the giant cross-coder, in order to allow for Brad Barritt’s shift back to inside centre and Joseph’s recall.

Joseph was also absent from the warm-up phase of England’s afternoon session on Wednesday. He was briefly seen watching from an upstairs window in the indoor training centre, only to vanish when spotted.There were other interested observers as Lancaster’s squad stepped up their preparations to face Australia.

Burgess could have been talking about last Saturday’s loss to Wales, which England blew at the end after failing to cash in on their dominance earlier in the game.

Joseph is likely to line up alongside Brad Barritt in the England midfield with Sam Burgess primed for an impact role off the bench.

At this crucial juncture, England are fielding new combinations, which is far from ideal.

“Certain people who have come out and said things should know better and it seems that no one has ever made a mistake in life and no one has made a decision that hasn’t worked out for them”.

Former Bath playmaker Catt added confidently: “Whoever we decide to select, or whoever is fit, we have total belief we can go and score tries against teams”.

“Because we’ve had them for three months now, somebody missing a week’s training is not going to dent his confidence. They are not living it and doing it and I’m not bothered”. It is understood that the Bath player will again be on the bench, and that England will stick with Farrell, who scored 20 points against Wales.