Sam Burgess has been picked in England's 31-man Rugby World Cup squad less than a year after playing his first match in the 15-man code. The NRL Grand Final winner has been selected as one of four centres, with Exeter's Henry Slade, his midfield partner at Twickenham for the RWC 2015 warm-up win over France, amongst a quartet that also features experienced Saracens centre Brad Barritt and England's star performer in the Six Nations, Jonathan Joseph. Nick Easter and Danny Cipriani have been omitted from the 31-strong squad, as have centres Luther Burrell and Billy Twelvetrees, that contains 17 forwards and 14 backs, despite strong performances off the bench in last weekend's defeat to Les Bleus in Paris. “It’s really positive that we have such depth and options to choose from. Selection wasn’t easy and it is tough to leave anyone out but it’s important to stress that the players not in this group are still part of our wider squad and could come in at any point," said England