Nobody is going to die - Jones laughs off 'group of death' label

Eddie Jones said "nobody is going to die" in reply to suggestions England have been drawn in the group of death again at the Rugby World Cup but quipped that he would visit the temples in Japan and "pray really hard".

The Six Nations champions learned on Wednesday they will be up against France and Argentina along with two qualifiers at the tournament, having infamously failed to progress from a group containing Australia and Wales on home soil two years ago.

Pool C has been picked out as the most difficult of the four, but England head coach Jones claimed a tough passage could work in his side's favour later in the competition.

"You think it's difficult, but we're excited by it. It's not a tough group, it's a good group," the Australian said.

"To win the World Cup you have to win seven games. We've got two very big games in our pool against France and Argentina so it's great preparation for getting to the final stages.

"We're looking forward to it. We want to win the World Cup. We want to come here and win it, that's our ambition."

REACTION: @englandrugby head coach Eddie Jones reacts to his side being drawn in Pool C with @FFRugby @unionargentina at #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/O1ZeLHzJee

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) May 10, 2017

Jones stated that "nobody is going to die", but joked: "I'm going to visit the temples because I need to pray. I need to pray really hard."

Defending champions New Zealand will face South Africa and Italy in Pool B, while Ireland, Scotland and Japan were drawn in Pool A. Australia, Wales and Georgia will be in Pool D.

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