England's Ellis Genge went from "baby rhino" to wannabe comedian at the Rugby World Cup on Wednesday - only for his prized joke to bomb spectacularly.

When the Leicester prop was asked by a French journalist whether the England players had a favourite song or joke to fire them up before this weekend's Pool C clash against their bitter rivals, he looked bemused.

"We've got a song we sing at the end of the game," said Genge, who was once described by a television commentator as charging "like a baby rhino with a dart up its backside" after flattening former England captain Dylan Hartley in the Premiership. "We'll keep that to ourselves. We stand up on the bus and do jokes before training - do you want one?"Genge unwisely launched two-footed into a comedy debut that should really never have happened.

"I was an entrepreneur before started playing rugby," he dead-panned.  "I invented the cold-air balloon, but it never really took off!"