England boss Shaun Wane has named named a bunch of uncapped players and is missing a raft of stars for the World Cup, but his message on Friday was simply: “I’m ready.”
The hosts kick-off their campaign against Samoa at Newcastle’s St James’ Park two weeks tomorrow. Wane today named his 24-man squad with six newcomers including Wigan’s rising talent Kai Pearce-Paul and formidable Sydney Roosters loose forward Victor Radley. But untried Salford hooker Andy Ackers, 28, and scrum-half Marc Sneyd, 31, are perhaps surprise picks having never previously had a look-in at the international scene.
Wane is without injured St Helens trio Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley and Mark Percival as well as Wigan second-row Liam Farrell plus young Leeds talent Harry Newman. It left many believing hopes of ending a 50-year wait for World Cup glory are as slim as ever. But Wane, who’s also recalled veteran Huddersfield prop Chris Hill, insisted: “Can we win the World Cup? Absolutely.
“I’ve 24 really strong, committed men who want to represent England. I am honestly comfortable with my 24, and the blend we’ve got has an average age of 28, so it’s a really good mix of experience and youth. Our squad is full of proud Englishmen who are very, very keen to make sure we compete for everything, so I’m more than happy with the 24 - my front-rows, my halves... I’m ready.”
Burnley-born Brisbane Broncos centre Herbie Farnworth and 21-year-old Huddersfield-born Newcastle Knights winger Dom Young are the other potential debutants. Farnworth, 22, scored ten tries in 12 NRL games before suffering a bicep injury in June but hasn’t played since. He was also axed from Wane’s earlier squads before getting back in favour.
He explained: "A couple of things dropped off from a communication standpoint but I had to prove to Shaun and the boys I still wanted to be part of the team. Thankfully that happened and Shaun brought me back in. I’ve not played since round 12, so my eyes have been firmly on the World Cup.
"I’ve been telling Waney throughout the year how much it would mean to me to play, so it feels kind of weird to finally be here now on English soil again.”
Wane likes Ackers’ “toughness and vision” while on ex-Hull No7 Sneyd he said: “He’s probably the best kicking game in the competition and we’re playing in October and November when it’s going to be wet. He can make a bad yardage set into a good yardage set and knows how to win games.”
The coach will now pick between Sneyd, Jack Welsby and George Williams for his two half-back spots to face Samoa after ignoring the claims of ex-Wigan star Jackson Hastings. The Wests Tigers playmaker, who toured with Great Britain and won of Man of Steel in 2019, had hoped to force his way in. Wane, whose side face Fiji in Friday’s warm-up, said: “I spoke to him last week, two weeks before that and another two weeks before that. I was just really honest. He’s had a broken leg, so he needs to get himself right.”
England World Cup squad: Tomkins, McMeeken, McIlorum (all Catalans), Ackers, Sneyd, Watkins (all Salford), Batchelor, Knowles, Lees, Makinson, Welsby (all St Helens), Bateman, Cooper, Pearce-Paul, (all Wigan) Burgess (South Sydney), Farnworth (Brisbane), Hall (Hull KR), Hill (Huddersfield), Oledzki (Leeds), Radley (Sydney Roosters), Thompson (Canterbury), Whitehead (Canberra), Williams (Warrington), Young (Newcastle Knights).
