Leeds Rhinos winger Ash Handley is refusing to give up on his dream of representing England at this year’s World Cup. Handley won his only England cap to date as a substitute in the 26-24 loss to the Combined Nations All Stars last June.
It was Shaun Wane’s first game in charge of England and his second match was the end-of-season win in France which Handley missed through injury. With the rearranged 2021 World Cup coming into clear focus, England will play an All Stars side coached by Ellery Hanley on June 18 in vital preparation for this autumn’s tournament.
Handley, arguably the Rhinos’ most consistent performer so far this season, is staying open-minded about his chances of making the cut for Wane’s World Cup squad. The 26-year-old told Rugby League live: “I just think playing well for Leeds has to be the main goal.
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“If you’re playing well for your club then that’s how you’re going to get selected – that’s certainly how it has been portrayed to me. My main focus is on getting over the line, doing the hard stuff, performing consistently for Leeds and then it’s out of my hands. The only thing I can control is playing my best rugby for Leeds every week. If I’m doing that then I think I would be in for a shot and then it’s down to whoever selects the side.”
Reflecting on his previous experience of the international set-up under Wane, Handley added: “I was involved for the first All Stars game and it was good to spend a few days inside the camp to see how Shaun went about his business.
“That was only a short camp and I didn’t play in the France game at the end of last year because I was injured. Since then, I’ve not really been involved in anything. Shaun said to me at the start of the year ‘I want you to concentrate on playing well for Leeds’.
“I’ve not heard anything since then, so that’s all I’ve been doing – concentrating on myself and playing well for Leeds. Then it comes down to the personal choice of whoever picks the side. Making the World Cup is obviously the goal, but this mid-season game is coming around very fast and I’ve not heard anything up to now.
“But you don’t get picked for a World Cup squad now, so my aim is to keep playing consistently, maybe pick up my form in the second half of the year, then who knows? It would be a dream come true to play for England at the World Cup.
“Everyone wants to play against the best players in the world and, if you don’t want to do that, then I don’t know why you’d even play the game. That’s what I’m aspiring to and hopefully the opportunity comes up.”
Handley believes St Helens star Tommy Makinson sets the standards for wingers in Super League.
“For me, Makinson is the stand-out winger in the competition because he works so hard in the backfield and is good at finishing off tries as well,” explained Handley. “He’s the one that you want to be playing like because he sets such a high standard of how to be a good winger.”
Handley has notched six tries in 13 Super League games this season and racked up some hugely impressive stats for his work-rate in yardage. The Leeds-born wideman is currently the highest metre-maker in Super League this year with 1,828 metres made. He is also top of the charts for carries with 216 - one more than his old Rhinos colleague Ryan Hall.
Assessing his form so far this term, Handley said: “I’d say it’s been okay – quite average really – and I’d like to get on the scoresheet a little bit more. I feel like a few have been chalked off during games when they could have been given.
“I’d like to have a few more opportunities to score but other than that I’ve been consistently playing decent rugby. I just want to keep that going but, if you’re in a winning team and you’re scoring tries, it makes you look a lot better doesn’t it?
“I think that’s a modern-day winger’s job now, doing the backfield carries, but you don’t want to just be doing that. You need to have the gloss on top of scoring tries as well to go with your yardage and carries. But the tries are what make the headlines. Like I say, I’ll just keep trying to perform well for Leeds and see where it takes me.”
