England boss Shaun Wane has selected out-of-sorts Warrington scrum-half George Williams but admitted: “If it doesn’t work out, it’s on me.”
Wane today named his squad for tomorrow’s mid-season international with the Combined Nations All Stars, including four debutants. St Helens trio Jack Welsby, Matty Lees and Joe Batchelor all get the nod along with Huddersfield Giants’ Jake Wardle who starts at centre. The versatile Welsby, 21, is at stand-off alongside the experienced Williams who has come under fire for some wretched form.
Crisis-torn Wolves are on a five-match losing streak but Wane is hoping the ex-Canberra star - who he coached at Wigan - will rediscover his best when England take to the field at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium. He said: “I’ve made the call on George Williams who, on his day, is one of the best in the world.
“If it doesn’t work out, it’s on me as head coach. This is the start of the World Cup as far as I’m concerned. This game is as important as the Fiji game, which is just before the World Cup starts. First and foremost, I want to win. Ellery (Hanley) will have his team very motivated and we need to be better than them. It’s simple.
“I’ve picked a group of players who in my heart I know can do the job. Some are new to the set up; others like Ryan Hall are very experienced and are still performing at a high level. Our preparation has been excellent, the players have been superb in training and there’s a good spirit in camp.”
England’s record try-scorer Hall, the in-form 34-year-old Hull KR winger, comes back into the squad for the first time since 2018. There is also a recall for Catalans hooker Michael McIlorum, 34, who last played for England in the 2013 World Cup and starts at No9 with Castleford’s Paul McShane on the bench.
Dragons team-mate Mike McMeeken and Salford’s Kallum Watkins are back in the England side for the first time since the 2017 World Cup.
Warrington trio Stefan Ratchford, Joe Philbin and Matt Ashton are members of the 20-man squad who miss out. Hanley has also named his side with seven players making their second appearance for the All Stars after featuring in last year’s 26-24 victory over England.
Kenny Edwards, Kruise Leeming, Peter Mata’utia, Matt Prior, Chris Satae, Ken Sio and Kelepi Tanginoa are the returning faces while Daryl Clark, the Warrington and England hooker left out by Wane, starts at No9.
Hanley, said: “It’s been a great week in camp and every single player has given their all, so it was tough to narrow it down to just 17. “However, I have the utmost trust in this group of players to go out there, give England a real game and get the win we’re all craving.
“The players who took part in last year’s fixture have experienced that feeling of beating England and want to do it again, and that desire has certainly been passed on to the new members of the squad.”
Both England and the All Stars will be wearing Tonga-inspired jerseys for the fixture, with 10% of all shirt sales going to the ongoing recovery efforts in Tonga following the volcano and tsunami earlier this year. To mark the connection, the Combined Nations All Stars side will be led out onto the pitch by Tongan internationals Konrad Hurrell and Fuifui Moimoi.
Hanley added: “A few of the senior players asked whether Konrad and Fuifui would be able to lead us out due to their Tongan connections and what we’re raising money for.
“We’re keen to help the Tongan community as much as we can and when we asked them both to be involved they were really proud.”
The All Stars fixture revives a rugby league tradition which stretches back to the Other Nationalities team of the early 20th century, with the team made up of players from across the world who are currently playing in the northern hemisphere.
England versus the Combined Nations is part of a double-header which also sees England Women taking on France.
England team
1 Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons, Captain); 2 Tommy Makinson (St Helens); 3 Kallum Watkins (Salford Red Devils); 4 Jake Wardle (Huddersfield Giants); 5 Ryan Hall (Hull KR); 6 Jack Welsby (St Helens); 7 George Williams (Warrington Wolves); 8 Alex Walmsley (St Helens); 9 Michael McIlorum (Catalans Dragons); 10 Mike Cooper (Warrington Wolves); 11 Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors); 12 Mike McMeeken (Catalans Dragons); 13 John Bateman (Wigan Warriors).
Interchanges: 14 Paul McShane (Castleford Tigers); 15 Joe Batchelor (St Helens); 16 Matty Lees (St Helens); 17 Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos.
Combined Nations All Stars team
1 Peter Mata'utia (Warrington Wolves); 2 Ken Sio (Salford Red Devils), 3 Rhyse Martin (Leeds Rhinos), 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Hull KR) 5 Mahe Fonua (Castleford Tigers); 6 Jacob Miller (Wakefield Trinity), 7 Brodie Croft (Salford Red Devils); 8 Ligi Sao (Hull FC), 9 Daryl Clark (Warrington Wolves), 10 Zane Tetevano (Leeds Rhinos), 11 Kenny Edwards (Castleford Tigers), 12 Kelepi Tanginoa (Wakefield Trinity), 13 Matt Prior (Leeds Rhinos)
Interchanges: 14 Kruise Leeming (Leeds Rhinos), 15 Joe Lovodua (Hull FC), 16 Chris Satae (Hull FC) 17 David Fifita (Wakefield Trinity)
