Shaun Wane has named his 30-man England training squad as he continues his preparations for this year’s Rugby League World Cup.
Wane will get his players together at Headingley Stadium on Tuesday March 15 for a training session, with further sessions due to be held in April and May.
Hull KR’s Ryan Hall has received a recall into the international squad after an impressive return to the Super League last year.
The winger scored 16 tries for the Robins last season and with 38 caps to his name he is one of the most experienced players named in the squad.
St Helens half-back Lewis Dodd and Wigan back-rower Kai Pearce-Paul have also been named in the squad for the very first time.
Matty Lees, Harry Newman, Liam Marshall and Jack Welsby are included, too, and they will be hoping to make their England debuts later this year.
There are representatives from 10 Super League clubs in the squad, with Hull FC and Toulouse Olympique being the only clubs not to have a player included.
Shaun Wane said: “It’s a massive year for us, a great opportunity that we must be well prepared for.
“We’ve looked at a number of things in putting this training squad together – form last year, performances in the All Stars and France games, pre-season training and discussions around up and coming young players.
“The players included for this first session need to look like England players and train like England players. We want something extra from them at this level.
“The younger players coming through are a real credit to Paul Anderson and Paul Sculthorpe on the performance pathway, club coaches and junior coaches too. To me it doesn’t matter whether you’re 17 or 37, if I think you can help us win a World Cup you’ll be in the squad.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of players and the ones not included at this stage know that they can still force their way in. It’s an open book and I see some of them coming back in later in the year.”
Training squad in full:
John Bateman (Wigan Warriors), Daryl Clark (Warrington Wolves), Mike Cooper (Warrington Wolves), Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves), Thomas Davies (Catalans Dragons), Lewis Dodd (St Helens), Niall Evalds (Castleford Tigers), Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors), Ryan Hall (Hull KR), Zak Hardaker (Wigan Warriors), Morgan Knowles (St Helens), Kruise Leeming (Leeds Rhinos), Matthew Lees (St Helens), Jonny Lomax (St Helens), Reece Lyne (Wakefield Trinity), Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants), Paul McShane (Castleford Tigers), Tommy Makinson (St Helens), Liam Marshall (Wigan Warriors), Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos), Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos), Kai Pearce-Paul (Wigan Warriors), Mark Percival (St Helens), Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves), Dan Sarginson (Salford Red Devils), Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Jake Wardle (Huddersfield Giants), Jack Welsby (St Helens), George Williams (Warrington Wolves)
