England, Combined Nations teams finalise line-ups

Published by

17 Jun 2022

Huddersfield Giants' Jake Wardle, and St Helens' Joe Batchelor, Matty Lees and Jack Welsby, will all make their England debuts in Saturday's mid-season international against the Combined Nations All Stars in Warrington (KO 17.45).

And, with the World Cup less than four months away, England head coach Shaun Wane has also recalled four players with considerable World Cup experience – Ryan Hall, Michael McIlorum, Mike McMeeken and Kallum Watkins.

The Combined Nations All Stars team features players from eight different Super League clubs and will be led by former Kiwis centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall.

Seven players will be making their second appearance for the All Stars after featuring in last year’s 26-24 victory over England.

Both England and the Combined Nations 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 onto the pitch by Tongan internationals, Konrad Hurrell and Fuifui Moimoi.

England Head Coach Shaun Wane said: “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. 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.

“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. Our preparation has been excellent, the players have been superb in training and there’s a good spirit in camp.”

Combined Nations All Stars coach Ellery 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."

England: 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: Peter Mata'utia (Warrington Wolves); Ken Sio (Salford Red Devils), Rhyse Martin (Leeds Rhinos), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Hull KR), Mahe Fonua (Castleford Tigers); Jacob Miller (Wakefield Trinity), Brodie Croft (Salford Red Devils); Ligi Sao (Hull FC), Daryl Clark (Warrington Wolves), Zane Tetevano (Leeds Rhinos), Kenny Edwards (Castleford Tigers), Kelepi Tanginoa (Wakefield Trinity) , Matt Prior (Leeds Rhinos). Interchanges: Kruise Leeming (Leeds Rhinos), Joe Lovodua (Hull FC), Chris Satae (Hull FC), David Fifita (Wakefield Trinity).