Ellery Hanley’s return to coaching with the Combined Nations All Stars has certainly provided an interesting additional element to England’s third match under Shaun Wane and a controversial one, if the lead letter in this week’s League Express Mailbag is anything to go by.
The clash at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday, June 18 is a repeat of Wane’s first game in charge last year.
The Combined Nations, then led by Tim Sheens, were 26-24 winners with the help of Jake Connor and Jermaine McGillvary, both of whom had been left out of the England squad by Wane.
Neither was Hull fullback Connor among the 30-strong England training pool named last week, although there were recalls for Huddersfield stalwart McGillvary and fellow winger Ryan Hall, of Hull KR, while seven uncapped players, St Helens’ Lewis Dodd, Matty Lees and Jack Welsby, Wigan’s Kai Pearce-Paul and Liam Marshall, Leeds’ Harry Newman and McGillvary’s Giants teammate Jake Wardle, are also among the group who will get together at regular intervals over the next few months.
There will always be plenty of debate over which players are included and which aren’t, and Garry Schofield has his say both on that and his old teammate Hanley’s appointment in his always-readable column on page nine.
And some would rather see England face another nation in what is a key part of Wane’s preparations for the World Cup, which starts when his side face Samoa at St James’ Park, Newcastle in just seven months’ time.
But given the knock-on effects of the pandemic, which of course forced the twelve-month postponement of the tournament, the Combined Nations are probably the most practical option when it comes to providing the kind of meaningful test Wane, who played alongside Hanley at Wigan, and his team need.
Hopefully the build-up to the match, when Wane will seek a second win after the 30-10 victory over France in Perpignan at the end of last season, will be smoother than it was last June.
Amid criticism from clubs who were unhappy at losing players for Super League games, Sheens struggled to put together a side, hence the inclusion of Connor and McGillvary.
This time, there is a Super League break to coincide with the international fixture, which should help Hanley – who will be assisted by Andrew Henderson, the former London Broncos coach and Warrington assistant coach who is currently head of rugby at Keighley – select the strongest possible side and boost the attendance, which was 4,000 last year.
It’s a double-header, with England Women playing France in preparation for their World Cup, and tickets are now on sale through the RFL website.
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