THERE’S a ‘mole’ in the England camp – but coach Shaun Wane has no need to worry.
Wakefield winger Tom Johnstone is among the 32 players named in the train-on squad ahead of this autumn’s Ashes series and hoping to add to his five Test appearances to date.
The 29-year-old who is in his second spell with Trinity after two years in France at Catalans Dragons is all genned up about the Australians thanks to his love of watching matches and listening to and reading about all things Rugby League.
“I like to keep up with all the gossip around the game and watch as many NRL and Super League matches as I can, and when I was at Catalans, I got the nickname The Mole’ because of it,” he told League Express.
“The other players reckoned I was a bit of an RL geek and joked that if they wanted to know anything about who was playing well or who was coming through, they’d come to me.
“I really enjoy watching the NRL and following what’s going on over there and who could be going where, and it’s exciting to think I could be playing against some of those players.
“But there’s a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of matches to take place, before then, and while it’s great to be in Shaun Wane’s thoughts, I’m taking nothing for granted.
“He is always very clear about what he wants and expects from us, and I know that to have a chance of featuring in the Ashes, I need to play consistently well for Wakefield.”
Johnstone, who scored a hat-trick of tries on his England debut in the 44-6 win over France at Leigh in 2018 and has crossed four further times in four outings since, enjoyed last week’s squad get-together in Manchester.
“It’s great to get among the other players, catch up and see a few new faces,” he added.
“The Super League season is busy, so chances to get together are limited, and you have to make the most of them when they come around.
“The coach keeps in regular contact with us, and it was a chance for him to go over a few things face to face.
“I think we all understand about his principles and those things he expects and demands from us, then take on board what he says about finer details.
“There’s a real buzz about taking on the Australians. They are the world champions and at the pinnacle of our game.
“I watched internationals when I was growing up, and Shaun has spoken about the significance of England-Australia matches and shown us clips from past games.
“It brings it home what a big thing the Ashes is, and while people talk the Australians up, and makes us want to step up.
“They have top-class players, of course, and the NRL is a great competition, but England have beaten Tonga and Samoa, who both had plenty of players from the NRL, in recent series and now we want to go a step further.
“We respect Australia, but we don’t fear them, and having the chance to play against them is a great incentive to play well for our clubs.”