ENGLAND head coach Brian McDermott says he has picked halfbacks to play to his planned style of attack after omitting Jake Connor from his World Cup squad.
Leeds Rhinos star Connor, who won the Man of Steel in 2025 and followed that up with 43 try assists in Super League this season, has missed out with Hull KR’s Mikey Lewis included instead.
While Connor had not played internationally since 2019, McDermott had made suggestions earlier in the season that he planned to end the playmaker’s exile under predecessor Shaun Wane.
“I believe Jake has had a really good year, he had an outstanding year last year and won Man of Steel,” McDermott said.
“What I’ve got is a squad full of players who, I believe, will best play to the game style and attack plan that we identified weeks ago that I think we need to compete with the leading nations.
“We have to play with a point of difference. We’ve got a squad that I think is best suited to playing the game plan I want to play.
“Mikey Lewis runs and when he’s in doubt, he runs. He doesn’t die wondering. He brings a lot of attitude and at times that can spill over, but he is a tough character.”
McDermott went further on Lewis, saying: “Current form has a bearing, of course it does, but there is another principle to how we picked a team and that’s how they can play under pressure.
“In World Cups and internationals you don’t get any second chances, you have to deliver there and then. I’ve picked a group of players who have got recent history of playing in finals and delivering when it matters.
“Mikey Lewis played in the World Club Challenge this year, although I get he wasn’t in the best form and copped a couple of bans towards the back end of the season.”
McDermott also explained the absence of any players from new Super League champions Wakefield Trinity.
Tom Johnstone, Jake Trueman, Mike McMeeken and New Zealand-born Caleb Hamlin-Uele were in contention but all four are undergoing surgery in the off-season.
“It’s a real shame that the Wakefield boys aren’t available. There’s nothing we could do, they are all booked in for operations at the end of the year,” said McDermott.
“Jake Trueman has had a fantastic year, Mike McMeeken has been enormous, Caleb Hamlin-Uele has been strong and Tom Johnstone almost dragged his side through the Grand Final win.
“Every single one of them were in and amongst being picked but I knew they were going to have operations.”
