Australian-born Canberra Raiders half-back Blake Austin has admitted he would be interested in representing England should coach Wayne Bennett get in touch with him about switching allegiances to the national side.
Austin qualifies for England through his grandmother, who was born in England before moving to Australia.
And he told 7 News Sydney that he would definitely be open to playing for England if he was approached ahead of this year’s World Cup.
He said: “If I had the chance to make my grandmother proud and it was a special moment for her, then I would definitely put my hand up.
“She’s one of the toughest women I know and she was pulled away from her parents in the war-time and sent to Australia.”
However, Austin did admit that he didn’t want to “offend anybody” if it meant switching his allegiance from the Kangaroos to the English.
“That’d be something you consider further down the track. I know a lot of players come out and voice their opinion on things like that and I wouldn’t want to offend anybody.
“Obviously it means a lot more to those guys than it would to me and Origin is on the top of my goals list but if they reached out to me then it’s something I would think about for sure.”
.@RaidersCanberra playmaker Blake Austin says he’s eligible to represent Wayne Bennett’s @England_RL at @RLWC2017. https://t.co/5937QhGqV3
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) February 22, 2017
