HE didn’t play against Papua New Guinea last week, but Luke Thompson is set for an England recall.
That’s according to England head coach Shaun Wane who has confirmed that the former St Helens prop forward will return to the action for Saturday’s clash against Samoa.
The game will take place at the Emirates Stadium – the home of Premier League side Arsenal – but with Thompson coming back into the action, it means one player will have to drop out from the near-faultless display against Papua New Guinea last week.
That man missing out will be Saints prop Matty Lees, with Wane explaining why.
“Matty Lees is out of the 19 and Luke Thompson is in. Apart from that, it’s exactly the same as last week,” Wane confirmed.
“Matty did some good things. He’s a really good player and a really good kid – but I want to have a look at Luke Thompson.
“It’s a strong team we’ve got out.”
It will be the first time that England will have played Samoa since their opening round hammering of Matt Parish’s side.
Samoa went down 60-6 that day at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park, but it is set to be a completely different affair this weekend.
And Wane has named the 19-man squad for that game.
England squad
1 Sam Tomkins
2 Tommy Makinson
3 Kallum Watkins
4 Herbie Farnworth
6 Jack Welsby
7 George Williams
8 Tom Burgess
9 Micky McIlorum
10 Luke Thompson
11 Elliott Whitehead
12 John Bateman
13 Victor Radley
14 Dom Young
15 Morgan Knowles
17 Mike Cooper
18 Chris Hill
20 Mike McMeeken
21 Marc Sneyd
24 Kai Pearce-Paul
