GARRY SCHOFIELD speculates on who is likely to make England’s first Test team against Samoa at Wigan on Sunday.
I’M REALLY looking forward to the England versus Samoa series although I’m disappointed that it will be only two matches.
The sides meet at Wigan on Sunday, then at Headingley on Saturday week, in what has been billed as England’s chance to avenge their golden-point World Cup semi-final defeat at the Arsenal football ground two years ago.
That won’t be the case in the series ends 1-1, or 2-0 to Samoa of course, and when they are coming all this way, it seems a real shame not to have a third Test.
But two it is, and that’s certainly better than none, which might have been the case given the time it took to get the tour on.
It will be a first meaningful challenge for England since Tonga came over a year ago, and I hope it proves more competitive.
Normally a touring team gets better as a series goes on, because they get used both to playing alongside each other and to conditions which are different to the norm for them.
When England beat Kristian Woolf’s side 22-18 at St Helens, it looked like we were in for a top trio of meetings.
But Tonga got worse, not better, and were easily defeated at both Huddersfield and Headingley.
I hope Samoa come with the attitude of showing they deserved to make the World Cup Final.
While there are a few big names missing, including Stephen Crichton, who did so much damage to us down in London, they have some great players to call on, led by captain and stand-off Jarome Luai, who is fresh from winning the NRL Grand Final with Penrith and is now joining Wests Tigers.
Another successful Panther, centre Izack Tago, is also coming over, as is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, the New Zealand Warriors fullback.
It will be interesting to see what team Shaun Wane selects for the opener, and it’s a shame Jake Wardle is out through injury, his Wigan team-mate Luke Thompson is suspended for the game on his home ground and Elliot Minchella isn’t in the final 24-strong squad, because they’d have made my starting 13.
I’d go for Minchella’s Hull KR teammate Mikey Lewis alongside George Williams in the halves, but I suspect Waney will pick Harry Smith who, to be fair, had an excellent Grand Final and is a great kicker in open play.
Jack Welsby would be my fullback, with Dom Young and Liam Marshall on the wings and Harry Newman and Herbie Farnworth the centres.
Newman hasn’t been at his best for Leeds this year, but has the chance to show what he’s all about, while Farnworth is fresh from making the Dally M Team of the Year (alongside Crichton) after his performances for The Dolphins in the NRL.
With Thompson serving his ban, I’d plump for Huddersfield-bound Tom Burgess and Matty Lees as props with Daryl Clark at hooker.
With Minchella not in the picture, I would have Victor Radley providing some inspiration from loose-forward and a former Wigan player Kai Pearce-Paul alongside current star Junior Nsemba in the second row.
Nsemba has been knocking on England’s door for a while, and with Shaun saying he goes on club form, surely he won’t be overlooked.
On my bench would be Ethan Havard, Morgan Knowles, Morgan Smithies and Danny Walker.
Over to you Waney!
Hunslet defy the odds
AND so we shall again, as the old club song goes.
Well done to all at Hunslet on returning to the Championship – especially since it was done the hard way by Dean Muir and his boys.
They finished fourth in League One, lost at Rochdale in the first stage of the play-offs, but then, after beating Midlands Hurricanes, they again went to Rochdale and Keighley, who were both higher, and beat the pair of them.
That was no mean feat, and set up the promotion and relegation play-off at Swinton, where against the odds, Hunslet won 22-20 in a real ding-dong contest.
Now they are preparing to play in the second tier for the first time since 2015 and I’m delighted for all involved.
They’ve not had much chance to outdo the noisy neighbours on the other side of the River Aire, but this year, they and Hunslet ARLFC, who I watched retain the National Conference League title earlier this month, have been the most successful sides in Leeds.
Hunslet are the team closest to where I live. I know quite a few of the folk behind the scenes and the sponsors there, and I get down to watch them when I can.
Chairman Kenny Sykes and chief executive Neil Hampshire both do a great job, and while there’s been frustration over the IMG effect on our game, which readers of this column will know I share, they have stuck to their task and steadily built up the club.
They had to replace Alan Kilshaw as coach when he left this time last year to take charge of Swinton, and went for Dean.
He had coached West Bowling in the NCL and been on the staff at Keighley, so it was a step up and a bit of a risk.
But Hunslet backed themselves in their view that he could do a job for them, and that’s proved the case.
It’s worth remembering that this is a club that is fan-owned.
That was the legacy of Grahame Liles, the former Chairman who gifted the club to the Hunslet Independent Supporters’ Trust twelve years ago.
Very sadly, Grahame died last month, and I’m sure he will be looking down and saying congratulations to everyone involved.
Well done, Trinity
WELL Done Wakefield on winning the Championship Grand Final after topping the table and claiming the 1895 Cup in what has been a memorable 2024 campaign.
It still seems strange to me that it’s not that convincing win over Toulouse on Saturday which will decide whether Wakefield will return to Super League.
It seems likely Trinity will get the nod under club grading, thanks in part to the investment made by Matt Ellis since he took the club over (although let’s not forget that it was the previous regime who finally got the ground (or at least some it) upgraded – and how Belle Vue needed it.
Matt made a great coaching appointment in Daryl Powell, who along with his backroom staff, have been busy signing up more players than Wakefield have had new stadium plans over the years.
A switch to another location never came to fruition, but Wakefield are set to move divisions, which will bring a whole set of new challenges.
Daryl is a canny operator with a point to prove in the top flight after things went sour for him at Warrington, and he knows it won’t be a cakewalk in the way much of 2024 has been.
Trinity fans will enjoy seeing winger Tom Johnstone back in red, white and blue – hopefully he will avoid the injury issues of his first stint at the club – and Mike McMeeken is a solid addition to the pack.
Jake Trueman can still do a job in the halves, and existing Aussie forward Ky Rodwell is highly rated.
I don’t think Wakefield will have as dismal a time of it as they did in 2023, but neither do I reckon they’ll make the play-offs in 2025.
But if they set some foundations, with the owner’s ambition, they could get there in the longer term.
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