England forward James Graham has defended the surprise call-up for Chris McQueen to the national side for next month’s Test against Samoa.
The Gold Coast forward is the standout name in Bennett’s 20-man squad for the game in Sydney; the former Queensland representative qualifies for England through his father, who was born in the country.
And Canterbury captain Graham told BBC Radio Merseyside that he has no problem with the selection of McQueen.
“If Chris wants to play for England, he feels proud to play for England,” he said.
“I can only presume that it is Chris that has knocked on Wayne’s door rather than the other way around.”
“If you have got guys that want to represent their heritage or a part of where they’re from then I’m all for that and I’d actively encourage that.”
Graham also insisted that he thinks McQueen’s inclusion will be of huge benefit to England moving forward.
He said: “I’ve spoken to Australian-born players who qualify for England but some of them don’t want to take it on, and some of them do.
“We live in a very multicultural society, people travel, people are born and live in different countries, so I’m all for Chris wanting to play for England – I’m happy he’s in the squad and he’ll add a lot to us.”
