Shaun Wane will make changes to his England team for this Saturday’s World Cup tie against France, with all the players who missed out on their stunning opening win against Samoa set to feature.
England could not have got their World Cup tournament off to a better start than the 60-6 blitz of a heavily-fancied Samoan team.
Next up in Group A are France, in a match that will take place at the University of Bolton Stadium this Saturday (October 22, kick-off 5pm).
John Bateman is free to return from suspension while head coach Wane, who reported a clean bill of health after the Samoa game, is also set to include Andy Ackers, Joe Batchelor, Ryan Hall, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kai Pearce-Paul and Marc Sneyd.
“The players who didn’t play today will play against France, and that will be a strong team,” said Wane.
“It was a very tough week for me leaving those players out because a few of them were really tough calls.
“When I look at people like Mik Oledzki, John Bateman, Marc Sneyd and Andy Ackers, it’s going to be strong against France,no question. All of them will play.”
Not that he is taking the French, who begin their campaign against Greece tonight (Monday) in Doncaster, lightly.
“France are a good team, well coached by Trent (Robinson) and Laurent (Frayssinous),” added Wane.
“They’ll get the respect they deserve from us as staff. I know the players will do exactly the same.”
The manner of England’s opening win will have made other nations take notice, but Wane is sure his team will not become complacent and is not looking any further ahead than their remaining group matches.
“We’re not the sort of people who go round and pat ourselves on the back,” he said.
“We’ll not get carried away. We’re not running round thinking ‘look out for us’. That’s not the English way.
“We won’t think about other people. I want to beat France. I want to beat Greece.”
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