By KEITH McGHIE
TOM JOHNSTONE is confident he and Matty Ashton can continue to fly on the England wings should Tommy Makinson fail to shake off a wrist injury in time for Saturday’s third Test at Headingley, while Dominic Young recovers from a serious infection that ruled him out of the series.
England secured a series win with a game to spare with victory in Huddersfield, in which Ashton scored both tries and Johnstone again performed well after his starring role in the first Test.
Johnstone, Super League’s second-highest scorer with 27 tries in his maiden campaign with Catalans, said of Makinson: “I’m not sure whether he’ll be fit. Tommy’s usually a very tough player and plays through injuries.
“I got told he wasn’t playing and Matty filled in and absolutely killed it on that side with a man-of-the-match performance.
“So if Tommy doesn’t play next week, we’re confident that we have people like Matty who can step in and do the job needed.”
Ashton, who described his second Test appearance as “living the dream”, set England on the way through a try after just six minutes, then followed it up by using his lightning speed to successfully chase a kick to the corner and complete his brace just before half-time.
The Warrington player added: “It was a great feeling and gets you ready, standing out here at the beginning of the game when the anthems were being played and you could look up at your family in the crowd.
“Getting that early try definitely picks up your confidence but I still made a couple errors, which was disappointing.
“But we got through the game and got the win, which was what mattered in the end.
“It was tough watching (the previous weekend), that’s for sure, as you just want to be out there with the boys, but the togetherness within the squad is great and we are a 24-man squad, so it’s not just about the 17 who are on the pitch.
“Everyone’s part of the journey, part of the series, so if Tommy is back next week, I’m happy to play my part off the pitch as well as on it.
“We’ve all come into this series wanting to win it 3-0 and I don’t think the standard is going to drop – we all still want to go out there and put it on them again.”
