England set to go up against a ‘Combined Nations All Stars’ team in rare World Cup warm-up match

With the World Cup looming for England this Autumn, chances to get the squad together have been and will be few and far between. A game against the Combined Nations All-Stars offers an opportunity for players to stake their claim against an array of talent including some home-grown and some from overseas.

The Halliwell Jones Stadium (Warrington) will host a double header of international test rugby league as England’s women host Wales prior to the showpiece that is the All-Stars game. England’s wheelchair men’s side also take on Wales, though that one takes place at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on Saturday, June 26.

Unbelievably, this will be the first time that any player will have donned the St George’s cross since 2018! National teams in the sport are notoriously less active than those from the opposing code and other sports, but even so, three years of inactivity is an anomaly of sorts. 

Of Course, the Coronavirus pandemic has had its’ say in the long break, England were due to be part of the revival of the ‘Rugby League Ashes’ series, as a stand-alone nation rather than as part of a combined Great British side.

If this had been able to go ahead, it would have consisted of three tests at the University of Bolton Stadium, Elland Road and then culminated with a November clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It also would have been the first time that the Rugby League Ashes series had taken place since 2003, but it wasn’t to be. 

Consequently, the matchup against the Combined Nations, paired with a warm-up test against Fiji in Rochdale later on this year, will be the only two occasions that Shaun Wane’s England side take to the field before their World Cup journey embarks against Samoa at St James’ Park on October 23. 

Sam Tomkins has been elected as captain by former club coach Wane, and will lead out his country for the very first time, just four months before the World Cup gets underway, when they take on the Combined Nations this Friday. Previously, the Catalans Dragons man has been capped 25 times by England, scoring an impressive 18 tries along the way and long known as one of the stars of the game, there is no doubt that Tomkins is absolutely deserving of the captaincy.

That said, there has been no shortage of controversy over the squad selection from Wane, with the head coach leaving out both Gareth Widdop (Warrington Wolves) and Ryan Hall (Hull Kingston Rovers). The former – a bonafide ‘Man of Steel’ contender – has impressed many with his performances for Wire so far this year while Hall has come back with a bang following a troubled spell in the NRL, scoring 12 tries in 11 appearances for KR to date in this campaign.

Added to that, fellow experienced winger Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants) is also out of the squad chosen for the mid-season fixture, it’s clear that Wane has faith in a new breed of attacking talent. Incidentally, McGillvary will be lining up for the opposition in this contest, and will certainly have a point to prove in doing so. 

Here are the squads for Friday’s game in Warrington- 

England- 

John Bateman (Wigan Warriors); Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie (all Warrington Wolves); Tom Davies (Catalans Dragons); Liam Farrell (Wigan Warriors); Luke Gale, Ash Handley (both Leeds Rhinos); Morgan Knowles (St Helens); Reece Lyne (Wakefield Trinity); Jonny Lomax (St Helens); Paul McShane (Castleford Tigers); Tommy Makinson (St Helens); Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos); Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford (both Warrington Wolves); Sam Tomkins (Catalans Dragons); Joe Westerman (Wakefield Trinity) 

Combined Nations All-Stars- 

Jake Connor (Hull FC), Kenny Edwards (Huddersfield Giants), Jackson Hastings (Wigan Warriors), Liam Kay (Wakefield Trinity), Kruise Leeming (Leeds Rhinos), Ricky Leutele (Huddersfield Giants), Peter Mata’utia (Castleford Tigers), Suaia Matagi (Castleford Tigers), Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants), Junior Moors (Featherstone Rovers), Pauli Pauli (Salford Red Devils), Nathan Peats (Leigh Centurions), Matt Prior (Leeds Rhinos), Chris Satae (Hull FC), Andre Savelio (Hull FC), Aidan Sezer (Huddersfield Giants), Ken Sio (Salford Red Devils), Kelepi Tanginoa (Wakefield Trinity), Luke Yates (Huddersfield Giants)  

Understandably so, clubs have been incredibly reluctant to release their players for such a game, with five out of the six Round 11 Super League fixtures still taking place this week as things stand. As a result, Combined Nations All-Stars coach Tim Sheens has had to delve into the Championship to make up the numbers for his squad, saying that up to 40 players had turned down the chance of a call-up .

Having been turned away on a couple of occasions, the former Widnes Vikings coach was able to obtain the services of Junior Moors from high flying Featherstone Rovers though. Having spent five years with Castleford Tigers, the Samoan was recruited at Post Office Road as part of the wealth of Super League experience in Rovers’ push for promotion. 

Elsewhere, standout players for the All-Stars include a Hull FC trio of Jake Connor, Chris Satae and Andre Savelio. Connor, 26, has made five appearances for England himself previously, all of which came in 2018.

Between then and now, new head coach Wane came in and opted not to include the versatile player in his plans, so much like McGillvary, Connor will certainly have a point to prove at the Halliwell Jones. 

The All-Stars squad selection has affected various clubs, but Huddersfield may feel slightly more aggrieved given that they now have as many as five key players missing for their clash with Hull FC due to involvement in the game.

All five have been chosen by Sheens, meaning that the Giants had to name a provisional squad of just 13 players for their next Super League challenge. Although that squad was listed as ‘provisional’, it has still left the Yorkshire outfit scrambling to get bodies in and registered in time for the trip to the KCOM Stadium.

All for a good cause

Of Course, amongst all of the Super League implications, it’s easy to forget one of the key factors in why the mid-season international is taking place to begin with. It has been revealed that revenue generated from this match will go towards helping to raise funds for the ‘Mose Masoe Foundation’.

Masoe – a former Samoan international – played for the Sydney Roosters, Penrith Panthers, St Helens and latterly Hull Kingston Rovers but suffered a serious spinal injury during a pre-season friendly against Wakefield Trinity which sadly cut short his playing career and left him with life-changing consequences.

Amazingly, Masoe managed to take his first unaided steps in September 2020, just nine months after suffering the injury, but the extent to which it will affect the rest of his life is not yet clear. So, all money raised will help to support the Samoan in his retirement, as well as others who also suffer severe, and life-changing spinal injuries while playing the game that we all love.

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