England have made three changes to their squad for Saturday’s World Cup match against Fiji, with Wigan’s Michael McIlorum earning a place in the 19 for the first time during the tournament following his alleged breach of an alcohol ban.
McIlorum, who is expected to start as hooker against the Bati, is understood to be among the players who ignored Steve McNamara’s alcohol rules following England’s warmup defeat by Italy. It resulted in Gareth Hock being expelled from the squad before the World Cup had started after he missed a swimming session the following day.
The Canterbury Bulldogs prop James Graham was not selected for England’s World Cup opener against Australia and the Leeds back Zak Hardaker has since pulled out of the squad, citing “personal issues”, and has been fined £2,500 by the Rhinos.
McNamara, who has rested Tom Burgess, James Roby and Gareth Widdop but has called back Sam Burgess from suspension and reintroduced Lee Mossop, insisted that McIlorum, who played in the 2008 World Cup for Ireland, is worthy of his opportunity.
“Mickey deserves his call up,” said the head coach. “He has trained tremendously hard. He is an aggressive type of player who will command the middle of the field … I get the feeling the group is on the verge of some really big performances and this will be one of them.”
Fiji are expected to provide England with a severe physical test as McNamara’s side look to build on their 28-20 defeat by Australia and 42-0 victory over Ireland. “We are coming up against opposition we respect,” McNamara said. “I can see why people see them as a threat on Saturday.”
England squad C Ablett, T Briscoe, G Burgess, S Burgess, R Burrow, R Chase, L Cudjoe, L Farrell, B Ferres, J Graham, R Hall, C Hill, M McIlorum, L Mossop, S O’Loughlin, K Sinfield (capt), S Tomkins, K Watkins, B Westwood.
Rugby League World Cup 2013: England ring changes for Fiji match
No comments:
Post a Comment