Rugby League World Cup: Victor Radley phone call 'convinced' Shaun Wane of selection

Victor Radley is no stranger to big occasions, having twice won NRL Grand Finals with his club side Sydney Roosters

Head coach Shaun Wane has announced his England squad for the World Cup and, while injuries have left the hosts without some key players, there is plenty to be excited about the 24 players who have been selected.

The absence of Jonny Lomax is a huge blow. The St Helens stand-off was ruled out with the biceps injury that he has played with throughout the season.

As a standout performer for his club during the Super League campaign, culminating in a man-of-the-match award in Saturday's Grand Final win over Leeds, he would have been an automatic starter for England in what will be the highest profile and toughest World Cup in the near 70-year history of the tournament.

Of the players who have been included, one name that stands out is Sydney Roosters' Victor Radley.

Australia-born Radley could have been in contention for a place in the Kangaroos' squad, but the highly regarded loose forward has chosen England. He qualifies through his Sheffield-born father.

"It's the phone call he made that convinced me I wanted to pick him," said Wane. "It's how keen he is to represent England, his dad's country. He classes himself as English.

"I had no qualms about putting Victor in. I'm looking forward to coaching him."

• England's full Rugby League World Cup squad

One of England's group games will take place in the Steel City, when they play Greece at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane on 29 October.

England fans will also get a first proper sighting of two NRL young guns; Herbie Farnworth of Brisbane Broncos and Dom Young of Newcastle Knights.

The pair are athletic, strong and will add pace to the three-quarter line.

Herbie Farnworth scored 10 tries in 12 appearances during the 2022 NRL season

'I've not played in front of family for a long time'

Young, 21, came through at Huddersfield Giants but played only two games for the Yorkshire club before moving to Australia and the Knights.

Had the World Cup taken place last year as scheduled, he would more likely be in the Jamaica squad because of his heritage, but he began attracting the interests of Wane because of his form in the NRL.

Farnworth, 22, is a one-time Manchester United academy player. He emigrated to Australia with his uncle when he left school in an attempt to carve out a career down under.

He was signed by the Broncos and made his first-team debut in 2019. His form this year was impressive until a biceps injury ended his domestic campaign and he has been sidelined since June.

But Wane is satisfied that the centre is now fit and will likely be involved when England play Fiji in a warm-up game on 7 October.

"To be named in the squad is an absolute dream," said Farnworth. "I've not played since round 12 [of the NRL] but my eyes have been on the World Cup and I've been speaking to 'Waney' quite a lot through the year and telling how much it means to me.

"I can't wait to play on English soil again. I've not played in front of my family for a long, long time, I think I was about 16 or 17 the last time, so that will be pretty cool."

England captain Sam Tomkins said of Farnworth and Young: "They are really big, strong athletes and they've got a lot of potential to go on and do something really special in the game.

"I've been in the gym with them this week and they are what you think rugby players should look like.

"They're six foot something, they're strong and really athletic and hopefully they can do a job for us this year."

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Salford's Marc Sneyd is a fascinating choice in the halves and it is his kicking game that has earned him his selection.

Wane has spoken regularly about "playing the conditions" in this World Cup. On potentially wet, greasy pitches, Sneyd's kicking has the ability to earn England some good attacking positions and also relieve the big men in the side when making yards out of defence gets tough.

He is also one of the most accurate goal-kickers in Super League, which could be vital in potentially tight World Cup matches.

Andy Ackers is another Salford player who gets the nod. That would have been unthinkable at the start of the year.

The hooker would have been a long way down the pecking order of number nines had this tournament been held last year.

But the international retirement of St Helens captain James Roby, an injury to Canberra's Josh Hodgson and Ackers' own fabulous form in the second half of the season for the Red Devils has seen him rightfully leap into the reckoning. Paul McShane and Kruise Leeming both miss out.

Another player to benefit from last year's postponement is Kai Pearce-Paul, the Wigan three-quarter, because of his growing reputation this year. He offers an unpredictability in his attacking game that could be vital in breaking down the toughest defences.

Samoa have helped to 'change landscape'

The uninitiated will look at England's opener against Samoa on 15 October as a game they should win, but that first match will be an immediate test of how far England could go in this tournament.

Samoa's side will boast some of the best players in Australia's domestic NRL competition.

"You look at Tonga and Samoa and they have changed the landscape of international rugby league over the last few years," said Tomkins.

"They've got players who were picked in the Australian team and they've brushed Australia because they want to play for their homeland.

"That's great for the competition. We don't want a World Cup that's too predictable and this one is definitely not."

If England can overcome that initial challenge, then it will be "game on" for the rest of the tournament.

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