England name seven uncapped players in Rugby League World Cup squad

England have named seven uncapped players in their 24-man squad for the Rugby League World Cup, including the Salford duo of Marc Sneyd and Andy Ackers. The Guardian revealed on Thursday that Sneyd and Ackers were set to win their first call-ups for the tournament after impressing Shaun Wane, the head coach, with their end-of-season form at the Red Devils.

They have been joined by five more players hoping to win their first Test caps as England look to win the World Cup for the first time, five years after a narrow defeat to Australia in the 2017 final. The NRL-based trio of the Brisbane Broncos centre Herbie Farnworth, the Newcastle winger Dom Young and the Sydney Roosters forward Victor Radley have all been named in an England squad for the first time, as has the Wigan Warriors forward Kai Pearce-Paul.

Sam Tomkins (captain), Andy Ackers, Joe Batchelor, John Bateman, Tom Burgess, Mike Cooper, Herbie Farnworth, Ryan Hall, Chris Hill, Morgan Knowles, Matty Lees, Tommy Makinson, Michael McIlorum, Mike McMeeken, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kai Pearce-Paul, Victor Radley, Marc Sneyd, Luke Thompson, Kallum Watkins, Jack Welsby, Elliott Whitehead, George Williams, Dom Young.  

Joe Batchelor, who made his first international appearance in a non-Test against the Combined Nations All Stars this summer, is also included in Wane’s 24. The Catalans Dragons full-back Sam Tomkins will, as expected, captain the side, but Wane has been unable to call on a number of frontline players for the tournament, which begins for England against Samoa at St James’ Park, Newcastle, on 15 October.

There are five members of the St Helens side who won a fourth consecutive Super League title last weekend but Jonny Lomax, Mark Percival and Alex Walmsley have all