Shaun Wane faces tough choices as England prepare to meet France

S haun Wane has a problem. A good one. Having named George Williams as his new captain, the England head coach will upset plenty of people when he picks his England team to face France at Warrington on Saturday afternoon. He won’t be fielding one of Super League’s form half-back combinations or one of the units that has impressed so far this season.

Selecting a group of 40 players earlier this month allowed Wane to include all the candidates for places in his elite team to play Tonga in the autumn and the second-string side that will compete in the European Championship. Within that group of 40 were two very obvious club combinations, the St Helens spine of full-back Jack Welsby, and half-backs Jonny Lomax and Lewis Dodd. Or the exciting Hull KR half-back partnership of Jordan Abdull and Mikey Lewis, with young Jez Litten at hooker.

But he will do neither. Captain Williams has flourished under Wane and is back to his best at Warrington so will start at six or seven, meaning the World Club Challenge-winning pairing of Lomax and Dodd will be broken up. Those three are likely to share half-back roles against Tonga (if their tour goes ahead), with uncapped youngsters Harry Smith and Lewis steering England in the European Championship, which would be harsh on Abdull given he is back to his superb 2021 form.

The hooker spot is also up for grabs. With the old guard of James Roby, Josh Hodgson and McIlhorum all gone, Wane may play Williams alongside his Warrington teammates Daryl Clark and Danny Walker, but that would mean leaving out Salford hooker Andy Ackers even though he did little wrong at the World Cup.

Sean Long, the former England and Great Britain half-back who is now coaching Featherstone and assistant coach at