England name World Cup squad

Wayne Bennett has named his 24-man squad that will represent England at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

The side will be captained by Sean O’Loughlin and will also include Luke Gale, the recent Man of Steel winner last week, Dally M Halfback of the Year, Gareth Widdop and Super League’s top metre-maker, Alex Walmsley.

Wayne Bennett had the following to say on the squad.

"Selecting the final 24 with the help of my coaching staff was tough and that was down to the effort and performances of many players throughout the season," said Bennett.

“The competitiveness of Super League and NRL and knowing the goal of playing for your country in a World Cup has made many raise their game and become better athletes.

“The England programme has been very active leading into this tournament and having the squad meet up on regular occasions – on and off the field – has put us in a positive place before everyone gets into camp.

“We had to put the disappointment of the Four Nations behind us quickly and the meetings that followed that tournament set out what was required to be successful in the World Cup. Everyone has fully bought into this and we can’t wait to get started.”

England World Cup Squad

John Bateman (Wigan Warriors)
Kevin Brown (Warrington Wolves)
Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Thomas Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves)
Luke Gale (Castleford Tigers)
James Graham (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos)
Chris Heighington (Cronulla Sharks)
Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves)
Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders)
Jonny Lomax (St Helens)
Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants)
Mike McMeeken (Castleford Tigers)
Sean O’Loughlin (Wigan Warriors)
Mark Percival (St Helens)
Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves)
James Roby (St Helens)
Scott Taylor (Hull FC)
Alex Walmsley (St Helens)
Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos)
Elliott Whitehead (Canberra Raiders)
Gareth Widdop (St George Illawarra Dragons,)
George Williams (Wigan Warriors,)