JON Wilkin and James Roby have been named in England’s Rugby League’s 30-man Elite Training Squad as the national team starts its preparations in World Cup year.
The squad will meet up at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire over the weekend of March 16 and there will be a further four camps throughout this year including high altitude training in Potchefstroom, South Africa at the end of the domestic season.
“The players are fully aware of the importance of this year,” said Head Coach Steve McNamara. “Every opportunity we have together will be vital in honing our preparations to make a real impact on the Rugby League World Cup in the autumn.
“We have every confidence in the group, along with our Australian based players, to be competitive against the best teams in the world. We are leaving nothing to chance and our training programme will add variety and the attention to detail our elite players deserve.
“The main focus naturally will be about the Rugby League World Cup, but we have a responsibility to ensure the future stars of the game are prepared and ready for international tournaments after 2013 and the World Cup in 2017.”
England will start their 2013 campaign with the International Origin match against the Exiles on Friday June 14 at The Halliwell Jones Stadium and will take on France in a warm-up game before the Rugby League World Cup gets underway on Saturday October 26, when they take on Australia at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
2013 England Elite Training Squad:
Carl Ablett, Tom Briscoe, Rob Burrow, Garreth Carvell, Josh Charnley, Rangi Chase, Ben Cockayne, Eorl Crabtree, Leroy Cudjoe, Gareth Ellis, Liam Farrell, Ryan Hall, Zak Hardaker, Gareth Hock, Chris Hill, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Danny McGuire, Michael McIlorum, Adrian Morley, Lee Mossop, Richie Myler, Sean O’Loughlin, Stefan Ratchford, James Roby, Kevin Sinfield, Danny Tickle, Sam Tomkins, Kallum Watkins, Ben Westwood, Jon Wilkin.
