Saints have a quintet of players named in the 21-man England Elite Performance Squad (EPS).
Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival, James Roby and Alex Walmsley have been called up to the squad in preparation for this year’s mid-season Test and Autumn International Series against New Zealand.
Four of the Saints – Lomax, Percival, Roby and Walmsley – were involved in the World Cup whilst Makinson returns having missed out on selection for that tournament.
England Head Coach, Wayne Bennett, said: “The Elite Performance Squad sessions in 2017 proved invaluable for the players in the build-up to the World Cup and it’s important that we do all we can to enable them to spend quality time together in an international environment.
“The 21-man EPS includes a mixture of experienced international players from the 2017 World Cup Squad, returning players and a new inclusion with Tom Johnstone.
“The mid-season test in Denver is a great opportunity to test ourselves against strong opposition and whilst those selected for both performance squads have put themselves in a good place to be considered for selection, we are always looking at all players in both the Super League and NRL and the door is never shut on any player who impresses.”
England Rugby League Elite Performance Squad:
Luke Gale (Castleford Tigers)
Mike McMeeken (Castleford Tigers)
Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants)
Scott Taylor (Hull FC)
Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos)
Stevie Ward (Leeds Rhinos)
Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos)
Jonny Lomax (St Helens)
Tommy Makinson (St Helens)
Mark Percival (St Helens)
James Roby (St Helens)
Alex Walmsley (St Helens)
Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity)
Kevin Brown (Warrington Wolves)
Daryl Clark (Warrington Wolves)
Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves)
Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves)
Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves)
John Bateman (Wigan Warriors)
Sean O’Loughlin (Wigan Warriors)
George Williams (Wigan Warriors)
