Jack Welsby named in England World Cup squad

Head Coach of England, Brian McDermott has selected his squad that will travel to the southern hemisphere to represent their country on the international stage.

Former Saint, now Dolphin, Morgan Knowles is also named in the squad.

Matt Daniels, our First Team Head of Performance, will be joining the coaching staff for the World Cup. He will take charge of the team’s strength and conditioning.

Former Saints Head Coach, and legendary player for our club, Paul Wellens will serve as McDermott as Assistant Coach.

England begin their World Cup campaign against Tonga on Saturday 17th October at HBF Park in Perth. At the same venue a week later, Saturday 24th October, the English team will face France. McDermott’s men will then travel to Wollongong to face Papua New Guinea on Friday 30th October.

On his squad, Brian McDermott said: “We have selected the squad after a thorough and deliberate process, underpinned by a unique decentralised preparation model that has allowed us to work closely with the players well before they come together in camp.

“Throughout that process, we have challenged players to develop a deeper understanding of themselves – their strengths, their point of difference, the areas they need to improve and the standards required to perform at international level.

“Importantly, we have also developed a much deeper understanding of the expectations around each player’s specific role within the England Game Model. The aim has been that when the players arrive in camp, they are not starting from day one trying to understand what is expected of them. They already understand their role, the standards attached to it and how their individual strengths can contribute to the way England wants to play.

“We have been tremendously impressed by the sacrifices made by the wider squad, their willingness to be open-minded about a new way of preparing for international Rugby League, and the level of alignment they have shown towards our collective vision.

“The commitment of the wider squad to this process has given us the opportunity to understand not only who the player is, but who the person is.”

Each player in the wider England Performance Programme has taken part in six or more individual meetings alongside positional group meetings with McDermott and Systems Manager Carl Jennings – a total of more than 200 individual player meetings across a three-month period.

These meetings have led to individual performance plans for players identifying the areas of their preparation and performance that could make the greatest difference to them as an England player heading into the Rugby League World Cup.

McDermott added: “I want to thank all the players who have been involved in the programme for their effort and application throughout the decentralised preparation phase.

“It’s tough on them all. They have given the programme everything and made many sacrifices along the way.

“The 38-man squad initially picked had talent and ambition running all the way through it. Twenty-three is a lean number to take to a World Cup, and the final decisions were incredibly difficult.

“Their contribution throughout this process has been significant. Every player who committed to the decentralised programme has contributed to raising the standards of the group and helping prepare England for this World Cup.”

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