Connor Returns in McDermott's First England Squad
England coach Brian McDermott has included 10 uncapped players in an expanded 38-man performance squad ahead of this year's Rugby League World Cup, with Man of Steel winner Jake Connor also recalled to the team.
Connor, aged 31, has not represented England for seven years and was notably omitted from Shaun Wane's squad for the Ashes series against Australia last autumn, a series England lost 3-0.
Following Wane's resignation in January, former Leeds head coach Brian McDermott, 56, was appointed to lead the team through to the end of the World Cup, scheduled to take place across Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea in October and November.
The new selections in McDermott's inaugural squad include Wakefield Trinity's Jake Trueman and Caleb Hamlin-Uele, Wigan's Sam Walters and Zach Eckersley, Hull KR second-row Dean Hadley, and St Helens centre Harry Robertson.
"I've enjoyed the process of looking throughout Super League and the NRL for players who could potentially play for England in the 2026 World Cup.
It is clear there is a raft of talent available at our disposal and it's encouraging to see the sort of player who could be lining up for us in a few months' time.
Obviously, this is still just the first group of players we've selected: there is still plenty of opportunity for others to play their way into contention before the World Cup squad is announced."
England have yet to secure a World Cup title and were defeated by Samoa in the semi-finals of the 2021 tournament.
England's Performance Programme
The 38-man squad features players from various clubs, including Wigan Warriors' Nsemba, Havard, Thompson, Walters, O'Neill, Wardle, H Smith, and Eckersley; Leeds Rhinos' Watkins, Oledzki, Handley, and Connor; Warrington Wolves' Currie, Walker, Williams, and Ashton; Wests Tigers' Pearce-Paul; Hull KR's Hadley, Litten, and Lewis; Canberra Raiders' Smithies and J Brailey; Sydney Roosters' Radley and B Smith; Gold Coast Titans' Brimson; St Helens' Welsby, Walmsley, Clark, and Robertson; Dolphins' Knowles and Farnworth; Wakefield's McMeeken, Hamlin-Uele, Trueman, and Johnstone; Canterbury Bulldogs' King; Brisbane Broncos' Talty; and Newcastle Knights' Young.
