England boss Shaun Wane issues response to Australia squad announcement

England boss Shaun Wane has issued a response to the Australia squad Kevin Walters named overnight.

The Kangaroos will be heading over to the UK for a three-Test series against England later this month with the first game being played at Wembley on October 25. Tests will then take place at Everton and Headingley in November with the rugby league Ashes being on the line for the first time since 2003.

As such, following the conclusion of the NRL season on Sunday morning, the Australians named a 24-man squad. It was to be expected but the squad to full to the brim of the world’s best stars and it includes four 2025 Grand Final winners with Clive Churchill medal winner Reece Walsh being the headline name.

Isaah Yeo will be the man captaining the Aussies, while the like of Nathan Cleary, Patrick Carrigan, Cameron Munster and Harry Grant are all named, too. Notably Mark Nawaqanitawase features, as do Blayke Brailey and Ethan Strange, who would both have been eligible to represent England.

Wane will have been able to predict most of the Kangaroos squad, but now he sees it written down and confirmed, he’ll be stepping preparations as he looks to secure the series win against the odds.

The England boss won’t name his side for another week yet, with Monday, October 13, marked down as his announcement date. But, the announcement of the travelling green and gold contingent brings the series a lot closer.

“It’s good to know exactly who will be coming over with the Kangaroos,” Wane said.

“We’ve been studying their form and watching NRL and State of Origin games all season to make sure we can be as well-prepared as possible for the series.

“It’s been a long wait, but we’ve less than three weeks to go now until that first Test at Wembley, and I can assure rugby league fans we’ll be fully focused and ready for that.”

On his squad, Kevin Walters said: “The State of Origin series was highly competitive and we saw some brilliant performances from key players in the Finals Series.

“There is a mix of youth and experience and all of them have the desire to represent their country on this stage. I cannot wait to coach this squad.

“England will be a huge Test on their home soil however this squad knows what it takes to perform at the highest level and knows what it takes to win.”