England’s win over Tonga was full of firsts such as debuts for Leeds Rhinos star Harry Newman and Hull KR halfback and eventual Man of the Match Mikey Lewis.
But it was also a special day for Jack Welsby who became the youngest ever England captain.
The fullback had an excellent game but also showed his passion for England when he got caught up in a minor skirmish at the start of the second half.
The incident was sparked by his club teammate Morgan Knowles who, alongside Tom Johnstone, helped produce a magnificent try saving tackle out wide.
However, suspected afters saw Koloamatangi get involved and he came head to head with Jack Welsby who had to be pulled away and calmed down by Leeds star Newman.
In the end, Welsby would have the last laugh producing perhaps the play of the game to pick out Tom Johnstone with an amazing floated ball to score.
Speaking after the game, Johnstone reflected on the play: “Yeah, he’s a special player,” he said of Welsby.
“You know he’s run it a few times in training and things like that. You’ve just got to expect anything from him and when he sees them tight, he’s going to do it and so you’ve just got to work for it.”
On his second try – which was a fantastic intercept – Johnstone added: “Yeah, yeah, our defence were all talking, we were all trying to do our job and he threw a bad pass and then that’s what we do. Try and be the first to the ball and be the team that wants it more.”
Johnstone also spoke about having the edge over Tonga in final 20- “Yeah, I think so, but we can’t switch off, they’re always going to keep coming. You saw that right to the end there. We just have to keep moving and keep doing this job.”
This prompted Wane to note that Tonga will improve: “Yeah, that’s exactly what’s going to change. They will improve and we need to improve, no question.
“It’s going to be game on Saturday, no question. They’ve got a lot of really good players and they won’t like losing, just like I wouldn’t like losing that game. So it’s going to be full on next week.”
Wane also spoke highly of Johnstone’s teammate Mike McMeeken:
“I thought he was really, really good. I thought Daryl Clark started the game really well. These two players, but I thought Mike McMeeken was superb.”
