Brian McDermott gives reasoning behind 38-man England squad as five dropped from Ashes

England head coach Brian McDermott has named his 38-man performance squad ahead of this year’s Rugby League World Cup, with the former Leeds Rhinos boss now explaining his reasoning.

McDermott has made a number of big calls with ten uncapped players named, many of whom are foreign-born players with the new England boss not afraid to tap into the heritage of many an NRL player.

There’s also a call-up for Wakefield’s Caleb Hamlin-Uele, born in New Zealand but with English heritage, and he was among those that McDermott name-checked when announcing his squad.

On heritage players, McDermott said: “Caleb Hamlin-Uele, who was born in Auckland but qualifies for England through heritage, is another who ticks that box.

“From the NRL, there’s further players who I have seen first-hand who are performing well and who have expressed a desire to represent England via the heritage rule: Max King, Jayden Brailey, Billy Smith and Ben Talty.”

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38-man squad not a closed door with others still in contention for Rugby League World Cup

Of course, AJ Brimson and Victor Radley, both Australian-born, are also named with the former having played in the recent rugby league Ashes series but there are five players from that squad who miss out.

The injured Matty Lees is one of them, whilst Joe Burgess, John Bateman, Harry Newman and Owen Trout also drop out, though that’s helped create space for fresh blood with plenty of uncapped players called upon.

On the selection process, McDermott admitted: “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.”

Speaking about his fresh call-ups, he said: “As well as plenty of seasoned Test players who we all know about, there are some new faces on the international scene, including Jake Trueman, Dean Hadley and Zach Eckersley.

“They have all earned places on the programme for their consistent excellence in Super League.”

One thing that McDermott was keen to note was that whilst this is a large 38-man squad, of which will have to be trimmed considerably for the Rugby League World Cup, it is not a closed door with players still having the opportunity to prove themselves.

He clarified: “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 38-man performance programme group:

Junior Nsemba, Ethan Havard, Luke Thompson, Sam Walters, Brad O’Neill, Jake Wardle, Harry Smith, Zach Eckersley (all Wigan Warriors), Kallum Watkins, Mikolaj Oledzki, Ash Handley, Jake Connor (all Leeds Rhinos), Ben Currie, Danny Walker, George Williams, Matty Ashton (all Warrington Wolves), Kai Pearce-Paul (Wests Tigers), Dean Hadley, Jez Litten, Mikey Lewis (all Hull KR), Morgan Smithies, Jayden Brailey (both Canberra Raiders), Victor Radley, Billy Smith (both Sydney Roosters), AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans), Jack Welsby, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Harry Robertson (all St Helens), Morgan Knowles, Herbie Farnworth (both Dolphins), Mike McMeeken, Caleb Hamlin-Uele, Jake Trueman, Tom Johnstone (all Wakefield), Max King (Canterbury Bulldogs), Ben Talty (Brisbane Broncos), Dominic Young (Newcastle Knights)