In the eyes of many ahead of this month’s Rugby League World Cup, the second England wing spot is a battle between Wakefield Trinity man Tom Johnstone and Warrington Wolves’ Matty Ashton, with the pair set to face off in the Super League Grand Final.
Brian McDermott will name his England squad shortly after the two Grand Finals, both Super League and NRL, take place this weekend and the man that many view as the starting right winger, Dom Young, will represent Newcastle Knights on Sunday.
A natural right winger and an athletic freak, Young’s record for England is stellar and for many, he’s a shoo-in in the number two shirt. As for the number five shirt, there’s a lot less certainty.
Wakefield flyer Tom Johnstone wore that number five in each of the three Ashes Tests last year but Matty Ashton was not available for selection, likely saving Shaun Wane a headache but it’s one that has been passed on to his successor, particularly as both men are in fine form.
Johnstone has scored three tries and made almost 340 run metres in the two play-off matches, whereas Ashton has scored three and racked up 270 metres.
The Wakefield Trinity man spoke at the Super League Grand Final media event on Tuesday, revealing the England chats he’s had so far, and what it would mean to outperform his opposite number.
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Tom Johnstone all in on Wakefield Trinity with England admission made
For Johnstone, outperforming Ashton is nothing to do with England, but all about performing for Wakefield and helping them to a maiden Super League title.
He confirmed that the only fuel feeding the thought of getting one over on Ashton is doing his bit so that Trinity can win, as he explained: “It definitely gives me motivation to do better because if I can outplay the other England winger, I’ve done my bit for our team.
“If I can do my bit for our team, then we’re one step closer to holding the Super League trophy.
“That’s the ultimate goal at the end of the day, so if I can do everything I can to get us there, then that’s what I’ll do.”
A by-product of winning that battle and perhaps winning the Grand Final would be England selection and whilst Johnstone indulged to speak about the conversations held throughout the year, he was clear that he wasn’t looking past Old Trafford.
“We’ve had a couple of chats this year about what he expects from me, his game plan,” he said of new England coach Brian McDermott.
“I had some other chats with Carl Jennings [England’s high-performance coach] about preparation and things like that, getting everything right on the mentality side.
“I had my last meeting two weeks ago and then everything’s been about playoffs and Wakefield and it still will be.”
He added: “Obviously this week, I’ve not thought about England once. It’s all about trying to win that Grand Final and then once we’ve got that done, hopefully I get a call some day.”
Johnstone was one of three Wakefield Trinity players named to Brian McDermott’s 38-man performance squad alongside Mike McMeeken and Jake Trueman.
