Warrington Wolves ‘launch bid’ for England Rugby Union star

Warrington Wolves are reportedly launching a bid to sign an England Rugby Union prop, who is a regular for the national side.

Cross-coders are not a new thing for the club, with a head coach in Sam Burgess who briefly played union, a coach in Martin Gleeson that has worked for the England national team and a history of having the likes of Jonathan Davies and Luther Burrell in the squad.

They will certainly be looking to improve on an already solid 2024, despite not yet managing to clinch silverware.

Now, it seems that another union man could be making his way to the Halliwell Jones Stadium, coinciding with outreach into new markets when they take part in the Las Vegas event with a game against Wigan Warriors.

Warrington Wolves launch bid for England Rugby Union star

iNews is reporting that Ellis Genge is on the radar for the Wire, a year on from Gleeson revealing that he is interested in making the cross-code switch.

On the Out of Your League podcast, he said: “Ellis Genge is a good lad, he loves his league.

“He is one of the few forwards that I’ve seen who loves his rugby league. He wants to play.

“I was speaking to Jon Clarke and he was actually meant to go up to Wigan for a couple of days and train with them.

“He loves it, he is desperate to play it.”

Now, it is being reported that CEO Karl Fitzpatrick’s relationship with the player has meant they’re seriously considering making a move for him.

Genge is seen as one of the best players in his position in union, and would certainly be an imposing addition to the Wolves pack, which already has some heavy-hitters – but will be losing John Bateman.

He was named the best loosehead prop in the world in 2022, and currently plays for Bristol Bears – and has made 58 Test appearances for England, in which time he claimed a 2020 Six Nations Championship and six tries.