What happened next to the England Academy team that beat Australian Schooboys in 2018

More than six years have now passed since England Academy recorded their historic 2018 series win over a touring Australian Schoolboys side.

The likes of Bradmen Best, Tom Dearden and Stephen Crichton were involved in the Australian side, but they were powerless to prevent the hosts from claiming a whitewash series win.

Wins came at Leigh and Leeds, with the 18-6 win at Headingley in front of 1557 being a memorable one. The England team was one packed full of players who have gone on to become Super League stars and some have now made it onto feature for the senior England side.

Here’s what become of the 17-man England Academy line-up that featured against Australian Schoolboys on December 14, 2018.

Jack Welsby

Welsby has spent the last six seasons starring in the St Helens first team and while he is still only 23, he has four Super League wins, a Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge on his CV. The full-back has 142 outings for the Saints under his belt and he’ll have a pivotal role to play next season as Paul Wellens looks to lead the club back to the top of the Super League table after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Innes Senior

Senior left Huddersfield permanently for the first time this year after spending his entire career to date with the Giants or away from them on loan. He spent the 2024 campaign with Castleford Tigers, scoring 17 tries in 29 appearances and he has now made the full-time switch to Wheldon Road. Senior has 49 Super League tries to his name and he’ll be looking to add to that under Danny McGuire.

Cameron Scott

Scott captained the England Academy side and went on to play 73 times for Hull FC before leaving the club a few months before the end of his contract this year. He has joined up with Wakefield Trinity for the 2025 season and he’ll be looking to kick on and nail down a starting spot in Daryl Powell’s plans.

Harry Newman

Newman has had his injury issues over the years but when he’s fit he’s been a regular in the Leeds Rhinos line up since 2019. He’s made 99 outings for the Rhinos, scoring 34 tries and he’s made six appearances for the senior England side, too.

Tom Nisbet

Nisbet came through the St Helens youth system but struggled for opportunities at the Totally Wicked Stadium. After a couple of loans with Leigh Leopards, or Centurions as they were known at the time, he made the move permanently for the 2023 season. However, he struggled for game time under Adrian Lam and after being released he has now joined Queensland Cup side Townsville Blackhawks.

Callum McLelland

McLelland was with Leeds Rhinos at the time, with Leeds paying an undisclosed fee from Edinburgh Rugby Union to take him in 2018. However, he never quite found the traction needed to make it at Headingley and left the club to join Castleford Tigers after making 16 appearances. He spent two seasons at Wheldon Road but injuries got the best of him and he failed to make an appearance before joining Midlands Hurricanes. He still has two more years left to run on his contract with the League One club, where he scored five tries in 15 appearances last season.

Harry Smith

Another fully fledged England international, Smith can now call himself a quadruple winner having helped Wigan Warriors win every trophy available to them last year. He’s made 131 appearances for the Cherry and Whites.

Oliver Wilson

Wilson penned a contract extension with Huddersfield earlier this month that will see him play a key role at the John Smith’s Stadium until the end of the 2028 season. He’s fast approaching 100 games for the Giants and as the 25-year-old approaches his peak years, he’ll be an important player for Luke Robinson next season.

Corey Johnson

After a brief stint out of the game, Johnson returned to Leeds in 2021 and went on to make 29 appearances for the club before his exit at the end of the 2024 season. He has penned a deal with Sheffield Eagles and he will be hoping to nail down number one hooker duties under Craig Lingard.

Ethan Havard

Another England international, Havard continues to get better and better as he edges towards what can be described as his peak years as a middle. He has 100 outings under his belt for Wigan Warriors, while he has also featured three times under Shaun Wane at international level, too.

Sam Walters

Walters came through the youth ranks at Leeds and managed to play 42 games for the club before he made the decision to leave at the end of the 2023 season. Wigan Warriors was his destination, with the back-rower going on to play 15 times last season in cherry and white and play his part in the club’s quadruple win.

Owen Trout

Trout was another playing on home soil when England Academy took on the Australian Schoolboys at Headingley, but he left Leeds at the end of the 2019 season having made just three appearances. He was used frequently at Huddersfield Giants, making 50 appearances in four years before moving on to join the Leopards in 2024.

Morgan Smithies

The 24-year-old established a spot in the Wigan pack at a young age, making 24 appearances for the club while he was still just 18. Ultimately, Smithies went on to play 114 times for the Warriors before making the decision to leave the Cherry and Whites and chase the dream in the NRL with Canberra Raiders. He featured 24 times in the sport’s premier competition last time around and will hope to build on that next year.

Muizz Mustapha

The prop was another to start at Leeds but during his time there most of his game time came away from Headingley with notable loan spells coming at Newcastle Thunder, Hull KR and Bradford Bulls. He joined Castleford Tigers in 2023 and after an impressive first season with the club, his contract was extended until the end of the 2027 season.

Loui McConnell

McConnell made just one appearance for Leeds before being allowed to join Featherstone Rovers in July 2020. Since then the loose forward has carved out a career for himself in the Championship with 15 appearances coming for Featherstone before a successful loan spell with Doncaster. He joined the South Yorkshire side permanently for 2023 and he will spend the next two seasons at least at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Tom Holroyd

Holroyd remains a member of the first-team picture at Leeds and at the time of writing he has made 59 appearances for the club. However, last season was a tough one for him with the prop being stood down for much of the season after suffering two separate concussions.

Joe Shorrocks

Shorrocks played 73 times for Wigan before leaving the club to join Salford Red Devils at the end of the 2023 season. He made 27 outings in total under Paul Rowley last time around, with his versatility coming in handy in the pack off the bench, which is a role he played for England Academy that day.