England rugby league head coach Shaun Wane has spoken ahead of next month’s Ashes series against Australia offering a key update and also defending one of the selections he made in his mid-season squad.
Wane named a 30-man training squad in late June with plenty of choices debated, including the decision not to select Man of Steel front-runner Jake Connor.
As well as Connor’s snub, there were also questions over Warrington Wolves winger Matty Ashton being included with the speedster having previously been ruled out for the season.
After Wire’s Challenge Cup semi-final win over Leigh in May, it was confirmed that Ashton’s season was over with the winger suffering ACL and MCL injuries, both of which are expected to see him recovering into early next year.
It was therefore understandable why Ashton’s inclusion was questioned given the fact he wouldn’t be able to play in the Ashes but Shaun Wane how now defended that selection in comments made on the governing body’s website.
Matty Ashton selection defended by England head coach
Outlining his Ashes expectations on the Rugby Football League site, Wane spoke about a number of backs with injury concerns including Jack Welby, Herbie Farnworth and Ashton.
Welsby has returned whilst Farnworth (hamstring) is chasing a return for the NRL play-offs but Wane insists that the Dolphins centre will be “back in no time”.
As for Ashton, he said: “Matty [Ashton] has a lot of credits from me. He’s done a lot of good things in many, many games for England. The lads love having him around. If there’s a chance he can be fit, I want to keep him involved.
“He always speaks up in meetings and he’ll always be in my squad. I love him to pieces and I think it’s very wrong for people to question him being in our squad. There’s private reasons why he’s in – and that’s the reason why Matty’s so important to us.”
Ashton would have almost certainly been a starting winger and his injury has created an interesting race for that vacant position with Joe Burgess, Tom Davies, Lewis Martin and Liam Marshall all in contention, as well as NRL star Dom Young.
Shaun Wane speaks on challenges of rugby league Ashes
Having previously noted that his England side will have to be on top form and playing some of their best rugby to beat the Australians, Wane spoke on the performances of players of late in Super League.
“I feel a lot better,” he admitted.
“The performances of the players have been a lot closer to an England standard. I’ve let the players know that – they all understand where they’re at, but we can be better. But what I’ve seen over the last few weeks has been satisfying.
“They need to stand out. There are certain things they need to do that are of an England standard. This test series against Australia is going to be very difficult to Tonga and Samoa. There’s different challenges and we’re aware of them. I just need a more consistent performance and lots of good things for long periods.”
