St Helens and England full-back Jack Welsby has had his say on the international eligibility debate ahead of this year’s rugby league Ashes.
England will take on Australia in the first Ashes series since 2003 and it will mark the first time that the men’s sides have met since the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Final, a 6-0 defeat for England.
Having dispatched Samoa and Tonga in recent series, Shaun Wane’s side now take a huge step up to face the world champions and the status of the game hasn’t gone unnoticed.
In fact, a number of players have come out to declare their allegiance for England, including former Australia Nines international AJ Brimson, with the most recent being Sydney Roosters’ Billy Smith.
One man who is eligible to play for England is Canberra Raiders’ gun half Ethan Strange with the Australian-born 21-year-old qualifying for England through his mother.
Jack Welsby talks England eligibility after St Helens win
As it stands at the moment, should Strange declare for England then he would forfeit any future appearances for New South Wales. There’s also a strong chance that he’s selected to play for Australia this year, however, he’s been spoken about by Jack Welsby and the Sky Sports pundits.
Strange helped score one of the most dramatic tries of the season on Friday morning as Canberra beat Penrith Panthers in golden point. Penrith’s drop goal attempt hit the upright and led to Strange racing 70 metres before teeing up a teammate for the win and Welsby recounted that drama when speaking post-match on Sky Sports after St Helens’ win over Hull FC.
“I watched the games this morning out of sheer nerves for this game and what a game this morning, did you see it? Ethan Strange is some player so we’ve got it all cut out at the end of the year in the Ashes,” Welsby said.
Playing devil’s advocate, Jon Wilkin suggested that Strange could even be playing for England which opened Welsby to talk about the current eligibility debate, as well as the competition Strange would face.
The St Helens man said: “He’s got some competition over here at six as well with the likes of Mikey Lewis and George Williams and them type of players, but he’s obviously an exceptional player, that try today showed it.”
As for the growing number of ‘heritage’ players and them declaring just in time for the Ashes, Welsby said he was skeptical at first but that he understands.
He explained: “Obviously it’s a subject that gets brought up a lot about Super League and stuff like that, but having someone like Victor Radley come into the team.
“I was thinking ‘How’s he English’, and then he comes in and you speak to his dad. His dad’s from Sheffield and he’s the most obvious Englishman you’ve ever seen, and you sort of understand why people like that want to put their hands up.
“I can understand people’s perspective when they don’t know the person, but when the person comes in and explains it to you, it’s a lot more touching and understanding why they want to do it, = so as long as they’ve got a good backstory, I’m happy with it.”
Rugby League or fishing? 🎣
Jack Welsby takes on ‘Challenge that’ 💪 pic.twitter.com/iN1ffLH4Lc
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