{"id":808124,"date":"2026-10-20T01:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T01:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/808124\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T01:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T01:40:12","slug":"from-wigan-to-brisbane-the-academy-set-ups-that-every-member-of-englands-world-cup-squad-hails-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/808124\/","title":{"rendered":"From Wigan to Brisbane: The academy set-ups that every member of England’s World Cup squad hails from"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

As Brian McDermott\u2019s England side battle for World Cup glory in Australia, his 23-man squad represents a tapestry of youth development spanning Super League powerhouse academies, regional pathways, and NRL junior systems.<\/p>\n

While traditional powerhouses like Wigan Warriors and St Helens lead the production line, the squad also highlights the global nature of modern rugby league pathways, featuring players who cut their teeth in Australia, the Championship, and non-heartland development hubs.<\/p>\n

Here is the complete breakdown of the junior academy pathways that produced England\u2019s 2026 World Cup squad.<\/p>\n

England LOSE Rugby League World Cup opener as group-stage exit looms! \u2013 Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show<\/a><\/p>\n

Where every England World Cup squad member learned their trade<\/p>\n

*24 players involved after Kallum Watkins was called up to replace Morgan Smithies.<\/p>\n

Wigan Warriors \u2013 6<\/p>\n

Brad O\u2019Neill, Junior Nsemba, Harry Smith, Zach Eckersley, Ethan Havard, George Williams and Morgan Smithies<\/p>\n

Wigan\u2019s renowned youth system remains the primary talent pipeline for the national team, providing a quarter of the World Cup squad.<\/p>\n

Most Read on Serious About Rugby League<\/p>\n

St Helens \u2013 3<\/p>\n

Jack Welsby, Morgan Knowles and Luke Thompson<\/p>\n

Saints\u2019 junior setup continues to produce top-tier international talent across the park.<\/p>\n

Leeds Rhinos \u2013 3<\/p>\n

Mikolaj Oledzki, Sam Walters and Kallum Watkins<\/p>\n

Headingley\u2019s development network produced three key dynamic forwards in McDermott\u2019s engine room.<\/p>\n

City of Hull Academy \u2013 2<\/p>\n

Mikey Lewis and Jez Litten<\/p>\n

East Yorkshire\u2019s rich junior pathways produced two of the game\u2019s most explosive dummy-half and playmaking talents, with Litten graduating through the Hull FC academy while Lewis honed his craft within the City of Hull Academy and Hull KR setup.<\/p>\n

Huddersfield Giants \u2013 1<\/p>\n

Dom Young<\/p>\n

Young came through the youth ranks at Huddersfield, making his Super League debut for the Giants at just 17 before earning a high-profile move to the NRL.<\/p>\n

Warrington Wolves \u2013 1<\/p>\n

Ben Currie<\/p>\n

Currie came through Warrington\u2019s academy pipeline over a decade ago, establishing himself as a mainstay for both club and country through years of consistent elite-level performances.<\/p>\n

Championship & Regional Pathways
\nLondon Broncos \/ South East Pathway \u2013 1<\/p>\n

Kai Pearce-Paul<\/p>\n

A testament to non-heartland development, one of England\u2019s star forwards launched his career in the capital.<\/p>\n

Swinton Lions & Grassroots Pathway \u2013 1<\/p>\n

Matty Ashton<\/p>\n

Ashton bypassed the traditional Super League academy route, rising through community and Championship rugby before joining Warrington.<\/p>\n

Australian & NRL Junior Systems<\/p>\n

Six players in McDermott\u2019s squad learned their trade within the Australian junior club and representative pathways before committing to England.<\/p>\n

Herbie Farnworth: Brisbane Broncos Academy \/ Burleigh Bears\u00a0
\nVictor Radley: Sydney Roosters Juniors\u00a0
\nAJ Brimson: Gold Coast Titans Academy\u00a0
\nMax King: Wests Tigers \/ Melbourne Storm Development
\nHugo Savala: Sydney Roosters Pathway\u00a0
\nBen Talty: Newcastle Knights Pathway \/ Brisbane Broncos<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Brian McDermott\u2019s England side battle for World Cup glory in Australia, his 23-man squad represents a tapestry…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-808124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}