England Academy name 17-man squad to face Aussie Schoolboys

England Academy coach Dave Elliott has named his 17-man squad to take on the Australian Schoolboys.

Elliott’s charges have recorded back-to-back victories over New South Wales and Parramatta Juniors in their warm-up games on tour so far and they go into Sunday’s clash hoping to take the first step towards successive series victories over the Schoolboys.

“We’ve got a very strong squad available to us all the way through and that has made selection very difficult this week,” said Elliott.

“We’ve had some standout performances in our games on tour so far and every player in the squad has staked a claim to play against Australia.

“We have some disappointed players in the squad today but I’m confident that we have selected a squad that can come away with the win on Sunday.”

England Academy side to play Australian Schoolboys (professional and community clubs):

1, Lewis Tierney (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Pats)
2, James Saltonstall (Warrington Wolves, Siddal)
3, Luke Briscoe (Leeds Rhinos, Featherstone Lions)
4, John Ford (Salford City Reds, Blackbrook Royals)
5, Joe Burgess (Wigan Warriors, Ince Rose Bridge)
6, Ryan Hampshire (Wigan Warriors, Normanton Knights)
7, George Williams (Wigan Warriors, Ince Rose Bridge)
8, Liam McAvoy (Bradford Bulls, Broughton Red Rose)
9, Dominic Speakman (St Helens, Halton Hornets)
10, Gavin Bennion (Warrington Wolves, Ryland Sharks)
11, John Bateman (Bradford Bulls, Dudley Hill)
12, Connor Farrell (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Pats)
13, Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves, Parkside Golbourn)
14, Luke Thompson (St Helens, Pilkington Recs)
15, Ryan Sutton (Wigan Warriors, Wigan St Pats)
16, Jordan Baldwinson (Leeds Rhinos, Hunslet Warriors)
17, Josh Johnson (Huddersfield Giants, Saddleworth)