Hull’s England snub, Widnes pull out of women’s Challenge Cup & Hayne trial

Here’s what’s been catching our eye in this week’s rugby league paper talk.

No Hull players in England squad

Hull coach Brett Hodgson has shrugged off the fact they were the only Super League club, other than Toulouse, to have no players selected in the 30-man England squad last week.

The likes of Jake Connor and Luke Gale were overlooked by coach Shaun Wane.

Hodgson said: “It didn’t really surprise me. I think that Jake deserves to be in there,but I’m not here to tell Shaun Wane who to pick.

“It’s disappointing that our boys were overlooked but it gives them great motivation to prove Shaun wrong.”

Widnes pull out of Women’s Challenge Cup

Widnes have pulled out of this season’s Women’s Challenge Cup.

They will be replaced in the competition by Dewsbury Moor, who will go up against York, Wigan and Bradford in the group stages.

The Vikings say they want to focus on the Women’s Championship season.

Hayne set for another trial

Former NRL and Australia star Jarryd Hayne will go on trial for a third time on sexual assault allegations. (The Guardian)

He was released from jail in February after the court of appeal quashed his convictions and ordered a retrial.

Now on bail, his legal team have applied to change the venue of the trial from Sydney to Newcastle.

Hayne, now 34, hasn’t played in the NRL since the alleged incident on the night of the 2018 NRL Grand Final.

Former footballer in Salford ranks

Seeing two footballers as one of the lead items on The Sun’s rugby league section initially had me frustrated.

Not least because it was second to the “Everything you need to know about the Women’s Six Nations” (rugby union). Sigh.

But the former was a nice piece on Salford assistant physio Josh Thompson, a former England Under 19s footballer. (The Sun)

He played against the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Alexander Lacazette at the 2010 European Championships.

Thompson said: “Now it helps that when the players and I have conversations about different sports, we have that understanding about what it’s like from the players’ side.”

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