Sean O’Loughlin puts his hand up for England in Ashes series

Drew Darbyshire 23 Mar 2020 9:41 AM

Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin says he is still hopeful of playing for England this autumn despite not being named in Shaun Wane’s initial squad.

The 37-year-old, who has confirmed that this season will be his last, was not selected by new England coach Shaun Wane in his initial 31-man squad.

But O’Loughlin has revealed he has had a chat with his former Wigan boss Wane over playing for England in this autumn’s Ashes series against Australia on home soil.

He told the Official Wigan Warriors Podcast: “I had a conversation with him and I told him that I don’t have to be in the training squad. It was a mutual conversation, it wasn’t me saying ‘I don’t want to be in it’.

“With where I am at in my career now, I think I can step aside and let the young boys have an opportunity to do that. I’ve been involved in the meetings for donkeys years now, I know what they are about and things like that.

“He said to me come the end of the season, if I was playing good enough to be involved in it and he wanted me to be involved in it then 100% I would.

“But if I’m not involved in it then I totally understand, I’m not setting my stall out either way. From my point of view, I’d have to be playing well and to what Waney expects and I know he’d have no qualms about making a decision as well. There would be nothing personal about it, it’s just about getting the best team out on the pitch.”

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