England team: Winners and losers as returning man backed to give 'new lease of life' while Jack Welsby left 'licking his wounds'

Following England’s 19-man squad announcement for Test Two of the Ashes, here are our key winners and losers from Shaun Wane’s selection. 

Winners

Harry Smith

His omission for Test One was arguably the big call of that selection, but Harry Smith is back in the 19-man squad and seems poised to come straight into the starting 13 too. The Wigan ace has been Wane’s go-to man at seven in recent times, starting the previous six Tests before the Wembley defeat, and it seems he has been backed to give England a new lease of life.

Wane’s comments in the aftermath of the 26-6 defeat were all about little fixes here and there to improve, with the large chunk of that regarding the end of sets. That’s Smith’s forte.

While Mikey Lewis has improved his own kicking game a lot in the past year, it just comes so naturally to Smith and it’s become a key part of his personal arsenal. Around that, he is also a more traditional number seven, acting as the conductor behind the orchestra, and that too is something that could fix up England’s attacking sets. He will just get England playing in the right shape and in the right areas.

AJ Brimson

Primed for his Test debut, AJ Brimson is certainly a big winner. There will be pressure on his shoulders to deliver, but you would back him to live up to the billing.

This is also an opportunity for him to lay claim to the number one jersey for the foreseeable future ahead of the 2026 World Cup in Australia.

Jack Welsby has commanded that shirt for a good while now and is viewed as a key leader within the squad, notably captaining the side for the Tests One and Two against Tonga in 2023, but he hasn’t had too much threat for his spot.

With Brimson now in the mix, it’s very much open for debate. If the Gold Coast man impresses this weekend, it could see him go into pole position in that battle.

Fresh duo

Morgan Smithies and Kallum Watkins have been promoted into the wider 19-man squad this weekend, and could easily be involved come Saturday too.

It seems likely that there will be a spot open at 13 this weekend, with Morgan Knowles potentially moving into the front-row, and both players fit that mould. Smithies is more of your nuts and bolts 13, while Watkins showed he can act as the ball-playing option at loose forward upon his arrival at Leeds Rhinos.

There is a world where both men make the 17, or even the 13, too, given Watkins can slot into the back-row, but either way their promotion into the wider squad shows their value within this England group.

Mikolaj Oledzki

He might have missed out last weekend, but he has kept his spot in the squad for Liverpool and could easily come into the matchday 17 too, following Ethan Havard’s omission.

Oledzki would just give the pack a fresh look and a fresh impact, but also offers big minutes as well. That could prompt Wane to bring him in.

Losers

Jack Welsby

The St Helens full-back is left licking his wounds after an off-day at Wembley, as he misses out on the initial squad. This will come as a major blow to him, given he has been the de facto starter for the past two years and has also been given the captain’s armband by Wane in the past, but it does allow him to step out of the spotlight after a tough day in the Capital.

There is no doubting his quality, but he will have to fight his way back into the side for Headingley.

Omitted duo

John Bateman and Ethan Havard have also found themselves outside of the 19-man squad, with Bateman ruled out through illness and Havard just overlooked. Bateman’s illness is particularly cruel, given he would have likely started had he been fit to play.

Havard can also feel slighlty hard done by as well, but England’s pack was in need of a reshuffle and unfortunately it’s him that’s paid the price. The Wigan man was also not given much chance to prove himself last week, with him playing just 21 minutes.

Mikey Lewis

While he remains in the 19-man squad, the inclusion of Smith suggests Lewis will be forced back to take up a spot on the bench. Lewis has done a decent job in that replacement hooker role, with his speed and desire to run making him a real threat around the ruck, but his best position is clearly half-back and he looks destined to be taken out of that this weekend.

The Hull KR man is an out-and-out six, where he can use his full skillset to cause havoc, but with Williams skippering the side he had to make-do at seven. There were some flashes in there, but he couldn’t quite hit his usual level in that spot.

He will still likely be involved in the match-day 17, though.

Unused group

Joe Burgess and Harry Newman again sit outside of the initial 19-man squad, and are the only two players in the squad to not make either squad this series. Burgess did sit as arguably the form winger in Super League ahead of the series, but always faced a tough fight to get in the team given the quality of Tom Johnstone and Dom Young, and with that pair also being among the standout players from last week’s defeat it made it an even tougher challenge.

Newman also finds himself against two classy operators in Jake Wardle and Herbie Farnworth, but had found himself ahead of Wardle in the pecking order over the past two years.

You would think they are options for Test Three at Headingley, especially if Wane again opts for change.

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