England head coach Shaun Wane has revealed the identity of his new-look spine for Saturday’s must-win Ashes Test – with Jez Litten going in as the sole hooker and Mikey Lewis dropping to the bench.
Wane has made three changes to his 19-man squad that were heavily beaten at Wembley Stadium last Saturday, but there will be wholesale changes to the creative spine within the 17 that takes to the field at Everton on Saturday.
Chief among them is AJ Brimson, who will make his England debut at fullback in one of the biggest games of his career, as he replaces Jack Welsby in a like-for-like change.
Elsewhere, there will be a new-look half-back pairing too. George Williams and Harry Smith will be the two man tasked with unlocking Australia’s defence, with Wane admitted he was hoping Smith could bring more ‘control’ to England’s play.
“We’ll have a bit more focus and a bit more direction on how and where we finish our attacking sets and where we start our defensive sets,” Wane told the media on Thursday. “We didn’t have control of that at Wembley. Hopefully, this Saturday is a bit different. The organisation side of things will be crucial.”
That means Lewis drops to the bench to take the 14 shirt – with his Hull KR team-mate Jez Litten earning a start at hooker after an encouraging display from the bench.
Wane said of Litten: “He’ll bring energy. He’s good out of nine and kicks well. I thought he played really well off the bench. He gave us a good lift. He’s without a doubt been the best nine this year. He went into that game as the best nine in the comp and came on and backed that up.”
Meanwhile, of Lewis, Wane added: “Mikey is a great player with a great kicking game. He performed great at the back end of the year in Grand Finals. He can play hooker off the bench. That’s another position Mikey can play. He covers nine. He can play six, seven, and one. We’re trying to look for a really balanced 17.”
