Wigan Warrior’s Sean O’Loughlin has been named the England captain for the upcoming Four Nations test series.
The 31-year-old, who made his international debut ten-years-ago, will lead the 24-man squad down-under to face Samoa, Australia and New Zealand later this month.
The Warriors scraped through to the Super League Grand Final with a last-gasp victory over local rivals Warrington Wolves on Friday.
And although O’Loughlin, the Warriors’ skipper, will be focusing on helping his side retain the super league title, he has expressed his delight at being named captain of his country.
“I’m very excited by this new challenge,” O’Loughlin told reporters.
“It’s about going out there and leading from example.”
O’Loughlin is joined in the national squad by a host of Wigan players; Josh Charnley, Liam Farrell, Dan Sarginson, Matty Smith, Joel Tomkins and Joe Burgess, who scored the winning try against Warrington.
Although the competition will be tough, England coach Steve McNamara is confident that the squad has the quality to go all the way in the series.
“We spent a long time selecting this squad and there were some close calls with a lot of competition for places,” said McNamara.
“But ultimately we chose the players who will give us the best chance of winning a major tournament in Australasia for the first time since 1990, when Great Britain defeated New Zealand.
“We have a tremendous challenge in front of us but I know the players have the desire, appetite and quality to do English rugby league proud in this tournament.”
Main image courtesy of TetleysChallengeCup via YouTube, with thanks.
