The ‘very patriotic’
England boss Shaun Wane has picked his first squad and it is not good news for Jackson Hastings
By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required
If new England coach Shaun Wane gets to meet his squad for the first time next Monday at Old Trafford, there will be some noticeable absentees. The NRL contingent will not be there and neither will any of the six half-backs who went on tour with Great
Britain five months ago. There will be no Jackson Hastings, Gareth Widdop, Blake Austin, or Jake Connor; while George Williams will stay in Canberra and Jake Trueman has been dropped to the Knights squad.
After a slow start to their new partnership, Warrington duo Widdop and Austin are only now hitting form, enjoying a 38-4 romp at Hull on Thursday night that cost Lee Radford his job. Wane’s decision to ignore Hastings is strange given that he has started his Wigan career in a similar
fashion to how he ended his dazzling spell at Salford.