Centre gets call up after domestic season to forgetLions looking to put Tonga defeat behind themAfter defeat by Tonga last weekend, it is safe to assume that every member of the Great
Britain side that faces
New Zealand on Saturday has some wrongs to right. Yet for Jake Connor, who will make his first Lions appearance, there will be wider reasons to ensure everything goes to plan after a season he will be keen to forget thus far.
“It was a nerve-wracking wait for the call-up given everything that’s happened this year,” admits the 25-year-old Connor, who will start in the centres this weekend in place of the injured Oliver Gildart. In Super League, his Hull side looked well-placed for a run at the play-offs midway through this year, before a remarkable end-of-season collapse saw them miss out. The nadir was an embarrassing defeat by Castleford, in which Connor exchanged words with some of his own teammates after being sin-binned for dissent.