James Graham will lead England in the opening match of the Four Nations series against Samoa in Brisbane on Saturday after newly-appointed captain Sean O’Loughlin was ruled out through injury.
O’Loughlin, who was appointed as the successor to Kevin Sinfield, has failed to recover from a quad muscle injury sustained during Wigan’s Super League Grand Final defeat to St Helens 10 days ago. England say the loose forward is making good progress in his recovery and is expected to play in England’s second match, against Australia in Melbourne on 2 November
Graham, the former St Helens forward who has spent the last three seasons in the NRL with Canterbury Bulldogs, will step into the role of captain, as he did during England’s 2010 Four Nations campaign in the southern hemisphere, when he replaced the injured Adrian Morley.
“It is a shame that Sean misses the match with a problem with his quad,” said the England coach, Steve McNamara. “The Samoa match has come too soon but we remain confident he’ll be ready for Australia the week after.
“James Graham will take over the captaincy for this game. He is a great leader and we saw that with the Bulldogs this season in the NRL where he single-handedly led them to a Grand Final. He leads by example and gives 100% effort in everything he does. He inspires everyone around him to follow his lead.”
McNamara has named four debutants in his 17-man squad – Wigan scrum-half Matty Smith and Hull KR hooker Josh Hodgson in the starting line-up and Joe Westerman (Hull) and Daryl Clark (Castleford) on the bench.
“They are ready,” McNamara said. “They’ve been in our system for a long time. All four have been in great form during the Super League season. There is a slight evolution to the squad this year with some new faces on show. The debutants are exciting and they can prove themselves on the international stage.”
Graham also denied he had led with his head in tackles during the NRL grand final. One clash with Sam Burgess left his opponent with a fractured cheekbone.
“I don’t know what to say to people who questioned it,” Graham said on Tuesday.
“After the grand final you have your end of season festivities which lasted a couple of days so I was probably not up to date with much of what was said. I really don’t know how to answer that. Maybe my vocabulary doesn’t expand enough to be able to.”
Meanwhile, Samoan trio Reni Maitua, Tautau Moga and Sauaso Sue have not been considered for selection for the match due to an NRL integrity unit investigation into their involvement in a Brisbane brawl.
Maitua, Moga and Sue were not named in coach Matt Parish’s side. A statement accompanying the announcement acknowledged they were not available for selection “pending finalisation of an NRL integrity unit review”.
Moga was one of up to eight men arrested over an alleged fracas that broke out at the Hot Gossip nightclub in Fortitude Valley on Sunday morning.
Tim Simona, wingers Antonio Winterstein and Daniel Vidot and centres Joey Leilua and Ricky Leutele form a strong backline, with Ben Roberts and Kyle Stanley slotting into the halves.
Josh McGuire slots into the back-row in a pack that also includes Sam Tagaetese, David Fa’alogo, Frank Pritchard and Leeson Ah Mau. Michael Sio will play hooker.
Toa Samoa’s preparation for the four-week tournament has been thrown into disarray due to the nightclub incident which broke out after an official function at the nightclub.
England team to play Samoa
S Tomkins (New Zealand Warriors); J Charnley (Wigan), K Watkins (Leeds), M Shenton (Castleford), R Hall (Leeds); G Widdop (St George Illawarra), M Smith (Wigan); G Burgess (South Sydney), J Hodgson (Hull KR), J Graham (Canterbury Bulldogs, capt), L Farrell (Wigan), J Tomkins (Wigan), J Westerman (Hull).
Replacements: D Clark (Castleford), B Ferres (Huddersfield), T Burgess (South Sydney), C Hill (Warrington).
Samoa: Tim Simona, Antonio Winterstein, Ricky Leutele, Joey Leilua, Daniel Vidot, Ben Roberts, Kyle Stanley, Sam Tagaetese, Michael Sio, David Fa’alogo, Frank Pritchard, Leeson Ah Mau, Josh McGuire. Replacements: Pita Godinet, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Isaac Liu, Mose Masoe, Dunamis Lui (one to be omitted).
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