ENGLAND coach Tony Smith has defended his decision to axe more than half his World Cup squad for the Gillette Four Nations series.
Smith’s 24-man squad, named yesterday for the inaugural quadrangular tournament, includes just 11 survivors from England’s dismal campaign Down Under and Leeds stand-off Danny McGuire is the only back to keep his place from the side that lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals.
Leon Pryce, Ade Gardner and Paul Wellens are the big-name omissions from St Helens and there are no places for the Leeds trio of Rob Burrow, Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Keith Senior.
There are just nine players from the two Grand Finalists, compared to 15 out of 24 in the World Cup as Smith opts for a youthful line-up drawn from 11 different clubs.
St Helens’ exciting utility back Kyle Eastmond and Wigan’s Super League young player of the year Sam Tomkins, both 20, are the new faces, alongside Warrington centre Chris Bridge, who is the surprise inclusion.
No fewer than 14 of the 17 players who were on duty for the mid-season international against France have been retained, including Salford’s teenage scrum-half Richie Myler.
“I think it’s time to put some fresh faces in,” explained Smith, who told a news conference in Manchester that he has one eye on the next World Cup in 2013.
“We’ve got some young people coming through and they deserve a chance. There is only one way to gain experience and that’s by picking them. They have had tremendous years and deserve to be there.
“We picked a lot of fresh faces for the mid-year game and it gave us a fresh feel and they responded well.
“This series is about now but it’s also about the future and we want to build for the future. We feel that they’re ready now.”
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