England boss Wayne Bennett insists Chris McQueen and Chris Heighington are in the NRL’s top 20 players after conroversial call-ups
Australian-born duo could face Samoa on Saturday as they qualify through their fathers
WAYNE Bennett has defended the controversial England call ups for Chris McQueen and Chris Heighington, insisting they are in the NRL’s top 20 players.
The Australian-born pair, who qualify through their fathers, are the stand-out selections for Saturday’s Test against Samoa.
Critics say they should be nowhere near the England side because they were not born in the country.
But national boss Bennett believes they are more than worthy of selection, especially as fellow back-rowers John Bateman and Ben Currie are out injured.
He said: “We've got some injuries back in England to two or three players, who are key players and this is an opportunity for these two guys.
“They're certainly in the category of being in the top 20 players here and both are in really good form in the NRL, so let's see what they bring.
“And they'll have no problem gelling with the team, there's a team of good blokes here.”
England face Samoa in Sydney on Saturday morning in their only international before the Autumn’s World Cup.
Again, critics have said that players from Super League – 13 in total – do not need to fly around the world for one game.
And injuries to half-backs Gareth Widdop and George Williams have robbed Bennett of two of his most impressive performers.
But the legendary coach is adamant that some good can come out of the match, which a strong Samoa side is targeting for a win.
He added: “That's the reason we're here. We want to bridge the gap not having been away from each other for 12 months and not having had a game and not getting little issues sorted.
“We want to hit the ground running in the World Cup knowing who can do what.
“I'm after some stability in the team and trying to get guys in the right positions. The guys I've got in the right positions have got a recall and there's a couple of new guys in the squad, I'm trying to fill up places where I think we've got weaknesses.
“We'll be rewarding those who've done a good job and those I know can get the job done and I'm trying to work out who's going to be the best fit.
“But Samoa will be a very good team, they've got a lot of top NRL players playing for them. This concept's working, they started trying to build a team three or four years ago and Tonga was going to build a team, they’re strong too.
“It's not going to be an easy game but we need this type of football to improve ourselves and I'm looking forward to it.”
