St Helens are set to have four men playing on their home ground when England Knights take on Ireland at Langtree Park.
Lomax pulls out of Langtree Park curtain-raiser
St Helens are set to have four men playing on their home ground when England Knights take on Ireland at Langtree Park on Saturday.
A fifth Saints player, half-back Jonny Lomax, has withdrawn through injury, along with Huddersfield forward Larne Patrick, while Hull hooker Danny Houghton has pulled out for personal reasons.
Hull KR forward Liam Watts was the other player omitted when coach Kieron Purtill trimmed his squad to 19 for the match, which will be played as a curtain-raiser to the England-Exiles game.
"I'm really pleased with the strength of players I have available," said Purtill, whose newly-formed side won both their fixtures in 2011.
"There's a lot of exciting talent in the squad but there are also a lot of talented players who have missed out and I think that bodes well for the future of England.
"I'll be looking for every player to put in a good performance as we build towards the European Cup at the end of the season and Ireland are a vital part of our preparation for that.
"All our players are playing for a place in the Knights squad but they're also playing to showcase their talents to Steve McNamara and put their case forward for selection in the elite training squad."
England Knights (from): J Broughton (Salford), C Clarkson (Leeds), P Clough (St Helens), M Cooper (Warrington), R Evans (Warrington), L Farrell (Wigan), D Ferguson (Huddersfield), M Flanagan (St Helens), L Gaskell (St Helens), Z Hardaker (Leeds), J Hodgson (Hull KR), B Jones-Bishop (Leeds), S Lunt (Leeds), J McGillvary (Huddersfield), S Ratchford (Warrington), C Riley (Warrington), M Smith (Salford), S Taylor (Hull KR), G Wheeler (St Helens).
