Johnson’s Cup hopes still alive
Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson has been added to the Kiwis’ wider squad for the Rugby League World Cup.
The New Zealand selectors have added 10 names to their squad for next month’s tournament in England, to increase it to 34 players, but this will be trimmed to 24 before the team departs for the UK on September 30.
Those players who’ll appear in the NRL grand final on October 2, will head over the following week.
For Johnson, 32, who missed out on selection for the mid-year test against Tonga, it keeps alive his hopes of playing in a third World Cup.
Johnson didn’t have the best of seasons for the Warriors, but did improve over the final third of the campaign, when the team was able to spend more time in New Zealand, allowing Johnson to be closer to his family.
Kiwis coach Michael Maguire said he was aware of the personal challenges Johnson faced earlier this season, but knows what he can do in a black-and-white jersey.
‘‘Shaun is a very passionate around the Kiwis jersey and he’s had great experience there,’’ Maguire said.
‘‘Through all of the various circumstances the Warriors have had challenges without a doubt.
‘‘I’m aware of that, but I also know what Shaun is capable of doing, if the opportunity comes, when the squad is brought down to 24, I know he’s a passionate man about the Kiwis jersey.
‘‘He’s a supporter. When I first jumped in there, he was right behind everything the Kiwis were trying to forge towards.’’
By making it to the 34-man wider squad Johnson has got over the first hurdle, but it will be tough to make it into the 24 and knock out Dylan Brown, Jahrome Hughes, Te Maire Martin or Kieran Foran, who were all in the Kiwis squad for the June test at Mt Smart Stadium.
Maguire confirmed that Joey Manu, who picked up a calf strain playing for the Roosters two weeks ago, would be able to play in the World Cup, while he and the NZRL are still working through Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’s situation.
The Roosters prop was given a three-game ban after pleading guilty to a grade two dangerous contact charge in the heated elim
ination final against the Rabbitohs last weekend.
The NZRL is looking to see if the Kiwis’ warmup game against Leeds on October 8 can count as one of those three games.
If that’s the case, the giant prop would miss pool games against Lebanon and Jamaica. If it’s ruled the Leeds game doesn’t count, Waerea-Hargreaves will also sit out the game against Ireland, so would only be available from the quarterfinals onwards.
‘‘We’re working through that process at the moment,’’ Maguire said.
‘‘It’s a legitimate game, it’s under international laws, we’ve got proper refs and it’s under the judiciary code, so all of those sorts of things play a part in what could be the suspension.’’