Sean ready for the World Cup
WIGAN’S late-season collapse could be good news for England, with skipper Sean O’Loughlin set to lead the national side into the World Cup refreshed and fully fit.
England fans are used to seeing the Wigan loose forward being patched up for the international programme at the end of a long and rigorous domestic season but this time should be able to see him hit his straps in the opening game against Australia in Melbourne on October 27.
O’Loughlin, who turns 35 during the World Cup, missed Wigan’s last two games of the season - which proved disastrous for their title defence - with a calf strain, but says he would have played against Wakefield last Saturday if the game had been crucial.
“We had one eye on the internationals,” O’Loughlin said. “If I had played in that game, I’d have probably been another two or three weeks laid up. It was just doing the right thing.”
The Warriors’ failure to reach the play-offs - for the first time since 2006 - will give the veteran forward the chance to put his feet up before linking up earlier than usual with the rest of the fall-out squad at their get-togethers in Manchester before they board the flight to Perth on October 12 for a 10-day camp to hone their preparations.
“The last few years I’ve been involved in the Grand Finals so it’s strange watching the semis on the sideline,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to focus on the internationals.
“We train over in Manchester next week. It’s a chance to go out and get some quality training done out on the field as a group.
“The 10-day training camp is a good opportunity to get everyone together and spend a bit of time together before we get a game under our belt. I think it will be invaluable for us. In the past we’ve kind of come together and gone straight into a game a bit rusty.”
O’Loughlin missed just nine games this season, compared to 17 in 2016, and it says much about his importance to the Wigan team that they lost all eight league games in his absence and won for the only time without him against part-timers Swinton in the Challenge Cup.
His form was enough to earn him a place in the Super League Dream Team for the sixth time.
“I’ve been happy with the way I’ve played this year,” O’Loughlin said. “Injury wise, I’ve done pretty well this year, I’ve spent most of the time playing rather than on the sidelines which is always a good way of getting your form up.”
Despite his good form, O’Loughlin remains out of contract for next season with talks ongoing on a new deal amid speculation that he is on the wanted list of Toronto Wolfpack, whose director of rugby Brian Noble gave him his Great Britain debut in 2004 before coaching him at Wigan.