Sean isn’t ruled out of a place in Mac’s attack
ENGLAND coach Steve McNamara has stuck with the same side for Sunday’s Four Nations match against Australia, but has not yet ruled out injured captain Sean O’Loughlin.
The Wigan loose forward was forced to sit out England’s opening 32-26 win over Samoa on Saturday after failing to recover from a quad muscle injury.
McNamara says O’Loughlin is making progress and could yet be drafted in for the match in Melbourne.
England are also thought to be monitoring scrum-half Matty Smith and hooker Daryl Clark after they picked up knocks against the Samoans.
“We have named the same 17 as last week,” said McNamara. “A few of our blokes haven’t been able to train fully during the early part of the week.
Improving
“Even though we have named the same side, there could be a change or two at the back end of the week.
“Those that were unable to train are making decent progress.
“Sean O’Loughlin is definitely improving and we will continue to monitor him throughout this week.”
England’s last victory against Australia was the 1995 World Cup opener at Wembley Stadium, when the hosts won 20-16, although Brian Noble’s Great Britain beat the Kangaroos 23-12 in the Tri-Nations Series in 2006 in Sydney.
O’Loughlin is the only member of the 24-man squad to have ever tasted success against Australia, having played in both the 2004 and 2006 Tri-Nations tournaments.