We take a look at the 24 players in Shaun Wane’s England Ashes squad, ahead of the opening test at Wembley Stadium...
It’s just two days until the First ABK Beer Ashes Test gets underway at Wembley Stadium.
There are 24 England players hoping to feature on Saturday, but who are they?
There are two newbies in the team, while all the rest are familiar faces. And did you know only three members of the current England side have ever played against Australia in their international careers?
It’s new territory for most of Shaun Wane's men, but the Ashes is an opportunity they are relishing.
Here is a little bit more on your 2025 England Ashes squad:
John Bateman (North Queensland Cowboys)
Age: 32
England caps: 26 (8 tries)
Great Britain caps: 4 (1 try)
Seasoned second rower, John Bateman, has been a regular member of the England squad for a decade and is the most capped England player in the squad.
The two-time Super League winner with Wigan Warriors made the switch to the NRL in 2019 and had a huge impact on his debut season and was named as the Dally M Second Rower of the Year.
Bateman has started at second row in each game of the last two autumn series against Tonga and Samoa, and he is one of the three players in the squad who have faced Australia before (Alex Walmsley and Kallum Watkins being the other two).
AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans)
Age: 27
England caps: 0
The utility back is a versatile addition to the England squad. The Gold Coast Titans talent has played half-back, full-back and centre in 2025.
Brimson has made over 130 NRL appearances since his debut in 2018. This is his first selection for England.
Joe Burgess (Hull KR)
Age: 31
England caps: 3 (1 try)
Joe Burgess could get his first cap in a decade during this year’s Ashes Series.
Burgess made his international debut against France in 2015, where he made two further appearances against New Zealand. The Hull KR winger has been a prolific scorer over the past two seasons, including two tries in the 2025 Super League Grand Final to round off the Robins’ historic treble-winning season.
Daryl Clark (St Helens)
Age: 32
England caps: 13 (1 try)
Great Britain caps: 2 (1 try)
Daryl Clark has been one of the most consistent hookers in Super League for over a decade and was named as the 2014 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel whilst at the Castleford Tigers. The hooker moved to Warrington Wolves where he won the Challenge Cup in 2019, as well as the Lance Todd Trophy for a perfect individual performance.
In 2024, he moved to the St Helens becoming only the third player in the Super League era to wear the Red V’s famous number 9 shirt.
Clark made his England debut against Samoa in the 2014 Four Nations.
Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins)
Age: 25
England caps: 6 (6 tries)
The star centre has been a standout player in the NRL and 2023 and 2023 saw him named Dally M Centre of the Year on the back of two stellar seasons.
Mercurial Farnworth had again impressed in 2025 for the Dolphins, before a hamstring injury cut his domestic season devastatingly short.
Farnworth received his first England cap in the opening game of the Rugby League World Cup against Samoa in 2022, scoring a try during the 60-6 success.
He has since been a key member of Shaun Wane’s side and was a top performer in last year’s test series against Samoa where he scored three tries and made the most metres out of any player.
Head coach Shaun Wane often refers to him as “the best centre in the world.”
Ethan Havard (Wigan Warriors)
Age: 24
England caps: 3 (1 try)
The Wigan Warriors prop made his senior debut in 2019 and has since gone on to make over 100 appearances in Super League.
During his time at Wigan so far, Havard is a two-time Challenge Cup and Super League winner.
He made his international debut one to remember, scoring in the 64-0 success over France back in 2023.
He started both autumn internationals last year against Samoa.
Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity)
Age: 30
England caps: 5 (7 tries)
Tom Johnstone burst onto the scene for Wakefield Trinity in 2014 proving to be a prolific scorer on the edges.
He was also a Grand Finalist with Catalans Dragons in 2023 and became the Super League’s joint top try-scorer that same year.
He was rewarded for this in 2018 with his England debut, in which he scored a hat-trick against France.
However, injuries halted his progress, and it would take five years until Johnstone next represented his country, scoring twice on his return against Tonga.
Heading into the Ashes, the Trinity winger has scored seven international tries in just five appearances.
Morgan Knowles (St Helens)
Age: 28
England caps: 8
Making his Super League debut in 2015, Morgan Knowles has been considered as one of the best loose forwards in the competition.
In his 10-year stint St Helens, an experienced Knowles made over 200 appearances which included being part of the side who won four successive Super League titles.
Knowles will join former Saints Head Coach Kristan Woolf at the Dolphins in the NRL in 2026.
Internationally, Knowles made his England debut in 2021 and has gone on to feature in the Rugby League World Cup in 2022, as well as being involved in the series against Tonga and Samoa.
Matty Lees (St Helens)
Age: 27
England caps: 9 (1 try)
St Helens prop Matty Lees was part of the side who claimed Super League dominance between 2019 and 2022.
Lees made his debut in 2017 and has been a regular feature in their side since 2018.
He was selected for the World Cup in 2022, making his debut off the bench in the World Cup opener against Samoa. Two weeks later, he would cross for his first England try as he got on the scoresheet in Sheffield against Greece.
Heading into the Ashes, Lees has made nine England appearances and has been victorious in all nine of these matches.
Mikey Lewis (Hull KR)
Age: 24
England caps: 5 (2 tries)
One of the stars of Super League, magic Mikey Lewis has written himself into Hull KR folklore for years to come.
The 2024 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel helped guide the Robins to the treble in 2025.
The instrumental playmaker received the Rob Burrow Award for his match-winning contributions during this year’s Grand Final success.
Lewis made his England debut in 2023 against Tonga.
As someone who likes to wear his heart on his sleeve, how will Lewis fare against the Aussies?
Jez Litten (Hull KR)
Age: 27
England caps: 1
A terrific 2025 saw Jez Litten named in the Super League Dream Team. Along with Mikey Lewis, the hooker was part of the Hull KR side who completed the treble.
Litten made the cross-city switch from Hull FC to Hull KR in 2019 but has enhanced his game under Robins Head Coach Willie Peters.
He made his international debut in the 2023 mid-season against France, coming on off the bench in the 64-0 success.
Mike McMeeken (Wakefield Trinity)
Age: 31
England caps: 11 (1 try)
After transitioning to prop whilst at Catalans Dragons, Mike McMeeken has been a leading light in the 2025 for Wakefield Trinity which saw him named in the Super League Dream Team.
McMeeken is a fierce leader, showing this with his captaincy at Wakefield. He was also a Super League Grand Finalist with Castleford Tigers (2017) and Catalans (2023).
McMeeken made his England debut in 2017 against Samoa, before featuring in the Rugby League World Cup later that year and the most recent World Cup in 2022.
McMeeken’s first try for the national side came against Greece where he came off the bench.
Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos)
Age: 25
England caps: 6 (1 try)
Leeds Rhinos centre Harry Newman is a one-club man and has had a very strong year under Brad Arthur's reign.
He made his England debut in the 2023 Tonga series.
Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos)
Age: 26
England caps: 2
Leeds Rhinos' Mikolaj Oledzki has featured two times for England against France in 2021 and 2023.
Kai Pearce-Paul (Newcastle Knights)
Age: 24
England caps: 3 (2 tries)
The powerful second rower has been with the NRL’s Newcastle Knights since 2024 and will join West Tigers next year.
Prior to this, he played for Wigan Warriors where he won the Super League Grand Final in 2023.
He has scored two tries in his three England appearances.
Harry Smith (Wigan Warriors)
Age: 25
England caps: 7 (1 try, 34 goals)
General Harry Smith has a wonderful kicking game and could forge a dangerous partnership with captain George Wiliams or Mikey Lewis in the halves.
Smith was instrumental to Wigan Warriors’ historic quadruple-winning year in 2024, as well as their Super League double in 2023.
Smith made his England debut against France in 2023 and has been first-choice halfback in both the Tonga and Samoa test series, kicking a total of 34 goals.
Morgan Smithies (Canberra Raiders)
Age: 24
England caps: 1
Morgan Smithies was a shining young prospect at Wigan Warriors picking up the silverware before making a bold move to Canberra Raiders at the end of 2023.
In 2025, he helped seal the Raiders’ first Minor Premiership since 1990.
Will he add another England cap to his name?
Owen Trout (Leigh Leopards)
Age: 26
England caps: 0
Owen Trout’s fine form for Leigh Leopards in Super League has been rewarded, as he earned an Ashes call-up on the back of it.
Trout could be set to make his England debut, and there's no better way to do it than on a big stage against Australia!
Alex Walmsley (St Helens)
Age: 35
England caps: 6 (1 try)
Great Britain caps: 4
Veteran Alex Walmsley hasn’t featured for England since 2021.
Along with John Bateman and Kallum Watkins, the only other player to have faced Australia in this current England squad.
The feared prop has made 315 appearances for St Helens since 2013 and has won an array of silverware and individual accolades while at the club - most notably their four titles in a row between 2019 and 2022.
Jake Wardle (Wigan Warriors)
Age: 26
England caps: 1 (1 try)
Jake Wardle is a world-class centre and has really made a name for himself on Wigan Warriors' lethal left edge.
He scooped the full lot of trophies with the Warriors in 2024.
He has only played for England once against France in 2023, but his form at club level has seen him selected for the Ashes.
Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos)
Age: 34
England caps: 29 (14 tries)
Kallum Watkins makes a welcomed return to the England side after a season rolling back the years with Leeds Rhinos in 2025.
Watkins found a new lease of life after moving back to the Rhinos mid-season.
During his career at the Rhinos, he won three Grand Finals, two Challenge Cups and a League Leaders’ Shield. He was also an integral part of their treble-winning season in 2015.
Watkins made his England debut in 2012 and has appeared in three consecutive Rugby League World Cups for the national side.
He knows all too well when it comes to playing Australia, as who could ever forget that infamous ankle tap in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup? What might have been...
Jack Welsby (St Helens)
Age: 24
England caps: 12 (4 tries)
England’s number one, Super Jack Welsby is Mr. Reliable. He spent a lengthy spell on the side-lines this season through injury but is back fit and raring to go in the Ashes.
His first appeared for England in the Rugby League World Cup in 2022, where he scored one try and provided two assists in their 60–6 win over Samoa.
In the absence of regular captain George Williams through suspension, Welsby was named captain for the first Tonga test on 22 October 2023, becoming the youngest ever captain.
Welsby played in all three tests as England won the series 3–0, and most recently played in the 2-0 series victory over Samoa.
George Williams (Warrington Wolves)
Age: 30
England caps: 20 (10 tries, 1 goal)
Great Britain caps: 1
In the England skipper we trust!
George Williams has been the captain of his country since 2023, when he succeeded the retiring Sam Tomkins.
He made his England debut back in 2015 and has been a consistent member of the team.
Williams boasted success with Wigan Warriors, before moving to Canberra Raiders in the NRL for a two-year stint and has been with Warrington Wolves since 2021.
The Wolves reached Wembley in the Challenge Cup Final in June, but fell just short to Hull KR.
Williams will be excited to return there to lead his country out on Saturday.
Dom Young (Newcastle Knights)
Age: 24
England caps: 6 (9 tries)
Dom Young made his England debut in the Rugby League World Cup in 2022. The flying winger has scored nine tries in six appearances for his country and he'll look to continue this try scoring form in the upcoming Ashes Series.
He currently plays for Newcastle Knights in the NRL, but also spent two seasons with Sydney Roosters.
Rivalries will be reignited when England take on Australia in the ABK Beer Rugby League Ashes THIS SATURDAY. The two nations will meet in a three-match test series over 20 years in the making and with the second and third test completely SOLD OUT; Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25 October is your only place to watch this fierce rivalry live!
Book your Wembley tickets here with prices starting from just £20 for adults and £10 for U16’s.
The three-game Ashes Series will also be shown live on the BBC.
