Sean O’Loughlin puts his hand up for England in Ashes series

Drew Darbyshire

Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin says he is still hopeful of playing for England this autumn despite not being named in Shaun Wane’s initial squad.

The 37-year-old, who has confirmed that this season will be his last, was not selected by new England coach Shaun Wane in his initial 31-man squad.

But O’Loughlin has revealed he has had a chat with his former Wigan boss Wane over playing for England in this autumn’s Ashes series against Australia on home soil.

He told the Official Wigan Warriors Podcast: “I had a conversation with him and I told him that I don’t have to be in the training squad. It was a mutual conversation, it wasn’t me saying ‘I don’t want to be in it’.

“With where I am at in my career now, I think I can step aside and let the young boys have an opportunity to do that. I’ve been involved in the meetings for donkeys years now, I know what they are about and things like that.

“He said to me come the end of the season, if I was playing good enough to be involved in it and he wanted me to be involved in it then 100% I would.

“But if I’m not involved in it then I totally understand, I’m not setting my stall out either way. From my point of view, I’d have to be playing well and to what Waney expects and I know he’d have no qualms about making a decision as well. There would be nothing personal about it, it’s just about getting the best team out on the pitch.”

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