Willie Peters lays down England challenge to Mikey Lewis amid Ashes admission ahead of Wigan Warriors clash

Hull KR boss Willie Peters has thrown down a challenge to all of his English players, and particularly Mikey Lewis, to stake a claim for a spot in Shaun Wane’s Ashes squad with a good performance against Wigan Warriors on Friday night. 

The clash between the top two sides at the Brick Community Stadium already has a lot resting on it, with Wigan able to close the gap to just two points with a win while KR could pull six points clear themselevs with a victory; however, there are also a host of head-to-head battles between England teammates with one eye firmly on the upcoming Ashes series against Australia.

Wigan and Hull KR both featured heavily within Wane’s initial train-on squad, with 11 of the 32 players coming from either of the two clubs.

‘What an opportunity’

Among the mouthwatering head-to-head battles is Harry Smith v Mikey Lewis.

Both men have become regular features within the England match-day 17 in the past two seasons, and have even started alongside one another against Tonga, but with Warrington Wolves’ George Williams likely to don the captain’s armband for the three-Test series, it leaves just one spot remaining in the halves.

So far, it seems Smith has been Wane’s preferred option ahead of Lewis, with Smith starting seven consecutive Tests for England while Lewis has been forced to play from the bench in the past three, but Peters called on the reigning Man of Steel to seize this opportunity and stake his claim for a spot in the starting 13 come the autumn.

“It’s an important game for both players, but for Mikey it’s a big chance to stake his claim as being that England half. I’d say George is one, and at the moment Harry (Smith) is the incumbent, but there’s no doubt he’d want that role.”

“What an opportunity, in front of Shaun (Wane), at their home ground against the defending champions and say ‘look at the game I’ve just played’ and chase those big moments.

He later extended that out to the rest of his side.

“I challenge all the English players this week; if they want to put their hand up for that team and play for England at the end of the year, there’s no better opportunity to go play well. There’ll be a lot of eyes on the game and Shaun will be there watching, so it’s a great opportunity for our players – as well as theirs – to play well.”

Of KR’s squad, Elliot Minchella, James Batchelor and Jez Litten all cracked the initial train-on squad, while Jack Broadbent and Dean Hadley have also seen their names thrown into the conversation following impressive displays this season.

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