Look, I saw it, you saw it, everybody else saw it, and they know that we all saw it. 

On the morning of Friday 21st August, I, along with many other rugby league fans, woke up to this graphic. Posted by the Rugby League World Cup X account, it was the outcome of a fan vote for England’s 19-man squad for their opening game of the tournament. 

‘The people have spoken…Any changes needed?’ the caption reads. The responses indicated one thing: yes, official Rugby League World Cup X account, there will be a few. 

Now, before I go any further, I must explain that I am aware that this reaction was potentially the point. In commenting on two separate social media platforms, and then linking it within this article, my interaction has flashed up as a green number on a spreadsheet somewhere in Sydney’s Central Business District. It is also a fan-voted outcome, and, such is the state of play in rugby league today, the majority of those voting will have been based in Australia.

It’s probably for that reason that only four of the nineteen players voted for by the (Australian) public have never played in the NRL. Harry Smith (the only one of the four in the starting thirteen), Harry Newman, Jez Litten, and Mikey Lewis are Super League’s only pure representatives, but they’re hardly niche choices. Newman will be familiar to voters down under by being one of the Perth Bears’ inaugural signings for 2027, and Smith, Litten and Lewis have all been key members of World Club Challenge-winning sides. 

Votes were seemingly based on familiarity and how well the audience recognised certain names rather than ability. Joe Burgess may be getting shipped off to Catalans come the end of the season, but his exposure to Australians through his thirteen-game spell in the NRL in 2016 was enough for him to be the favourite for England’s other wing spot. 

But beneath the jokes about Australian voters lies a much bigger question looking at the graphic, which is what exactly is England’s identity meant to be in the modern international game?

The squad also contains some of head coach Brian McDermott’s young, newly eligible Australian-born NRL players, Brisbane’s Ben Talty. Upon taking the job, McDermott spoke openly about his ‘plan’ for the World Cup and his belief that it would work. Part of this plan was spending his first few weeks in office ringing around to those in the NRL with heritage that would make them eligible to play for his side, and seeing if they would be willing to don the shirt. 

Results weren’t quite as promising as McDermott may have been hoping. Canberra Raiders and New South Wales halfback Ethan Strange reportedly said no, and if Sydney Roosters star Sam Walker, who was born in Leeds, was called, one can only imagine he laughed and chose not to answer the call. Instead, within the list of Super League’s top players sat NRL names like King, Talty, and the other Brailey brother, Jayden. 

Since the original ‘performance’ squad was announced, that is, the list of players being considered for the final squad, a few more NRL names have been added. Sydney Roosters duo Billy Smith and Hugo Savala found themselves in McDermott’s plans, while Souths’ halfback Jamie Humphreys has been unusually open about his ambition to play for England, albeit in a position they frankly do *not* need any more headaches at. 

In the process, with the World Cup on the horizon, England have arrived at a critical juncture. We must ask ourselves if there is a limit to how many Australian-born NRL players who have recently elected to represent England we’re willing to have? And if so, where is it? 

The gap between Super League and the NRL has possibly never been so vast. This is far more of a problem for the former than it is for the latter, perfectly evidenced by the level of the English-born players in the squad who play in the NRL. Herbie Farnworth will be the first name on the team sheet as a result of him being arguably the best centre in the world. Dom Young has been one of the league’s leading wingers this season as his Newcastle Knights side have gone from winning last year’s wooden spoon to reaching the finals this year. If Super League clubs can’t produce a good enough partner for either of them in their respective positions, to the extent that the best option is genuinely Billy Smith for *both*, then what chance do we stand of making a dent in the World Cup?

This, along with the rapid development in strength of the Pacific Island sides like Samoa and Tonga, and the annoying yet polite omnipresence of New Zealand, means that it isn’t even guaranteed that England are the second-best team anymore. Payne Haas may not be turning out for Samoa this autumn, but have a glance at any other projected Samoa lineup, and a meeting with them becomes a genuinely terrifying prospect. 

And this is at odds with what international rugby league is to England. We’re kidding ourselves if we think last year’s Ashes series was only England vs Australia, because it was also Super League vs NRL. In the modern game, English rugby league is increasingly a sport with a chip on its shoulder, permanently having a point to prove. Problem being, we’re no longer the only opposition. By having a national side filled with as many Australian-born players as domestic ones, are we quietly succumbing to the game’s new reality? 

Is it an acceptance that a middle-of-the-road NRL player, who isn’t getting a sniff of the Kangaroos side, is automatically good enough for England *because* they play in the NRL? What use is the Handley/Wardle/Hanley debate if Hugo Savala is better by virtue of playing in Australia, where the game speed and rule set for the tournament is probably going to come from? One area of the pitch England have struggled in recent years against teams from the Southern Hemisphere is in the sizing mismatch between the props, and Max King and Ben Talty do provide solutions, but at a level that isn’t seeing them get serious game time down under. Never mind where ‘this Jamie Humphries fella’ fits into it. 

Of course, as has been the case throughout his career, only Brian McDermott will really know what is going on in his head and what his ‘plan’ is. For now, we are still limited to fan polls and Instagram graphics that speculate whether Caleb Hamlin-Uele or Mike McMeekan is the best option in the forward line. As we succumb to the changes in English rugby league’s identity and the wider shifts in the sport, none of it may actually matter at all.