England winger Dom Young admits painful memories of his side’s dramatic World Cup semi-final defeat to Samoa two years ago are driving his side to exact some measure of revenge in the upcoming two-test series in Wigan and Leeds.
Young was part of the England team that came up short in a 27-26 defeat at the Emirates Stadium that was decided when Stephen Crichton’s golden point drop goal sent the South Sea islanders into the final against Australia at the hosts’ expense.
The 23-year-old is one of nine players who started that semi-final to feature in Shaun Wane’s 24-man squad for the two return fixtures, the first of which kicks off at the home of the Super League champions on Sunday.
“It definitely took a while to get over and it still hurts to this day,” said Young, who crossed 20 times in his first season with the Sydney Roosters this season to take them within touching distance of the NRL Grand Final.
“It was really tough to be honest. All the boys were pretty devastated. We felt like we were in a really good spot going into the semi-finals and we really wanted to win the World Cup at home. It wasn’t on any of our radars to get knocked out in the semi-finals.
“But obviously when you go through these hard moments together it brings you a bit closer, and you probably saw that last year with the job the boys did against a really strong Tonga team.
“It would be nice for a lot of boys who did play in that game if we could get the win this time. Personally for me it would be pretty sweet.”
Dewsbury-born Young made his debut for Huddersfield as a 17-year-old in 2019 but before he could cross for his first try he landed a three-year deal with NRL side Newcastle Knights.
Continued success earned him selection for the 2021 World Cup squad, and he marked his debut by scoring two tries in a 60-6 win over the Samoans that offered next to no indication of the heartache that would follow when the two sides met again later in the tournament.
But that painful exit was put in sharp perspective last year when Young was laid low by a sinus infection that spread to his brain during his flight back from Australia for the three-match Tonga series.
Instead of facing the Tongans, Young spent weeks in hospital in Leeds and required a number of further months before he could make a full recovery and return home to pick up his pre-season training schedule with his new club in the Australian capital.
“When you’re a professional athlete you don’t expect those kinds of things to happen to you,” added Young.
“It was a definitely a scary time for both me and my family, and it took a long time to recover from it. I felt like I was catching up for a long time.
“But hopefully that is all in the past now and I have managed to get here again with no problems so I can just focus with the rest of the team on making up for what happened last time.”
Young was included in Wane’s reduced 19-man group for the first Test along with four other Australia-based players in Herbie Farnworth, Kai Pearce-Paul, Tom Burgess – who is joining Huddersfield next season – and Victor Radley on Friday.
Wane also confirmed three Wigan players – Harry Smith, Ethan Havard and the uncapped Junior Nsemba – were in line to feature at their home ground.
Wane said: “It’s been great to be back in camp with the players this week and I can’t wait for them to get back out on the field on Sunday wearing that England jersey.
“I’ve had to make some difficult decisions selecting my squad for this weekend as we have real competition for places and everyone across the 24-man squad can make a strong case to be involved.”
The experienced Chris Hill and Canberra forward Morgan Smithies were among those left out, while Wigan’s Luke Thompson is suspended.