England’s men signed off for 2023 with a 3-0 series drubbing of Tonga, who had leading NRL lights Addin Fonua-Blake, Tyson Frizell and Felise Kaufusi in their ranks.
The France game will be the first chance for Wane to draw together some of that group for a competitive outing, and will feature a squad drawn exclusively from Super League clubs rather than using any of the southern hemisphere-based contingent.
There have been a few left-field selections. At 27, Castleford centre Sam Wood is no youngster emerging on the scene – but has earned a call-up thanks to his form for Hull KR before injury last season, and in a slowly developing Tigers side this year.
At the other end of the scale is St Helens front-rower George Delaney, who has played just 44 games and only turned 20 in February. However, he’s not looked out of place among England forwards such as Alex Walmsley and Matty Lees.
There is also a first selection for Elliot Minchella, Hull KR’s influential captain and ball-playing loose-forward, plus Leeds back-rower James McDonnell, Huddersfield prop Oliver Wilson and Wigan’s aggressive and defensively sound Brad O’Neill at hooker.
“Success for me will be seeing things I want to see – there are certain things I look for, without giving too much away,” Wane added.
“I have England standards, which all the players will know about: I don’t like missing opportunities, I like my D [defence] to be intense, and pressured.
“So there are certain non-negotiables which I want to see. I want to see that against France, and if the players can deliver that in that game, it gives them a really good chance to be selected for Samoa.”
The incentive is there for Super League’s English talent, and the depth will be welcome to Wane for those big games in the next few years.