Mark Aston makes three changes to his side: European Nation round-robin tournament
Mark Aston, coach of Irish Rugby League team Wolfhounds, confirmed on Thursday, November 3, the recall of three players to his side, which is all set to contest against France on Saturday, November 5, in the European Nation round-robin tournament.
The trio called up includes Paul Handforth, Kyle Amor and James Haley ahead of their clash against France which is the last game of the autumn series. They will return to the Irish side after missing out on a 30-6 defeat against Wales two weeks ago in Neath.
The tournament features Scotland, Ireland and France in contention where each side will play against the other once. Irish side has played their Game 1 against Scotland, which ended up in a massive 26-6 win for the latter. The embarrassing defeat of the
Irish side, which is their second against Scotland, has compelled their coach to make amendments to their side’s line-up, before they battle against the World’s Number 5, France.
The French / Irish arrangement has never proved favourable for the Irish side until now, which is one more reason for Aston to go for changes ahead of the last game of autumn series. This is the first time ever a rugby league clash will be showcased at Limerick’s
Thomond ground.
Aston has called up the trio ahead of their meeting against the strongest side, in hopes of increasing their chances of winning, which are small. The change was very important for the Irish side because currently they are floating at the bottom of the league
hierarchy and need a win in order to keep them part of the remaining series.
While speaking about the revised squad, Aston said, "France are a quality side so we are looking forward to the game. We're going to be a little bit better prepared."
The finalised pick for the Irish side includes: P Barcoe (Carlow), E Cosgrove (Dewsbury), L Finn (Featherstone), B Beswick (Halifax), P Handforth (Halifax), J Mulhern (Featherstone), J Haley (Halifax), G McNally (Huddersfield), L Ambler (Leeds), C Casey
(Leeds), J Taylor (North Dublin), Paddy Boyle (Oxford), T Bergin (Sheffield), P Smith (Sheffield), I Cross (St Helens), A McCloskey (St Helens), G Corcoran (Toulouse), K Amor (Wakefield), T McCarthy (Warrington) and S Carmody (York).
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