Seven St Helens players withdraw from the England vs France squad

Seven St Helens players have withdrawn from the England international squad ahead of Saturday’s clash with France at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington.

Tommy Makinson, Mark Percival, Jonny Lomax, Lewis Dodd, Matty Lees, Alex Walmsley and Morgan Knowles are understood to have stood down mostly due to injuries, leaving head coach Shaun Wane with a host of problems to solve.

Jack Welsby is the only St Helens player remaining in the squad but there are other notable players who will be marked absent, including Will Pryce, Harry Newman, Jordan Abdull, Chris Hill, Daryl Clark, Oliver Wilson, Mikolaj  Oledzki.

🏉 Rule changes that will see tackling below the armpit come into effect in rugby league are set to be trialled later this year. The Rugby Football League has revealed plans to trial two law changes over four rounds of Academy competition during the current season.

The rule changes will also see kick offs taken 10 metres further forward, on the opposition’s 40-metre line, to reduce the collision impact compared to the current rulings that see kick-offs taken from the halfway line. The trial will take place in June and July.