England mission for super hero Graham

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13 April 2012

James Graham, the recently-crowned Super League Man of Steel, is set to make his first England start after being named in the side for the opening World Cup match against Papua New Guinea on Saturday.

The St Helens prop displaces veteran front-rower Adrian Morley, who finished the season for Warrington with a stomach muscle injury, although England coach Tony Smith has not ruled out making a late change.

Smith said: "James has been sensational this year and probably deserves a starting position.

"Adrian hasn't played for a while so we'll introduce him a bit later in the game if that's how we go.

"That's how we're going to go at this stage but, if we feel Adrian should start, we may change."

Wigan forward Gareth Hock has been rewarded for a strong finish to the season by being handed the second-row spot made vacant by injury to Bradford's Sam Burgess, while Leeds utility back Lee Smith has pipped former Rhinos team-mate Mark Calderwood for the left-wing berth.

As expected, Leon Pryce gets the vote ahead of Danny McGuire for the stand-off role, while the 22-year-old Smith wins his first cap after a man-of-the-match display in the Grand Final.

"It's always great to hand out a new cap," said Smith. "It's a great honour for Lee and I know he's going to treasure that moment. He's been very good at the back end of this year and he deserves his place."

Paul Wellens starts at full-back with the back line completed by Adrian Gardner, Martin Gleeson and Keith Senior with Rob Burrow at scrum-half.

Alongside Graham and Hock, captain Jamie Peacock is joined in the pack by James Roby, Gareth Ellis and Kevin Sinfield.

It means there is no place for Harlequins' only representative in the squad, Rob Purdham. The utility back has been in superb form this season and looks sure to feature in later matches.

Smith said: "Anybody who's seen Rob play this year will agree he's had a tremendous season.

"He's brought a lot to his own team and versatility is one of his qualities. In defence, he's a guy who punches above his weight. He's not a massive guy but he's so strong for his size and he just churns in good displays week on week. He also enhances our goal-kicking ability."

With organisers desperate to avoid the financial black hole that was left by the 2000 World Cup, England look almost certain to book a semi-final berth after one of the most contrived draws in sporting history. Smith's side join Australia, New Zealand and PNG in Group One, with the top three all qualifying for the semi-final stages.

Just one of the other six teams competing will make the last four, with Samoa, Tonga or France looking the likely favourites.

Many Australians have started indulging in their favourite pastime of Pom-bashing but England have a strong squad and are expected to do well.

Smith took over from Brian Noble last summer as Great Britain coach and guided them to a victory over France and a 3-0 series whitewash of New Zealand. With Great Britain dismantled for the World Cup, Smith became England coach and his overall record sees him unbeaten in five Tests.

While still the major force, Australia no longer pervade an air of invincibility. New Zealand beat them 24-0 in the 2005 Tri-Nations Final before taking them to extra-time the following year, while Great Britain won in Sydney only two years ago.

England landed on the Gold Coast 10 days ago in a bid to acclimatise to conditions before heading north to Townsville and the stifling heat that is likely to favour PNG at the weekend.

Smith said: "The players have been training in a positive way as they build up for a tough tournament."

England mission for super hero Graham

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