England's Shaun Wane praises 'sacrifice' made by group of players including Wigan Warriors trio

Liam Marshall, Sam Powell and Harry Smith all made their debuts for the national side on Friday night, but are among the players who are not set to be part of the upcoming tournament.

Wane states their presence for the warm-up game with Fiji was vital.

He said: “There are a few players in the background, giving up their holidays and keeping fit to make sure they can jump in if we have an injury.

"The sacrifice they’ve made is immense. They’ve been fantastic.

"To give up their family time for the cause of being English is really impressive, I’ve just mentioned that in the changing rooms.

"They have programs at home to keep fit, they won’t be with us at the hotel but they’ll be ready to call upon.

"I can’t imagine how tough that is for them, but they understand that is the situation and they are up for it.”