Veteran England winger Ryan Hall is ready to prove his doubters wrong at this World Cup as the tournament approaches.
Hall is England’s top try scorer with an impressive 24 tries in 28 appearances after scoring another in England’s demolition of Fiji on Friday night.
Even with his record as an international player, there have been questions over Hall’s inclusion in Shaun Wane’s squad along with other wingers such as Salford’s Joe Burgess and Wigan’s Liam Marshall who have enjoyed seasons successful in the Super League and would have been in many teams above Hall.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5live, Hall is aware of the outside noise about his selection but is fully focused on the task at hand.
“I’m really proud to be here again,” Hall said. “I get to a stage where people ask me to be here and ask me if this is the right stadium for him and that kind of stuff.
“The coach is responsible for that and he trusted me again for the work I did in the Super League, so there is still a lot of life in me. I will not take a step back.”
On the other wing for England in their win over Fiji was the electric Dom Young who made a massive change with a try and two assists as he claimed the man of the match for his performance. With Tommy Makinson back in contention for the game against Samoa, Hall is by no means guaranteed to be included in Wane’s opening squad but will be ready if needed as he knows the quality Samoa will bring.
“They’ve named a very strong squad, many of whom have been in the NRL Grand Final, so they have quality coming out of their eyes,” Hall continued. “So we need to be fit for this first game and that’s what we’re trying to do.”