Junior Nsemba is relishing the competition to be part of England’s squad when the rugby league Ashes return for the first time in 22 years.
Wigan Warriors second row Nsemba made his England debut last November, starting in the second row as Shaun Wane’s side beat Samoa 34-16 at AMT Headingley to wrap up a 3-0 series sweep.
The Betfted Super League’s reigning young player of the year was named player of the match as Wigan returned to winning ways with a 54-0 victory at home to Salford Red Devils on Sunday, and knows he must keep that form going if he is to pull on an England shirt against Australia at the end of the season.
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“When you’re playing rugby, you all want to compete and get into the England squad, but there’s competition everywhere,” Nsemba told Sky Sports.
“Not just in Super League, there’s the NRL boys as well.
“It’s all going very well…and Waney’s got a hard choice, hasn’t he?”
Nsemba was among the try-scorers for Wigan as they rebounded from back-to-back losses with Sunday’s win at The Brick Community Stadium, putting the champions third in the Super League table after six matches.
Defeat to Hull FC in the fourth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup means the Warriors have a rare in-season week without a game coming up, followed by kicking off a big run of fixtures with a Grand Final rematch against table-toppers Hull KR.
Nothing changed for head coach Matt Peet, though.
“We’ll just do what we normally do,” Peet told Sky Sports.
“Train, have some fun and then rest up ready for a good week going into Hull KR, who are flying at the moment.
“That’s how we like it. It’s how we want Super League to be – competitive teams and we enjoy it.”
For Nsmeba, it was vital that Wigan rediscovered the winning habit, particularly with the Good Friday derby against St Helens, a league fixture against Hull FC, and clashes with rivals Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards on the horizon too.
“Coming off the back of two losses, we needed to make things right,” Nsemba said.
“We’ve got a big month coming. We’ll train hard, reset, then be on for the week after.”
