Gutted Leroy Cudjoe hasn’t given up hope of seeing his Giants’ wing-centre partnership with Jermaine McGillvary being transferred onto the international stage.
The Huddersfield duo missed out on a place in the England side that thrashed France 84-4 in the one-off warm-up Test at the weekend, with in-form Giants teammate Brett Ferres storming over for a second-half hat trick.
The nature of his barnstorming display off the bench should put back-row forward Ferres in pole position for a place in the side to face New Zealand in the opening Test match at Hull on Sunday.
But while England’s dominant performance against the outclassed French means coach Steve McNamara may be tempted to stick with the same backs against the Kiwis, Cudjoe is remaining upbeat about his and McGillvary’s chances of playing in at least one of the three Test matches over the next three weeks.
“I was gutted not to have played against France, and I was also gutted for Jerry that he missed out, too,” said Cudjoe.
“But the camp’s been good and all the boys in the squad are quality, so for me it’s all about keeping training hard, and being patient and ready for if I get called up.
“Having said that, I’m enjoying being back in the England set-up after missing out last year and working alongside the best players in the country again.
“I know that’s what Jerry thinks as well, and we know that just because we didn’t play against France doesn’t mean we won’t get our chance to play together against New Zealand at some stage this series.
“That’s what we’re continuing to work towards, and not featuring against France hasn’t knocked us back at all.”
