Wakefield Trinity skipper Jacob Miller tips Tom Johnstone for England honours
CAPTAIN JACOB Miller is tipping Wakefield Trinity’s flying winger Tom Johnstone for England honours this year.
Johnstone, 24, has one England cap so far, having scored a hat-trick on his Test debut against France in 2018, but asked if he could be in Ashes contention this autumn, Miller said: “He should – just watch his finishes and his highlights. If he’s not picked I’d be very surprised.”
Johnstone scored two tries to take Trinity’s clash with Hull into extra-time last week, though they were eventually pipped 27-26 by Marc Sneyd’s golden-point drop goal.
The brace extended Johnstone’s try-scoring run to four games and was more evidence he is getting back to his best after returning from the knee injury which ended his season last March. The German-born flier, a product of the Stanningley community club in Leeds, is known for being able to get the ball down in almost impossible situations and Miller enthused: “You give him the smallest of chances and he will more than likely score.
“He is unbelievable – the way he has come back from two season-long injuries and come back to form so quickly, we could talk about him all day.”
The golden-point loss to Hull, after Trinity had hit back from 20-6 down, was a sickening blow, but Miller reckons – now the dust has settled – Wakefield can be proud of the way they refused to throw in the towel.
“It’s obviously disappointing and it hurt straight after the game, but we showed a lot of character and a lot of smarts to get back into it,” he said.
“It was raw afterwards, but the character and effort shown to get back into it from 20-6 down was great. It’s really disappointing to lose but, at the same time, there was some positives there.”
Trinity take a break from Betfred Super League this weekend and will face Championship side Bradford Bulls at home in the Coral Challenge Cup on Friday. Miller warned: “It’s not going to be easy. They are going to want to get into the hat for the next round just as much as we do and Chezzy [coach Chris Chester] has said we’re going to go in as strong as we can. We’re not going to take any chances – we’ll prepare well this week and go do our best on Friday.”