TWO Saints players have been named by Wayne Bennett in his 20-man England squad for the Pacific Test match against Samoa at Campbelltown Stadium in Australia on Saturday, May 6.

Prop Alex Walmsley joins Castleford's Mike McMeeken and Gold Coast Titans' Chris McQueen in being called up to an England squad for the first time, while Saints centre Mark Percival retains his place after debuting during the 2016 Four Nations tournament.

Saints will be missing Walmsley and Percival the same weekend for their Super League clash with Warrington Wolves, whose prop Chris Hill is their only representative in the squad.

There are recalls for Castleford's Zak Hardaker and Cronulla's Chris Heighington.

Wigan's Sean O’Loughlin will also return to the squad as captain after missing the 2016 Four Nations tournament through injury.

“This is a strong squad that I believe has the talent to do well," said Bennett.

"The game against Samoa will be tough - they have some good players and plenty of spirit but this gives everyone in our squad the opportunity to show what they can do ahead of the World Cup.

“I’m very pleased that we have this chance to play mid-season.

"It gives the team a chance to work and spend time together and allows my coaching team and I the opportunity to take a closer look at how the players can rise to the challenge of playing against a tough and uncompromising opponent.

“There are some quality players left behind in England who have either just missed out or been ruled out through injury and this game enables me to look at some of those who haven’t been in the squad before.”

McMeeken and Hardaker, who have helped take their club Castleford Tigers to the top of the Betfred Super League, will be joined by teammate Luke Gale.

McQueen, whose father is English, plays for the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL and will be joined in the squad by former South Sydney Rabbitohs teammates Sam and Thomas Burgess.

Heighington last played for England in the 2011 Four Nations when he scored tries against Wales and Australia.

The squad, which is made up of 12 players from the Betfred Super League and eight from the NRL, will take on a Samoa team currently ranked fifth in the world.

The game, which kicks off at 10:30am (BST) is available to watch at live.rugby-league.com for an earlybird offer price of £3.49.

Kevin Sinfield, Rugby Director at the Rugby Football League, said: “This squad has an exciting mix of power and pace and I am looking forward to watching them play in a few weeks’ time.

"We have a great group of players available for selection and I know that it was incredibly tough for Wayne to select only 20 for this squad.”

England squad:

Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Thomas Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs)

Luke Gale (Castleford Tigers)

James Graham (Canterbury Bulldogs)

Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos)

Zak Hardaker (Castleford Tigers)

Chris Heighington (Cronulla Sutherland Sharks)

Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves)

Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders)

Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants)

Mike McMeeken (Castleford Tigers)

Chris McQueen (Gold Coast Titans)

Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan Warriors)

Mark Percival (St Helens)

Scott Taylor (Hull FC)

Alex Walmsley (St Helens)

Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos)

Elliott Whitehead (Canberra Raiders)

Gareth Widdop (St. George Illawarra Dragons)

George Williams (Wigan Warriors)