I would worry about Harry Smith defence if he's picked for England. For that reason alone I would go Williams and Welsby.

I can see England struggling badly and you wouldn't want Smith being made a scapegoat of as he is clearly a confidence player.

I can't see us beating Samoa in game 1 which will likely mean a QF with Tonga and an early exit

Smith has a good long kicking game and was on form nearly all of last season.

Tonga might not be as strong as in previous years, so I wouldn’t rule us out regardless of that first fixture. Samoa named their squad last night and we’ve a job on that’s for sure but I again wouldn’t rule us out of beating them. I’d say with home advantage it’s a pretty even game.

It should be a fantastic tournament anyway. The likes of Samoa, Tonga, Fiji and PNG are bringing great competition for the traditional big three now. Australia still look comfortably the best side on paper but you never know.

I see no issue with him being in the squad but i would be very surprised if he was a starter

For me he improved his game to the point of being unrecognisable as the season went then had that stinker against Leeds,still I think I’d have him in my squad.

Did he have a stinker against Leeds? It wasn’t great but I thought his long kicking was really good and one of the reasons we kept the pressure on territorially in the first half, yes he created nothing near the try line but nobody did in our team, he was certainly better than others on the pitch imo, definitely better than Tommy and Powell.

Had a conversation with a mate about Smith in that play off semi who also said he thought he had a stinker. I thought he was ok. He set up the Marshall try with an absolute beauty of a pass and I thought he looked like the only one of our 6,7 and 9 who might produce something for most of the game. I thought Tommy looked well of the pace in comparison, which was a shame but understandable.

If Lomax is fit I’d have him and Tomkins in the halves personally and Welsby at fullback, with Williams on the bench. If Lomax is out then I’d probably pair Tomkins and Williams and have Smith in the squad as cover.

I think without Cust he looked limited, as impressive as he is with the boot I can see why others look at him and wonder if he offers enough of a running threat.

I like Smith, he’s improved massively this season but that Leeds match was a huge opportunity for him.

I guess it’s an unfair comparison but how long did it take Saints to crack that Leeds defence?

I’m not putting all the blame on Smith but there’s definitely room for improvement as a Wigan 7.

I think that Smith will start.
I don't think that there are many other options for a goal kicker. Sneyd probably won't even get in the squad so not sure who else there is?
We cannot afford to go into an international without a recognised goal kicker.
Personally I would play Williams and Smith in the halves and Welsby at FB but we all know that Tomkins will be a shoe in for the FB role.
If Lomax does play, and I hope he does, maybe Williams could come off the bench to cover hooker and the halves?

With Cust being out he also switched to the Left, whilst imo most of his best work this season has been playing on the right
I thought a lot of the timing looked off on both sides because of that as tommy/field on the right nowhere near worked as well as smith/field have been.

It doesn’t matter how good a half you are if you’ve no options! Jonathan Thurston wouldn’t have been able to do anything for us in attack against Leeds we were so flat generally. His kicking game was as good as I’ve seen from him, and in the first half he was our best player by a country mile.

On top of the moanings about Smith, Harvie Hill making the 20 man England Knights side has caused more moaning, got to say I’m a little surprised but Iv been impressed with him in the academy and reserves and he’s a big lad so that won’t be an issue for him.

Don't know why there's moaning about Smith and his season. He's been outstanding and his goal kicking even better.
As for his game v Leeds. When the team was announced we had Powell at 9, Smithies 13 and Tommy playing 6. None of those spine player posed an attacking threat to Leeds. Hence the reason we spent 40 mins on their line and only scored one try. Once again we looked like we hadn't got a move in us. The 9, 13 and 6 we had out there didn't have a move in them. That wasn't Harry Smith's fault it was poor team selection. Of the remaining spine, only Jai and Harry were a threat and as long as Leeds kept those two quiet they'd a very good chance of winning.

If Harry Smith is named in the England squad he'll have deserved it as far as I'm concerned.

The moaning about Hill will come from those who haven't seen him play!!

Wait until Morgan Smithies is announced in the England squad on Friday.

If Lomax is out, and I think he will be, and Welsby is at 6, then I would go for Smith. I don't think 2 off the cuff players sits well at the halves. That rules out Williams for me. Lomax and Welsby have differing styles which certainly worked well for Saints. I think Smith is a 7 more in the style of Lomax, though not at his standard yet. Don't really rate any of the other contenders. As others have said Smith's kicking in both aspects could prove crucial.