Sydney Roosters utility Hugo Savala has made it clear he wants to play for England in the 2026 Rugby League World Cup in October, where he would join clubland teammates Victor Radley and Billy Smith.
Savala becomes the third Roosters player after Radley and Smith to be an Australian-born player to confirm their status to play for England.
Radley made the switch under the previous representative rules from being eligible for New South Wales and Australia to England in July 2022.
He has since, under the new rules, played for the Blues in the 2026 winning series, while Smith confirmed his aspirations to play for England in August last year.
Savala qualifies for England through his mum, Teresa, who is English.
Meanwhile, his father, Scott, is Scottish, and his brother Charlie has played for Scotland in rugby union.
“I’m eligible to play. My mum’s born in England and my dad’s Scottish,” the 24-year-old told The Sydney Morning Herald before last year’s Ashes series.
“I’m obviously open; my family are from the UK, and my grandparents and cousins live over there. If I ever got the opportunity, it would be great.
“I’ve obviously got a lot of family over there; my dad and mum are from England, it could be pretty cool. I’d be open to it.”
Across the NRL, Savala becomes the 12th player to join the England squad.
Known for his playmaking skills and standing at 193 centimetres, he can also play in the back row and has made an outstanding 2026 campaign developing his skills as a centre.
Savala’s family comes from a multitude of different cultures, with Scott’s grandfather being Polish.
Teresa’s father, Manuel, was from Portugal and played for the same soccer club, Anorinha, just like Cristiano Ronaldo did.
England coach Brian McDermott spoke highly of the idea that his playing group has a combination of players originally born in the country and players like Victor Radley, who were born in Australia and have passion to play because they get the chance to represent their family.
“Over in the UK, by some people’s standards, you’ve got to be born in England to represent England,” McDermott said to the RLWC publication.
“I think that is unfair on a guy like Victor, who is passionate about representing England and will go to war (on the field) for the nation that produced his dad.
“I spoke to Max King; he was actually born in the UK, and that is who he wants to represent, where he spent his first years until he was seven, whereas someone like Victor Radley was born over here.
“But then, to speak to him and his dad was born not too far from where I grew up, and he speaks with a massive passion about representing where his dad is from.”
England’s World Cup campaign kicks off against Tonga on October 17.
McDermott announced in June this year the 38 players he is considering for the World Cup, and now, they’ll look to add more.
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