ABK Test series: England v Samoa

Date: Sunday, 27 October; Venue: Brick Community Stadium, Wigan; Time: 14:30 GMT. Coverage: Live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, live radio and text commentary on BBC Sport website and app

Twelve months ago, England winger Dom Young should have been tormenting Tonga’s defence. Instead, he lay in a hospital bed.

The 23-year-old had returned to England as a superstar of the elite National Rugby League in Australia, and finished the 2023 season as top try-scorer with the Newcastle Knights.

England three-Test series with the Tongans was teed up to become the latest chapter in Young’s remarkable rise, after he had starred in the World Cup the previous autumn.

Yet his campaign was over before it started – as a far greater challenge faced him.

“It was a sinus virus that spread,” Young told BBC Sport. “I had an abscess that was pushing on the lining of my brain – it was pushing on my eye.

“I was in a bit of a mess, a bit of a state. I was in quite a lot of pain. I didn’t feel myself at all. It was a pretty scary time and my family were worried.”

There was plenty to ponder as Young set about his recovery. Rugby league was his love, his profession. He was joining the Sydney Roosters in 2024, another huge step in a blossoming career.

“I was in the hospital for a few weeks and only had an hour or so visitation time a day, so I had a lot of time to reflect,” he added.

“You can feel a bit invincible at times as an athlete, the lifestyle you have, you don’t really think those things will happen to you and you don’t worry about them, especially being young and fit.

“It definitely opened my eyes up to the bigger picture, made me realise how lucky I am to be in the position I am and how it could all have been taken away.”

Thankfully, Young, 6ft 5in tall and conditioned to the standards of an elite athlete, was able to make a full recovery, and enjoyed another outstanding season in the NRL with the Roosters on the back of his scare.

This strapping lad from Wakefield, barely blooded at Super League level following his progress through the Huddersfield Giants system, had taken the risk of moving to Australia as a teenager to join Newcastle Knights for the 2021 season.

Once settled in the Hunter Valley, his form and eye for a try prompted the Roosters – one of the game’s giants – to sign him. He has looked right at home in the tricolours.

Twenty tries in 22 games have teed him up perfectly for England duty, and playing for his country again – after last year’s disappointment in particular – is an itch he is desperate to scratch.

“That was the interesting thing in the World Cup, I felt like a lot of England fans hadn’t seen too much of me,” Young continued. “So I really wanted to show them how I play and prove my spot in the team.

“It’s always interesting when you come from England and you’ve not really played Super League.

“I want to do the same thing [as he did at the World Cup] and if the England fans are watching, hopefully they’ll see some good stuff from me.”

Another of the England cohort with a stellar reputation down under is Dolphins centre Herbie Farnworth, who swapped the Lancashire village of Barrowford for the bright lights of Brisbane as a teenager to make his dream happen.

The 24-year-old was once given a trial by Manchester United, but says rugby league was always his first love and there was little chance of him becoming the new David Beckham.

Instead, he lives out his dreams in the elite NRL, having made his name initially with Brisbane Broncos before his move to the ‘Phins, and earning back-to-back Dally M awards for Centre of the Year.

Farnworth is proud to follow in the footsteps of other Englishmen who have made the NRL grade, such as Sam Burgess, James Graham and Gareth Widdop.

“Growing up and having having those players out there, like James, Sam and Sam Tomkins and sort of stepping into those shoes, not that I’m filling them, but it’s an honour to sort of have kids messaging me now and look up to me – young English lads, sort of trying to follow the same pathway that I’ve been on,” Farnworth said.

“So I get a lot of questions [on social media], and I’ve got a lot of time for young guys trying to follow the dream to play in the NRL tomorrow.”

While rugby league battles to punch through in England, the 13-player code is the leader in Australia – and in particular the metropolises of Sydney and Brisbane.

Front-page headlines, television scrutiny, and interest across the population make household names of players such as Farnworth in Brisbane and Young down in Sydney.

“You get noticed by fans, and it’s nice,” Farnworth added. “You get to have good little conversations with strangers, which I love, obviously, being from England.

“I love being at cafes and saying hello to the fans, which is why you do it at the end of the day.”

Sydney’s relentless pace of life is somewhat at odds with the easy-going Young, but he takes it in his stride.

“People over here probably don’t realise how big rugby league is in Sydney. It’s like how football is here, it’s a hotpot,” Young added.

“I’m not doing anything crazy that’s going to get me in any trouble, so I find it fine. I can definitely feel the eyes on me but it’s a good thing.

“If I shaved my ‘dreads’ off, I might get a few less people coming up as I’m pretty recognisable. I get a few people now and then – it’s a nice thing. They recognise me for a good reason, because they’re fans or they like how I play, so it’s always nice to get recognition.”

Both players were involved the last time England played Samoa two years ago, when Stephen Crichton’s World Cup semi-final drop-goal in London broke home hearts.

For England, it was all the more painful given it came after a 60-6 thrashing of the Pacific islanders in the tournament opener.

It was also both players’ last appearance in the England white, and there is ample cause for the duo to want to feature again as on-field rivalry resumes.

Young described that last-four defeat as his “biggest disappointment”, a rare blip in an otherwise stratospheric trajectory.

“The way I played in that game as well I wasn’t happy with, so I’ve definitely got a lot of motivation this time out to right the wrongs and win the series,” he added.

“It was a long time ago now. It hurt a lot at the time, but we’re all over it now so it’s not going to be too emotional.

“We do remember it. It’s still in the back of our minds and we’re going to have that little edge about us in this series.”

Saturday, 26 October: Wheelchair international: England v France: Robin Park, Wigan (14:30 BST). Live streaming on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

Sunday, 27 October: First men’s Test: England v Samoa: Brick Community Stadium, Wigan (14:30 GMT): Watch live on BBC Two, the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app. Live radio and text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

Saturday, 2 November: Women’s Test: England v Wales: AMT Headingley, Leeds (12:00 GMT): Watch live on BBC TV, the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app. Listen live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra. Live radio and text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

Saturday, 2 November: Second men’s Test: England v Samoa: AMT Headingley, Leeds (12:00 GMT): Watch live on BBC TV, the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app. Live radio and text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

Note: All television and radio coverage is UK only.