“The best way I could have left the club,” was how Dan Sarginson described Wigan’s Grand Final win shortly after victory over Warrington on Saturday night, but the 23-year-old’s attention cannot turn to his move to the Gold Coast Titans just yet.
In the absence of Sam Tomkins in the closing weeks of this season, Sarginson’s importance to Wigan and his recent good form at full-back in place of Tomkins are understood to have earned him a place in Wayne Bennett’s 24-man squad for this year’s Four Nations, which will be revealed in full on Monday.
Sarginson’s Warrington opposite number, Stefan Ratchford, is also included – as is the Wolves hooker Daryl Clark – but it is the former London youngster who is perhaps the surprise inclusion. He admitted after Saturday’s match he was not sure if his versatility would count in his favour when it came to selection but he has now reportedly been handed an England chance by Bennett.
“If I do get the call I’m not sure where he’ll play me,” Sarginson said. “I’ve not played too much at centre and I might not have been too convincing at full-back! But I really hope I get into the squad and, if I do, I’ll do all I can for my country.”
Since being plucked from the capital as a promising teenager Sarginson has become a vital part of the Wigan side who were crowned Super League champions over the weekend, having lost in the Grand Final in the previous two years.
Rugby league is a distinctly northern game in the eyes of many but Sarginson, who grew up hundreds of miles away from the M62 corridor in Hemel Hempstead, is proof there is a pathway for southern‑based players to make it to the top of the sport.
He will become the latest Englishman to play in the NRL next year when he joins the Titans but Sarginson already has his eye on a Wigan return one day. “I’ve had a tough three years here with some injuries last year and the first year,” he said. “But to come out and win tonight is the best way I could have left the club.
“When I first came up here I was told it was a rough town, but I love it in Wigan. I honestly love it nearly as much as my hometown, Hemel. I honestly think I’ll be back if they’ll take me – but now I’m looking forward to Australia and proving a point over there.”
Sarginson is not the only departing Wigan player already contemplating a return one day. Josh Charnley’s new home is slightly closer than the Gold Coast as he crosses codes to play rugby union with Sale Sharks but he also said that if he returns to the 13-man code it will be with Wigan, after ending his time with his hometown club in fitting fashion.
“I’ve got to see how I fit in at Sale first,” he said. “I might not like it or I might love it and never come back. I’ve just got to go and give it my all. But I wouldn’t go anywhere else if I came back to rugby league. I’ve grown up at this club since I was 13, it feels like home.
“This is going to make it miles harder to leave but I’ve got a few days with the lads and then I’ll have to get my thinking boots on and try to learn a new code.”
Charnley’s switch rules him out of England contention but another Wigan player almost certain to be included is the forward John Bateman.
Suspended by the club mid-season for an off-field altercation, the 23-year-old has returned to help play a pivotal role in the club’s run to Old Trafford, which ended with a 12-6 victory over Warrington.
Bateman remained cautious about whether he will be included for England on Saturday night, but insisted he is fit and available should Bennett pick him after he appeared in all three Tests against New Zealand last year.
“Hopefully the call comes,” Bateman said. “We’ll just have to see how things go. I’m fit and raring to go apart from a few cuts and bruises.
“Winning this will take some time to get over first. It’s weird, a surreal feeling. It’s right up there as one of the best things ever, along with having my little girl,” Bateman said.
