{
  "id": 14158789,
  "title": "Lewis left out for England's Rugby League World Cup opener",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/lewis-left-out-for-englands-rugby-league-world-cup-opener-14158789",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-13T08:43:54.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lewis-left-englands-rugby-league-051748538.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mikey Lewis has been left out of England's Rugby League World Cup squad for their opening match against Tonga. Harry Smith, George Williams, and Lewis were the half-back options, but Lewis was not even considered for the bench. The decision was made by England head coach Brian McDermott, who believes Lewis operates more like captain Williams than stand-off Smith. England's World Cup journey includes matches against Tonga, France, and Papua New Guinea.",
  "summary": "Harry Smith is named alongside captain George Williams in the England half-back roles for their 2026 Rugby League World Cup opening match against Tonga - with Mikey Lewis left out.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "City AM",
        "title": "A Rugby League World Cup starts this week and you didn’t know. That’s a huge problem",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/a-rugby-league-world-cup-starts-this-week-and-you-didnt-know-thats-a",
        "published": "2026-10-13T05:29:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Lewis left out for England's Rugby League World Cup opener",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/lewis-left-out-for-englands-rugby-league-world-cup-opener",
        "published": "2026-10-13T05:32:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Mikey Lewis left out of England side for Rugby League World Cup opener",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/mikey-lewis-left-out-of-england-side-for-rugby-league-world-cup-opener",
        "published": "2026-10-13T07:17:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Premium Times",
        "title": "Rugby League: Nigeria becomes first African country in IRL accelerator programme",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/rugby-league-nigeria-becomes-first-african-country-in-irl-accelerator",
        "published": "2026-10-13T10:31:54.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}