England skipper Sean O’Loughlin admits Jermaine McGillvary’s acquittal is a boost
Winger was charged with biting Lebanon's Robbie Farah but was cleared by a judiciary panel
SEAN O’LOUGHLIN admits Jermaine McGillvary getting off his biting charge has been a boost.
The England winger faced the end of his World Cup after being charged with an offence against Lebanon ace Robbie Farah.
But a judiciary panel took just three minutes to clear McGillvary of the claim, which he described as ‘outrageous’.
And skipper O’Loughlin admits seeing the Huddersfield ace get off has lifted the mood of Wayne Bennett’s squad even further.
He said: "I think all the boys were pumped just for Jerry. He was obviously worried where things were.
"To get him back and him involved in the tournament is great for him and the boys all around him as well.
"Obviously you don't know how the system works over here, if it works slightly different or not, but I think most of the boys knew there wasn't much in it from Jerry's point of view and they were just glad he got the decision.”
McGillvary has been one of England’s best players at the World Cup and he will line up against France on Sunday.
And O’Loughlin admits he is ready to wow even more over the coming weeks.
The 34-year-old added: “I am sure he was slightly worried about what might have happened, if he was to get a game or two, he was just pleased that he's going to feature for the next few weeks as well.
“He knew there weren't much in it. I think it was just the fact that it was out of his hands a little bit and the waiting around and that kind of stuff. He took it all in his stride and as soon as the decision was made you could see he was pumped to know that he could carry on playing
“That's the biggest thing for us, we want him playing alongside us. He's had a fantastic two games already and I'm sure he'll feature heavily in the forthcoming games as well.”
