ENGLAND coach Wayne Bennett’s bid to reunite the Burgess brothers on the international stage was thwarted by injury yesterday.

Front rower George Burgess, who was ignored for the 2017 World Cup following a dip in form, played himself back into Bennett’s 19-man squad for next Saturday’s one-off Test against New Zealand in Denver, Colorado.

He was recalled alongside twin Tom and older brother Sam but was forced to pull out after picking up an injury in South Sydney’s 42-24 win over Parramatta yesterday.

The withdrawal has earned a reprieve for Hull prop Scott Taylor, who was in Bennett’s elite training squad but left out of the initial squad.

Taylor, who will fly out with teammate Jake Connor after Hull’s Super League game against Wigan today, will be hoping to win his fourth cap against the Kiwis in Colorado.

He made his England debut against France in Avignon in October 2016 and also played against Scotland in the Four Nations Series that followed.

The former Hull KR and Wigan forward was in the 20-man squad that flew to Sydney for a mid-season Test against Samoa in 2017 but did not take the field and made just one appearance in the 2017 World Cup, the final group game against France in Perth.

Former Hull KR forward Clint Newton will represent the Australian players’ association in Denver.

Newton, who raised player welfare concerns over playing the match at the Mile High Stadium, will fly to the United States in his role as RLPA general manager of stakeholder relations and plans to speak to both Bennett and New Zealand coach Michael Maguire.