ENGLAND coach Wayne Bennett has called up Brisbane-born forward Chris McQueen for the mid-season international against Samoa.

The 29-year-old Gold Coast Titans back-rower is the eye-catching name in Australian Bennett's 20-man squad announced for the Test in Sydney on Saturday, May 6.

McQueen, a former South Sydney player who will join Wests Tigers for the 2018 NRL season, has made six State of Origin appearances for Queensland and qualifies through his England-born father.

The controversial selection comes in the wake of Ben Te'o, another Queensland representative player, being called up for the British & Irish Lions' tour to his native New Zealand this summer.

McQueen was approached to play for England in the 2013 World Cup but rejected it in the hope of winning Origin honours and he went on to play in six consecutive matches for the Maroons from 2013-14 and make a second appearance for an Australian Prime Minister's XIII against Papua New Guinea.

There is also a recall for another Australia-born forward, Chris Heighington, who was last selected under Steve McNamara in 2011, while Wigan loose forward Sean O'Loughlin returns to the squad as captain after missing the 2016 Four Nations tournament through injury.

McQueen is one of three uncapped players and among an eight-strong contingent based in the NRL.

They include former Bradford Bulls star Sam Burgess, who captained England in the absence of O'Loughlin, and one of his twin brothers, Tom – but there is no place for George, who has been out of form this year and was today given a four-match ban for a shoulder charge at the weekend.

The other new faces are St Helens prop Alex Walmsley and Castleford second-rower Mike McMeeken, who is joined in the squad by his clubmates Zak Hardaker and Luke Gale.

Bennett, who has restricted his selection to a maximum of three players per club in order to keep disruption to Super League to a minimum, has returned to O'Loughlin as his leader and included his Wigan team-mate George Williams, but there is no place for second-rower Liam Farrell.

Warrington's Daryl Clark is another notable omission, with Canberra's Josh Hodgson the only specialist hooker in the squad.