When the national team kick off their Southern Hemisphere tour against New Zealand Maoris on Saturday, at least one proud Englishman will have his eyes elsewhere.

Despite captaining his country just two weeks previously, Andy Lynch will have his feet up at home while his former team-mates do battle at Mount Smart.

The Bulls prop was a surprise omission when coach Steve McNamara named his England touring party, failing to make the cut after being involved in the initial train-on squad.

Instead, McNamara opted for Huddersfield pair Darrell Griffin and Eorl Crabtree and handed a shock recall to Wigan’s former Bradford prop Stuart Fielden – a decision that was also harsh on Lynch’s team-mate Nick Scruton.

But rather than get tangled up in his own undeniable case for inclusion, Lynch already has his sights set on the next challenge and admits club comes before country at this moment in time.

He said: “It’s great playing for your country but playing for Bradford is the most important thing to me and I’m really looking forward to the new season.

“Missing out on something like this does drive you along even more. When I got left out of the Bradford side for the Grand Final in 2005 after being in the team for the whole season it was a similar situation.

“You can think ‘I’m not bothered’ and sit back and carry on or think ‘stuff that, I’ll work hard and improve and prove I should’ve been in that team’.

“I was probably a little bit disappointed but Steve told me he wanted to go down a different avenue so I just have to accept that.

“When I didn’t get picked my thoughts turned to Bradford straight away and I’m going to start training after a week off. Basically, we now have virtually a full squad for pre-season, which can only benefit us.”

Lynch’s non-selection is made even more puzzling by the identity of the England coach.

McNamara was the 30-year-old prop’s biggest advocate throughout his four years as Bulls boss and continually pushed his case for inclusion in the national team set-up.

So when one powerful workhorse in Jamie Peacock was ruled out of the Four Nations, it seemed almost nailed on that Lynch would fill the gap.

Instead, McNamara went with players from form teams, rather than simply form players.

Still, the evidence in Lynch’s favour is utterly irrefutable.

Comparing the Bradford skipper’s Super League stats to all the other props included in both the train-on and full England squads, he was the best of the bunch in terms of tries, tackles and off-loads and finished second in metres gained, carries, tackle busts and penalties conceded.

Forget the groans about ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’, in some cases the numbers simply cannot be ignored. That they have been ignored by a coach usually so keen on statistical comparisons makes it even harder to get your head around.

If anything, Lynch’s performances are even more impressive when they are considered against the backdrop of a struggling team – the Yorkshireman taking on the kind of workload that would reduce most forwards to a quivering wreck.

But he has paid the price for his side’s on-pitch failure, while others have ridden team success on the path to individual acclaim.

Jamie Langley is another who can feel more than a little hard done by.

The hard-working back-rower’s nearest comparison in the squad is Warrington’s Ben Harrison – both can play every position in the pack bar hooker, both are seen as enforcers on defence and both love to hit the ball up hard.

But despite playing seven less games in Super League this season, Langley dwarfs his competitor in nearly every statistical category.

He made 362 more metres in 50 more carries and completed an impressive 638 tackles with just 20 misses, while Harrison missed 53 tackles and completed two less.

Langley also made 11 more tackle busts and committed 12 errors to Harrison’s 18. The case rests m’lud.

Admittedly, Harrison has had a breakthrough campaign for Warrington, while Langley has not enjoyed the best year of his career – mainly due to a persistent quad injury – but I know who I’d want alongside me on the unforgiving fields of Australia and New Zealand.

England’s loss is certainly Bradford’s gain.


How Lynch compares to his England colleagues

Andy Lynch: appearances 25; tries 6; metres 3074; carries 506; tackles 682; missed tackles 22; offloads 75; tackle busts 41.

Adrian Morley: app 24; tries 3; met 2993; car 373; tack 673; miss 38; off 30; busts 29.

Darrell Griffin: app 25; tries 2; met 2343; car 349; tack 445; miss 27; off 6; busts 27.

Eorl Crabtree: app 23; tries 3; met 2340; car 330; tack 471; miss 9; off 31; busts 40.

James Graham: app 26; tries 5; met 4036; car 598; tack 615; miss 34; off 27; busts 37.

Stuart Fielden: app 25; tries 0; met 2543; car 358; tack 607; miss 18; off 23; busts 73.