St Helens’ Joe Batchelor was getting ready for a week’s holiday when a “shock” call came from England boss Shaun Wane.
The uncapped second-row, 27, could round off a remarkable rise if he debuts against the Combined Nations All Stars on Saturday. It wasn’t long ago he was serving burgers at Frankie and Benny’s and getting a rugby lifeline from League 1 Coventry Bears. Batchelor then excelled with part-timers York before a belated Super League debut with Saints at the ripe old age of 24.
A double-winner last term, he’s now one of the comp’s top forwards with dedication and persistence paying off - but it never dawned on him Wane would be interested. Batchelor conceded: “I’d a week away booked this week at Centre Parcs in the Lakes! England wasn’t something I even thought about. I’d not been involved with the other squads and didn’t think it’d be something on Shaun Wane’s radar.
“I got the phone call Sunday when he invited me in and I was obviously shocked. I didn’t really have my wits about me to even have a full conversation! I’m sure I will and I’ll be doing everything possible to do what he wants me to do. I’m over the moon - delighted - but it’s still not all sunk in yet.”
Girlfriend Beth has “abandoned” him to enjoy Centre Parcs but will be back for Saturday if he gets the nod. Batchelor’s career is a remarkable rags to riches story given he contemplated packing in chasing his professional dream to play for amateurs Dewsbury Celtic. He could so easily have been lost to the game - at 21, he was serving at Frankie and Benny’s in Leeds when Sheffield Eagles’ reserve grade was disbanded.
But then came his chance with Coventry which set him back on the road. The Yorkshireman insisted: “I’ve not reflected on it yet, if I’m honest. It’s something that when I finish I probably will do. And I’ll think of how every turn or junction I came to in my career I could quite easily have taken the other option and not be involved at all. When I do look back I think it will be incredible to think where I’ve come to. But at this point of time I can’t dwell on that. I have to live in the moment and strive to move further forward.”
His younger brother and fellow back-row James Batchelor is also thriving. He has won back-to-back man-of-the-match awards when helping hometown Wakefield Trinity secure successive wins against Hull FC and Warrington Wolves. Batchelor said: “He is doing brilliantly and I’m made up for him. He’s had a couple of tough years with niggling injuries and not getting a run of games so I’m over the moon he’s started to play every week and is excelling as I knew he would do.”
Batchelor, who’s renowned for his work-rate and energy, could line up with Wigan’s Liam Farrell and John Bateman in England’s back-row on Saturday. He joined Saints in 2019 and had to initially bide his time, being 18th man for the Grand Final the following year.
But he came of age last year, starting in the Challenge Cup final success over Castleford and the Old Trafford showpiece when the champions downed Catalans. With a World Cup at the end of the year, Batchelor - who “idolised” legendary Great Britain back-row Gareth Ellis when watching Wakefield as a kid - could be timing his run to perfection.
Asked if he feels he has kicked on again in 2022, he replied: “Potentially. I feel like I’ve had a more consistent run and been playing each week for St Helens. That was my goal at the start. That’s what I’ll continue to do and keep improving the areas that need improving, keep my spot in the St Helens team and then hopefully it’s good enough to be in these sorts of groups.”
He is one of five Saints players in Wane’s 20-man squad. Three others - loose forward Morgan Knowles, stand-off Jonny Lomax and centre Mark Percival - miss out through injury. Meanwhile, another team-mate, scrum-half Lewis Dodd, 20, has signed a new four-year deal with Saints. And Warrington have released Billy Magoulias on compassionate grounds - after just seven games - so he can return to Australia.
