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.
