From sorting beds to a fourth World Cup: Kallum Watkins savouring every moment of unexpected England opportunity

Kallum Watkins was sorting out his sons’ beds and preparing for a house move as England came calling.

The Leeds Rhinos back-rower had no inkling he would be heading to the World Cup when a message arrived at 6am asking if he was free to talk.

Halifax-born Morgan Smithies had been ruled out through injury and Watkins was the man Brian McDermott turned to.

Before he knew it, the 35-year-old was swapping jobs around the house for a flight to Australia and a fourth World Cup.

"I was quite shocked but really excited at the same time," said Watkins. "It came out of the blue. I wasn't on standby or anything like that.

"Luckily enough, we were looking to go away at the end of October but didn't book it. I was moving house the week before so all week I was helping out with the boys' beds. I was getting little things like that done before I got the phone call.

"The next day I was on a flight."

Watkins was spared the arduous journey endured by England's original squad, travelling from Manchester to Dubai before finally reaching Perth.

The late call-up reunited him with a familiar face in McDermott, his former Leeds coach whose appointment he believes could benefit England in the long run.

"I think so," added Watkins, who did not arrive in time to be considered for last week's defeat to Tonga.

"He always said he wanted a point of difference and that we'd have to play a different way to succeed. Along the way you're going to have teething problems at times.

"It will take time. Unfortunately, we haven't had enough time on the field during the year so it was always going to be difficult. We still believe we could have won the game against Tonga.

"We showed a lot of promise but it's a World Cup and we know there's expectation. We're all disappointed with that result."

The 30-12 scoreline only tells part of the story after an England performance that offered genuine encouragement despite the damaging result.

McDermott's men went toe-to-toe with Tonga for long periods but ultimately paid the price for failing to capitalise on a dominant first-half showing.

England are no longer in control of their own destiny just one game into the tournament.

Whereas in the past they would still have had time to build towards the knockout stages, the damage may already have been done in a competition without quarter-finals.

The challenge now is to put the disappointment behind them and focus on the task at hand: England need to win their remaining games and hope results elsewhere go their way.

At this level, there is little room for self-pity and England must hold on to the belief that their World Cup is not yet over.

"We still genuinely believe we can do something special but it's not in our hands now," said Watkins.

"We've just got to focus on what we need to do. The first thing is to play well this weekend against France. The boys are right up for that.

"I think it'll help that we had the game last week and we'll get better from that."

England are now in must-win territory – and must win convincingly.

Their best hope is to finish above Samoa in the complex inter-group format, which means outscoring their rivals and hoping they suffer defeat to Tonga.

Already trailing the Samoans by 92 points on for and against, there is little time for England to waste in their final two group games.

But Watkins has echoed McDermott's view that they cannot chase points from the off.

"We've got to stick to the fundamentals of the game," said Watkins.

"The boys believe in the system and we already know Brian does. We've got to keep following what we're doing.

"We know the position we're in but just have to keep focusing on winning the game and then the next one on top of that. Then we'll see what happens."

For Watkins, the chance to wear the England badge again carries extra significance in the closing stages of a career that has given him so much.

The veteran has not been selected for Saturday's clash with France but is determined to make the most of his final World Cup, whatever his role.

"It's a massive honour," he said. "It always is.

"I'm very grateful for the opportunity just to be a part of the camp. It tops off my career, which is coming to an end pretty soon.

"To put on the shirt would be nice – whether that happens or not, I'm not sure – but I'll always do my best for my team-mates in any capacity to make sure they're well prepped.

"If I get an opportunity, I'll take it with both hands. I've had a long journey with England and know for sure it's my last one.

"To have the opportunity to come here is a bonus for me and something I'm not taking for granted."