Wakefield-born Joe Batchelor reflects on dream World Cup debut in home county

The 28-year-old has had to bide his time in the tournament after missing out on selection for the opening two games – but his first outing was worth the wait.

Batchelor played the full match against Greece and got his name on the scoresheet as England registered a record 94-4 victory at Sheffield’s Bramall Lane.

It was the perfect homecoming for the St Helens second-rower.

"Playing for England is a proud, proud day for my family," said Batchelor, whose younger brother James recently joined Hull KR from Wakefield Trinity.

"Yorkshire is my home county and to do it in front of my own people in a World Cup was a real special day for me and something I'm going to treasure for the rest of my life.

"It was an unbelievable experience. I really enjoyed it and made sure I took everything in."

With Elliott Whitehead set to return after being rested in Sheffield and Mike McMeeken another option to start in the second row, Batchelor may well find himself back on the sidelines when Shaun Wane's side kick off the knockout stages at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

But he has not given up on his chances of retaining his place.

"Hopefully I've got more to come," said Batchelor. "I gave my all to make sure I'm in Shaun's plans.

"We've got a quality squad of 24 players and whoever plays this week is going to put a real good performance in for England. Hopefully we can make the country proud."

England are likely to play Papua New Guinea in the quarter-finals for the right to face Tonga or Samoa in the last four.

The hosts head into the knockout rounds in good shape thanks to comprehensive wins over Samoa, France and Greece, racking up a tournament-high 196 points in the process.

Batchelor believes England can go all the way with the help of the fans.

"We've got the squad for it," he said.

"We've shown what we're capable of in the opening three games and I hope the people of England have confidence in us and get behind us, especially this week in Wigan.

"We showed against Samoa that we really mean business and the country got on the back of that.

"Hopefully they can feel what we're trying to do and get behind us because we will need them in tough times in this tournament."

Batchelor's journey to the World Cup began in the Sheffield Eagles academy before catching the eye of Saints during a successful two-year spell with York City Knights.

The Yorkshireman – a two-time Super League Grand Final winner with St Helens – has never forgotten his roots.

"It's not something I can reflect on right now but when I finish it'll be amazing to look back on how far I came to end up in a home World Cup," said Batchelor.

"I'd have to pinch myself even more if I got a winner's medal at the end of it."