WHEN Danny Walker headed for the changing rooms after a winning England Knights performance on his debut as a captain he probably thought his season was over.

But the 22-year-old Warrington Wolves hooker from Orford has been rewarded for his fine display in the 56-4 victory over Jamaica at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle in Castleford with a call-up to the senior England side.

He joins Wire teammates Mike Cooper, Ben Currie and Joe Philbin in Shaun Wane’s squad for Saturday’s Test match against France in Perpignan and does so delighted with how his international opportunities have blossomed over the past week.

“Coach Paul Anderson told me on the Tuesday morning that I would be captain against Jamaica,” said Walker, who dedicated his try on the night to his former Widnes Vikings and England Academy teammate Liam Walsh following his death last month.

“It came out of the blue really. I never expected the captaincy. As soon as he told me my face lit up and I was made up. It’s an honour and a boyhood dream to captain your country. I definitely feel it is something that is going to make myself and my family proud. It means a lot to me.

“I took that honour with calmness and took it all in my stride. It was certainly a good win to come out on top and the first one as a skipper.”

One game as captain and one win is a good return for the former Beamont Collegiate Academy student.

“At amateur level I captained sides every now and then, but none until now as a professional,” he said.

“I’ve been vice-captain. But it’s first time as skipper and one win, so it means a lot. Maybe I should retire now, eh?”

He added: “I felt like I did myself justice and that all the boys dug in. We came together as a full team a week ago and we gelled straight away.

“I understand it can be difficult at times because we had not really trained together – we only had two sessions as a full team. But I think a lot of the combinations worked well.”

It was a proud night for all The Wire young guns, with Matty Ashton, two, Connor Wrench and Ellis Longstaff also crossing for tries.

“We’re all proud to play for Warrington and to represent our country,” said Walker.

“It’s a good step in the right direction for Warrington as a club, with a few young lads representing their country and more to come for definite.

“No matter who we’re playing for, all four of us put everything into it and we got the result on the back of it which is a bonus.”

Walker will look forward to his break once his international duties are completed.

“It’s been a long year and we didn’t finish the way we wanted to at Warrington,” he said.

“We’ll rest up and dig-in in pre-season with new coaching staff and hopefully it’s a bit more of a successful year.”