Warrington Wolves prop is backed for an England call-up

Warrington Wolves head coach Daryl Powell certainly thinks so and believes he can follow in some illustrious family footsteps.

Harrison’s father Karl was capped 14 times by Great Britain and six times by England during the 1990s and also coached England between 2004 and 2006.

James Harrison's father Karl played for and coached England and Great Britain and also had a spell in charge of Salford (Image: SWPix.com)

Having joined The Wire from Featherstone Rovers last year, Harrison’s debut did not arrive until June after suffering an ACL injury but he instantly impressed in a struggling Warrington side.

This year, he has been among the stand-outs for Powell’s men despite missing much of pre-season with a knee problem that still limits his ability to train.

Indeed, his displays have seen him earn a place on the six-man shortlist to be named Super League player of the month for February.

When asked whether or not Harrison should be in England boss Shaun Wane’s thoughts, Powell said: “You’d think that would be the case. He's a quality rugby league player.

James Harrison touches down against Huddersfield (Image: PA)

“I always thought this about him and he's got pedigree with his dad playing international as well.

“He's such an unassuming, tough, hard-working individual who's smart as well and understands the game.

“He's only going to get better – he's missed a chunk of pre-season and last year he was on the back of an ACL but he's been outstanding.

“We are going to have to look after him at some point – he's having fluid drained from his knee every week so he's showing how tough he is at the moment.”