WHAT a proud man Warrington Wolves prop Joe Philbin will be tonight.

Making your debut for England is a moment to be cherished forever.

And to do so on the ground of your club and home town, where you've put in so much graft to achieve the representative honour, will make it all the more special for The Wire academy product.

It will be a wonderful sight for all his family, friends and former junior clubs Culcheth Eagles and Latchford Albion too as they know how much this dairy farmer's son has devoted to his rugby league career.

Of course, Philbs is no stranger to international recognition.

He earned call-ups for Ireland through his family heritage and represented them in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

And then he impressed for England Knights, the national development team, on their tour of Papua New Guinea a year later.

His rise to prominence in Super League was further marked by his selection for the reformed Great Britain Lions for their tour of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in 2019.

But tonight, against the Combined Nations All Stars at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, is his first appearance for the senior England team as his career goes from strength to strength.

He will be looking to take the opportunity with both hands, putting down a marker in what is Shaun Wane's first game in charge as coach of the national team - 16 months after being appointed.

Make no mistake, this international clash - England's first at The Halliwell Jones Stadium since they faced the Exiles in 2013 - is a shop window for Rugby League World Cup 2021 selection in October.

With the country's NRL talent not available and some others through injury, for Philbin, his Wire teammates Stefan Ratchford, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper and Mike Currie, and the rest of tonight's selected players this is a night for showing Wane you are a 'must' in his world cup squad.

Philbin is a 'Wane' forward in many ways.

His full-on running style would have sat well in Wane's Grand Final-winning Wigan sides.

He is an abundance of energy who has been commonly called on off the bench by successive Wire coaches Tony Smith and Steve Price since 2015 - the role he is also handed tonight.

But his game has grown into so much more than pinball power surges as a ball carrier.

He works hard and effectively in defence, rarely gives penalties away that can lead to the opposition building pressure and scoring tries.

And he has developed his passing game, before he makes contact and after entering collisions.

You could say he has learned well from mentors Chris Hill and Mike Cooper, two men who will be extremely happy to see Philbs singing the national anthem tonight and showing everyone the player and man he has become as one of Warrington's own.

As for the other Wire players, Ben Currie starts at centre, Stefan Ratchford at stand-off, Mike Cooper at prop and Daryl Clark is on the bench.