Leeds Rhinos' Kallum Watkins talks international future & how England can improve after Ashes disappointment
Leeds Rhinos veteran Kallum Watkins admits he isn’t sure if his Test career is over.
Watkins, 34, was called up by England this year for the first time since the 2022 World Cup semi-final and played the full 80 minutes in the second and third Test defeats by Australia. England will take part in another World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea next autumn and asked if he’ll be involved, Watkins admitted: “I don’t know.”
He said: “I was really surprised getting in this year. I didn’t think at the start of the year I’d be getting in so for me it is just about continuing to play. I love what I do and I know I don’t have that much longer left. We’ll see what direction they want to go, but I’ll still keep trying and playing the best I can.”
Watkins began the season playing for Salford, but rejoined Rhinos - where he began his professional career - in April as a result of the Red Devils’ financial crisis. Not initially named in England’s Ashes training squad, he was drafted following a series of impressive performances in Betfred Super League.
England lost the series 3-0, but Watkins insisted: “It has been really good being in camp and back in the international scene, very special. It was disappointing we didn’t get the results we wanted, but we were playing against the best team in the world. It’s about small margins and [last weekend] we came pretty close to breaking them, but it wasn’t to be.
“We got into positions where we could have scored points, but we just didn’t manage to execute those little plays. The top teams are always going to scramble, but they had a period where they scored three tries and that was the difference.”
Of how England can improve, Watkins said: “We need more games like that. How we get that I don’t know, but [England need to be] competing in games like that, where all the way through the 80 minutes it’s intense. I think a mid-season international would help, being in that intensity again.
“In a World Cup you’re going to get a number of games at that intensity, so through that tournament you are going to keep improving and getting more game time. Hopefully Super League will get more competitive - this year has been really good and hopefully we can make it really special next year and keep that intensity up every week. That’s what we need to aim for.”