Paul McShane: Castleford Tigers hooker thought he was 'past it' before England call-up

McShane is set to make his England debut at the age of 31

Paul McShane has admitted he thought he was "past it" before being named in the England squad to face the Combined Nations All-Stars on Friday.

McShane, 31, is one of six uncapped players in Shaun Wane's 19-man squad.

The Castleford Tigers hooker won the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award in November after a stellar 2020 season in which he played every game as his side finished eighth in the Super League.

"I probably gave in a couple of years ago," said McShane.

"I thought I was past it. With my age, I thought it would be younger lads coming in, so I kind of wrote it off.

"But I've had Powelly [Tigers head coach Daryl Powell] on at me every year, saying 'keep pushing for it and it will come' and I'm thankful for him doing that.

"It's been a mad 12 months or so. Man of Steel is something I'm really proud of and it's given me a lot of confidence in my ability. I think that's showing this year."

Tom Davies, Ash Handley, Morgan Knowles, Mikolaj Oledzki and Joe Philbin are the other uncapped members of Wane's squad.

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