St Helens man has the “perfect opportunity” to round off international career following Ashes recall

After returning to the international scene for the first time in over four years, St Helens prop Alex Walmsley is back in the England fold for this autumn’s Ashes series.

The Yorkshire-born enforcer has looked back to his best this year, averaging 120 metres and providing a constant threat through the middle of the field. He is one of five Saints players named in the squad, alongside prop Matty Lees, hooker Daryl Clark, full-back Jack Welsby and loose forward Morgan Knowles.

Walmsley, who is now 35, last played for England in 2021, in an end-of-season international against France. Injuries have stopped him from appearing in more recent fixtures, but now has the chance to finish his international career on his own terms.

Following the 24-man squad announcement, the prop was a guest on the “Rivalry Reignited” podcast, hosted by Jon Wilkin, in what is a new podcast building up to the Ashes series that starts in just over a week’s time.

Walmsley described the emotion he felt when he knew he’d been selected, he said: “I’m buzzing. I’m so excited… It’s been a long time since I’ve been that excited to play rugby again.”

On that all-important phone call with Wane, he added: “To have Waney call me and give me that good news, we were probably on the phone call for about two minutes, if that. It was such a short conversation, but he let me know and being able to then tell Cassius [his son], the first person I told, was such a nice moment.

The veteran prop described how an up-and-down few years had implied to him he wouldn’t get another international chance again.

“It’s mad,” he said. “We always talk about rugby league being a rollercoaster, and it massively is here. Especially after the season we’ve had at Saints. It’s been challenging for obvious reasons…

“For the first time in three or four years, I’ve had a season where I’ve had no injuries. I’ve played pretty much every game, I missed one game because of a concussion.

“If you’d have asked me two or three years ago if I’d have had that in my body, I wasn’t quite sure. I couldn’t get through a season, so to be back playing week in, week out and then to be back in this mix, this fold…”

A standout year in 2022, which included a Super League Dream Team appearance, was sadly cut-short, as a foot injury ruled him out of the World Cup. Walmsley is still upset about not being able to make that tournament, but used it as motivation to come back and earn another spot in the England team.

He said: “The 2022 World Cup, that still hurts me. Not being able to play in that one, getting that one taken away.

“I had a conversation with Waney at the start of the year, and he wanted to know where I was in terms of my international [career], did I want to play still – which I did.

“He didn’t put me in any of the squads for the media circus that might have come off the back of that. He just left it to me and we spoke a couple of weeks ago, and then I got a message last week.”

“I felt like I’d retired” – St Helens man reveals emotion of earning England Ashes re-call

On the back of that World Cup heartache and then missing out in series’ against Tonga and Samoa, Walmsley believed a call-up at this stage of his career would never have come, so much so that in his mind, his international career was as good as over.

“I felt like I’d retired,” he said. “I felt like I’d retired, internationally. After missing out of the World Cup and then the following year, I ruptured my MCL in the Challenge Cup game and wasn’t in a position to play and I think off the back of that, it kind of fizzled out naturally.

“There has always been that want to play one more time, because I don’t feel like I got to finish on my terms. The Ashes being back is a perfect opportunity to have one more go at it.”

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