England hooker Paul McShane praises World Cup hopeful Danny Walker
Paul McShane (left) and Danny Walker (right) will be hoping to be part of England's World Cup squad (Photos: SWPix)
Warrington hooker Danny Walker has been tipped to be England’s starting hooker at this year’s World Cup by former Great Britain star Leon Pryce.
Appearing as a pundit in Channel 4’s debut of showing Super League last weekend, Pryce said he believed Walker has the potential to be England’s number nine at this autumn’s World Cup.
England’s current hooker Paul McShane has a lot of respect and admiration for 22-year-old Walker, who has yet to make his international debut for the senior side.
McShane said: “Even with Clarky (Daryl Clark) out, I think Danny Walker is a great young player. The more he plays, the better he is going to get so he has got a chance this week.
‘I got chance to train with Danny for England at the back end of the year. He did a couple of sessions with the Knights and then did some sessions with us when we were going over to France.
“He is a really smart young player and confident. I think what stands out most about him is that he’s a tough kid. He isn’t scared to get stuck in, he’ll carry and he’ll put his body on the line. That’s something that impresses me.”
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McShane was appointed Castleford captain in the off-season by new coach Lee Radford. He led the Tigers for the first time since his appointment in last Friday’s defeat to Salford.
He will come up against former Tigers coach Daryl Powell on Thursday when they travel to Warrington.
Powell brought McShane to Castleford from Wakefield, and McShane says he will always be thankful for Powell’s tutorship.
He added: “I’m grateful for all the time he spent with me and all the hard work he put into me.
“I’ve got the utmost respectful for him as a coach and as a bloke as well. I don’t think I can say anything better about him.”
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