Warrington Wolves young gun aiming to add to solitary England cap: ‘It’s the pinnacle’
Warrington Wolves forward Matty Nicholson is doing everything he can to add to his solitary England cap this year.
The 20-year-old has become a mainstay of Warrington‘s forward pack since joining the club from rivals Wigan Warriors midway through the 2022 season.
Nicholson was one of 13 England debutants in Shaun Wane’s side for last year’s 64-0 mid-season win over France in Warrington. And with it now being confirmed that England will again face their French counterparts in June 2024 – this time in Toulouse – Nicholson is hoping to represent his country again.
“If anyone said they weren’t thinking about wanting to play for England they’d be lying to you, it’s obviously the pinnacle,” Nicholson told Love Rugby League.
“I was lucky enough to make my debut last year and it was one of the best days of my life, so that’s another goal for me this year, hopefully I can get in that squad (for the France test) and play for England again.”
Nicholson provided an insight into what makes an England camp so special, with last year’s test being one of the highlights of his promising career so far.
“You go into a camp and some of the blokes you’ve never met before,” Nicholson explained. “You play against them week in, week out, but you get to know them as people and when you’re playing against them you don’t think much of it but then you end up being really close with them.
“It’s good to meet new people, make new friends and the standard of training goes up a notch so everything about it is probably just a step up from club level.”
Matty Nicholson reaping the benefits of having Sam Burgess as his Warrington Wolves coach
Nicholson, who is as comfortable at loose forward as he is in the back-row, says he is reaping the benefits of having legendary player Sam Burgess as his head coach at Warrington, with the Wolves in the Challenge Cup semi-finals as well as sitting fourth in the Super League table.
“Really beneficial,” Nicholson told Love Rugby League about working under Burgess. “I think I’ve said a few times that there’s no one better to learn from really, he played a similar position to me and obviously his career speaks for itself.
“I’m trying to learn as much from him as I can, he’s the best in my opinion that’s played the game in the middle, so I’m always trying to learn from him. He’s been great for me.”