Kallum Watkins maintains England will stay grounded even if everyone else is flying after their stunning World Cup opener.
The Salford centre was among the try-scorers as Shaun Wane’s side utterly demolished star-studded Samoa 60-6. It will go down as one of the nation’s greatest rugby league results. And, after largely being written off, it now has many people thinking they could actually become the first British side since 1972 to taste tournament glory.
Relentless Watkins ran 202m, more than any other player on show at Newcastle’s St James’ Park, against a Samoa team tipped to shake-up the competition. Playing his third World Cup, he said: “It was an amazing result.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, especially in that first half. All the talk of Samoa - and Tonga - probably helped us a bit. It turned the pressure down on us and put a bit on them to perform. It didn’t annoy me. I was just really grateful to be involved in the squad.
"These things happen and with the players they’ve got, wow, they’re an incredible team. But we’ve got to keep our feet on the ground. It’s the start of the tournament and we’ll be building momentum as we go. Challenges will get tougher each week.”
Group A rivals France start out when they take on newcomers Greece in Doncaster on Monday night before facing England at Bolton on Saturday. Watkins, 31, believes Samoa were caught cold after coming in without a warm-up game although Sydney Roosters teen sensation Joseph Sua'ali'i showed some flashes of real brilliance in the first half. He said: “Sua’ali’I was incredible when he had the ball in hand and he was a prime example of a player we had to deal with really well.
“But they’re also a team that hadn’t played together before and that showed at times. That’s probably the same with us but with the mix we’ve got, we’re used to playing alongside each other, especially the experienced guys. We know what it takes in these competitions to go out there and play well.
"Samoa are a good side but we’ve got a good mix of youth and experience in our team and it showed. Holding them to only six points was a massive thing for us. Our defence has been pretty good and we’ve worked really hard in terms of possession of the ball."
And Shaun Wane's side flourished with the ball in hand, inspired by Super League Young Player of the Year Jack Welsby and half-back partner George Williams while young Newcastle Knights winger Dom Young scored two tries on his Test debut to help set an 18-6 interval lead.
Ex-Leeds star Watkins, back at centre after switching to second-row for Salford this term, added: "We're making sure we’re patient with what we’re doing and taking opportunities when they come. Jack Welsby and George Williams were fantastic in taking theirs and we worked off the back of it, trying to work as hard as we can. In that second half, all the momentum was with us.
“For me, it’s about doing the hard graft, especially with those tough carries at our end and playing in the back-row has helped me in terms of those. I’m a little stronger in them and hopefully that helps the team get forward. Dom’s an exceptional player and it was an absolute pleasure playing alongside him for a couple of weeks. He scored a special try in his proper debut at a World Cup. It can’t get better than that.
“We knew the magnitude of the game. Coming to Newcastle too, it was always going to be a good atmosphere and we took the opportunity with both hands. We were really confident in how we prepared and we just backed ourselves."
Meanwhile, Saturday’s crowd of 43,119 was the biggest single game attendance for a World Cup opener in the northern hemisphere and, encouragingly for organsisers, it also proved to be the highest grossing gate for a individual group game in this country at such a tournament.
