Jordan Lane has expressed his shock and delight to be named in Paul Anderson’s England Knights squad, as the back-rower prepares for the Black & Whites toughest test of the season so far tomorrow night against Wigan.
Lane, along with Black & White teammate Joe Cator, was named in the 27-man squad yesterday, which aims to bridge the gap from domestic to international rugby and prepare some of the sport’s brightest young talents for future international tournaments.
One of the club’s stand-out performers over the course of the last 18-months, the 23 year old Hull-born star admitted he wasn’t expecting to get the call-up, despite a strong start to the 2021 campaign.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Lane said: “I was shocked to be honest, I didn’t really expect it at all.
“I was out for a meal with my partner and got the call from Paul Anderson to give me the news. I’m over the moon to get the call-up.
“I feel like I’ve started the season well, and I guess this is the reward for that.”
He continued: “It’s a really exciting opportunity, and the fact we’re going to get the chance to train with the England squad is going to be a great experience too.
“Just to be in that environment is going to be beneficial to me being around all them top players, and I’m going to enjoy it.”
Back to club rugby, and Lane described his happiness to be regularly involved in the Airlie Birds’ match day squad thanks to their recent defensive efforts that have seen Brett Hodgson’s men remain unbeaten this season.
“I’m really enjoying the way we are performing as a squad so far this year,” he continued.
“It is great to be a part of this squad while we’re in such good form. We’ve played out of our skin so far this season, and that is showing out on the field.”
On his own personal efforts, in which he has played at both loose-forward and in the second-row, he added: “I enjoy playing at thirteen, back-row is definitely my preferred position, but just being on the pitch is good enough for me and I’ll play wherever the team need me to play.
“The competition for places is great too, but I want to be in the starting thirteen week on week. You get too comfortable if there aren’t other players in the squad, so it’s good we have that.”
Looking ahead to Thursday’s fixture against Wigan, Lane is under no illusions as to that Wigan will prove Hull’s biggest test of the season so far.
“We’ll have to take it up a notch this week against Wigan. Our attack wasn’t the best last week, we looked a bit flat in that department so we need to pick that up a bit this week, but our defence has been outstanding so far, so we just need to keep that up again this week.
“We’re priding ourselves on our defence so far this season. We’re all buying into Brett’s messages about defence and we’ve tightened it up incredibly.
“The next fortnight is our chance to show that we want to be one of those top teams. Previously, people have probably thought we’re a bit weak-minded and aren’t where we want to be defensively, but we can continue to prove to people that that isn’t the case if we put in a performance this week.”
Lane is also excited to go up against the sport’s top back-rowers in the form of John Bateman, adding: “I looked up to John as I’ve come through the ranks as a youngster. He’s gone to the top of the game playing in the NRL and for England too.
“It’s going to be a tough test to go up against him, but I’m ready for the challenge and I’d love to get one over on him.”
Jordan Lane is proudly sponsored by Steve Hodgins Plumbing. To find out more – click here
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