Leeds Rhinos forward Cameron Smith ticks off major box at international level

The 20-year-old back-rower has represented England all the way through the age groups, but was not selected for the Knights’ tour to Papua New Guinea last autumn – something he admitted was “a bit of a kick in the teeth”.

He now has a chance to put that behind him after being named in a 19-man squad for England Knights’ one-off Test against Jamaica at Emerald Headingley on Sunday, along with Rhinos team-mates Harry Newman and Mikolaj Oledzki.

The Knights squad has been put together with a view towards next year’s World Cup and Smith admitted that is the ultimate goal.

”It is the first taste of senior rep’ rugby league for some of us,” he said. “It’s a stepping stone for some of us who are looking to play in the big tournaments when the next selection is up.

“I was gutted I didn’t get to go on the PNG tour and I made it a goal of mine for this year, so I have done myself a bit of justice if I do get to play. “It’s nice to be picked [in the 19] after having a little bit of a rollercoaster year.

“I have been training really hard the last couple of weeks and it would be the icing on the cake to pull on that jersey.”

The Reggae Warriors’ squad includes full-back Ashton Golding whose move from Leeds to Huddersfield Giants was confirmed yesterday.

Their line-up is drawn mainly from the lower divisions and includes two players from the Jamaican domestic competition, but Smith warned: “I think they will be a great side.

“There’s a ton of experience in their team and they will be wanting to represent the badge with pride. I am sure they will show a lot of passion.

“I am really looking forward to it, I think it’ll be a tasty game and they will really come out firing.

“It’s the first time Jamaica have played England in an international match and I think it’ll be a good one. They will want to turn us over.”

Smith admitted playing against Golding will be “a bit of a weird one”.

He said: “I met up with him for a coffee the other day, just talking about things.

“It will be different; he is one of my best mates and instead of training together and playing together we’ll be playing against each other for the first time.”

Smith made a career-best 20 appearances for Rhinos in 2019, half of them as a substitute. Reflecting on his season, he said: “I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with how it went, but I have learned a lot of lessons this year, on and off the field.

“We weren’t where we wanted to be at the start of the year, but I feel like we really got back on track towards the back end and it’s nice that a couple of young boys are being noticed and getting picked for rep’ football.”

The England Knights’ 19-man squad for Sunday is: Jack Ashworth (St Helens), Josh Bowden (Hull FC), Rob Butler (London Broncos), Niall Evalds (Salford Red Devils), Joe Greenwood (Wigan Warriors), Toby King (Warrington Wolves), Kruise Leeming (Huddersfield Giants), Tom Lineham (Warrington), Darnell McIntosh (Huddersfield), Greg Minikin (Hull KR), Harry Newman, Mikolaj Oledzki (both Leeds Rhinos), Oliver Partington (Wigan), Matt English (Huddersfield), Sam Powell (Wigan), Danny Richardson (St Helens), Harry Smith (Wigan), Cameron Smith (Leeds), Morgan Smithies (Wigan).