Wednesday 26 October 2016 12:41, UK
Utility back Stefan Ratchford offered to play in the front row against France if it meant winning his first England cap.
Such a drastic measure was not necessary but the 13st 8lb Warrington player was tried in a few other positions in the 40-6 victory in Avignon as he finally made his debut, four years after being brought into the international fold.
England head coach Wayne Bennett had hoped to avoid using any of the seven Wigan and Warrington players involved in the Super League Grand Final for the warm-up match but, with new skipper Sam Burgess suspended, his hand was forced.
"I was more than happy," Ratchford said. "Sam was still banned and, when Brett Ferres got injured, it left us with only 15 players because Stevie Ward had only had one training session.
"Wayne said he didn't know how long I was going to play or where I was going to play and I said 'I don't mind, you can start me at prop if you want, I'll do anything to be involved'.
"It was only a couple of weeks since I played the Grand Final but you don't want to go too long between games. It's nice to be out there ticking over and kind of blowing some cobwebs off."
In the end, Ratchford got plenty of minutes against the French, making up for lost time in a frustrating career at representative level.
The 28-year-old former Salford stand-off or centre played for England in a non-international against the Exiles in 2012, was a non-playing member of Steve McNamara's 2014 Four Nations squad and missed last year's Test series against New Zealand through injury.
"I had been waiting for the moment for what seemed like forever," he added. "The only other game I played was a non-cap game and the 2014 Four Nations was like a six-week training camp for me.
"To finally make my debut is something I'm really proud of and it's kind of a relief as well and a bit of a weight off my shoulders.
"I've got that game out of the way now and I can focus on hopefully building on the amount of caps rather than being frustrated at getting that first one."
Ratchford is now hoping he has done enough to keep his spot in the team for England's Four Nations opener against the Kiwis at Huddersfield on Saturday.
He is vying with Jonny Lomax and Dan Sarginson for the full-back role but is equally at home in a variety of other positions and is hoping that versatility will stand him in good stead at international level - just as it did with his current Warrington team-mate Kurt Gidley, who played all over the team for Australia under Bennett.
"I spoke to Kurt when Wayne got named as coach a few months back and he said to me he played a lot more Australia and State of Origin games because of his versatility," Ratchford said.
"And when I spoke to Wayney, he said the same, he knows I can play a variety of positions. On Saturday I came on at full-back, went to right centre and then to loose forward for the last 10 minutes.
"It's something I'm happy doing. If I'm involved in the matchday 17 and I'm doing that, it doesn't bother me one bit.
"I've got a big week in training, I'll keep ripping in, trying to impress him and hopefully get the nod sooner rather than later."
