DANNY WALKER admits he was “absolutely gutted” to miss out on last year’s Ashes – but that’s only made the Warrington star more determined than ever to play in this year’s World Cup.
Walker is still waiting to add to the four England caps he earned back in 2023, when he made a try-scoring debut on home turf at the Halliwell Jones Stadium against France, then came off the bench in all three end-of-season wins against Tonga.
An unused member of Shaun Wane’s squad for the following autumn’s Samoa series, Walker then missed out on Ashes selection despite training with club teammate and England skipper George Williams in a bid to prove himself after the knee surgery which meant he missed most of the preceding summer.
Wane’s departure in January means Walker now has a new international coach to impress in Brian McDermott as he looks to convert a strong start to the season into a place on the plane to Australia, amid competition from incumbents Daryl Clark, his old teammate turned rival at St Helens, and Hull KR’s Jez Litten.
“I’d been out for four months so I fully understood the decision from Waney,” Walker told Rugby League World of his Ashes disappointment.
“Daz (Clark) has always played well for him and Jez was coming off the back of a good year so I understood and accepted it. I was absolutely gutted, but it left a bit of fire in my belly.
“I said to my family and my coaches at Warrington, ‘that’s a feeling I never want to forget’. Some people might want to forget it but I don’t want to forget how gutted I felt.
“It took me a few days to get over it, but after that I was back in the gym, back running and wanting the season to start straight away.
“I want to be a part of the camps – Ashes don’t come around often and unfortunately I didn’t get to this one, but the World Cup at the end of the year is certainly what I’m striving for.”