ENGLAND’S “camaraderie” was key to overcoming the “superstars” of Tonga with a series whitewash, according to Danny Walker.
A 26-4 victory at Headingley on Saturday made it three wins out of three and capped a successful Test series.
Head coach Shaun Wane hailed the “really good team spirit” in the England camp over the past month, which he said was “very much like a club team”.
Wane added: “They have that togetherness; they want to spend time together. There are no cliques. (Players from) different clubs mix well.
“That’s the most satisfying thing for me. It looks and feels like a club team and that’s why we’ve had success.”
And Warrington’s Danny Walker, who came off the bench as hooker in each of the three games, concurred.
“It’s a 3-0 win against Tonga. If you’d asked the vast majority of the country if that would happen before we played the first game, they probably wouldn’t have believed it,” he said.
“But we’ve got a really good camaraderie in the group and a real feelgood factor.”
Walker is a newcomer to the international scene, making his England debut against France earlier this year, and he says he had an initial trepidation about facing a squad largely composed of NRL players for the first time.
“I feel like I dipped my toe in, in the first game. You sort of build it up in your head that they’re superstars and that they’re way ahead of you,” said Walker.
“But you’ve just got to back your own ability and that’s what I’ve always done since I was a kid.
“Maybe I didn’t do that in the first Test but in the last couple of Tests I feel like I’ve been building fairly well. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the England team.
“(Tonga) are massive. Some of them have probably got 50 kilos on me. But I’ve got a bunch of massive lads around me to help me out.”
