Hull second rower Danny Tickle told skysports.com he is relishing his return to the international spotlight.
Wigan-born forward considering return west of the Pennines
Danny Tickle has suddenly found himself back in the spotlight after his career looked to be heading for journeyman-status.
Hull's former Halifax and Wigan second row forward won England A honours in the early stages of a promising career and went close to earning a full cap three years ago, when chosen by Tony Smith for a game against Wales in Bridgend.
That was a warm-up for the 2009 Four Nations Series but Tickle did not make the final cut and it was as close as he came to making the breakthrough, until he got a shock telephone call from Steve McNamara calling him into the England squad for last Saturday's game against the Exiles.
Ignored for both the elite training squad and the back-up England Knights group, Tickle was simply happy to be in contention and was stunned when he was named in McNamara's starting line-up at Langtree Park, a fitting venue for the 350th appearance of his career.
He responded with an encouraging performance, highlighted by one of England's three tries in an 18-10 victory, and is now hoping he has done enough to keep his place for the return fixture with the Exiles on July 4.
"It's been three years since I played in a game like that," he said. "It was real fast and real physical.
"It was a bit of a shock to get the call-up from Steve. It was the last thing on my mind.
"There have been many quality players in my position as a back rower over the years. I must be doing something right.
Focus
"There's been speculation about it over the years but my focus has been playing well for Hull FC. Sometimes you might get that call and that's what happened last week.
"I was really grateful for it. I was really welcomed down in Loughborough by Steve and all his staff and the guys in the elite squad.
"Hopefully Steve might select me again but there are a lot of quality players out there and there are a lot of areas I need to improve on.
"I'll regather now. We've got Warrington on Sunday and I'll make sure I produce the same performances for Hull."
The 29-year-old has been in prolific form for Hull this season - he is currently Super League's leading scorer and a 34-point haul against Widnes saw him go close to breaking the club record - but he was happy to leave the goalkicking for England to Leeds skipper Kevin Sinfield.
"Obviously Kevin has been involved before and he's one of the best kickers in Super League so I was not too worried about that at all," he said.
Meanwhile, Tickle has other pressing matters on his mind as he weighs up a possible return to his roots in Lancashire.
Tickle has another year left on his contract with Hull, whose chairman Adam Pearson is keen to extend it, but he admits he is torn by family commitments.
"I've got a place in Hull but my family is from Wigan and I do a bit of commuting," he said.
"I'm real grateful and honoured that Adam Pearson offered me a new contract but I've told the club I don't want to rush into anything.
"I'd rather leave it to other parties and focus on playing rugby. I don't want it affecting my performance."
