France v England: Kallum Watkins is ready to make mark on big stage

The 25-year-old centre has won every available club honour – twice – for Leeds Rhinos, but admits he has yet to fully make his mark on the international scene.

A member of Leeds’s senior squad since 2008, Watkins has been a regular in Test rugby for four years. He is in line to earn his 16th cap this evening when Wayne Bennett takes charge of England for the first time, against France in Avignon.

With Australia and the Kiwis to come over the next few weeks – along with Four Nations minnows Scotland – Watkins reckons it is time to finally bring his club form to the international party.

“This is an opportunity for me,” said Watkins, who was Leeds’s player of the year when they won the treble of Challenge Cup, Super League leaders’ shield and Grand Final in 2015.

“Internationally, I’ve not really performed at my best. I have had opportunities and I’ve not really taken them. You have got to do that against the big teams and the top players. I want to hopefully perform on those days and I have definitely got a point to prove.”

With his power, pace and footwork close to the line, Watkins has long been regarded as one of England’s truly world-class players.

Reflecting on his mixed fortunes at Test level since his debut in 2012, Watkins conceded: “There’s been huge pressure on me since I started a young age.

“Those experiences against top players are what you learn from.

“I have been playing internationally for a few years now, so I have got that experience of big games and top players.

“It is an opportunity now for me to do the best I can and, if I do that, I have got a re