HI, it’s Eorl here.

I have to admit it’s been a strange couple of weeks. Well, last week in particular.

That was the week when we took on Castleford having been together for just one full club training session.

Clearly, that’s not the greatest preparation in the world, but that’s the price you pay for having three players in the England Elite Training Squad and five in the England Knights squad.

As a result, we were a little concerned about how the Cas game might pan out, because we’re all aware of the attacking threat the Tigers pose.

That meant we were all braced for a very tough clash, and that was probably the reason we produced some of the stuff we did. When we put our minds to it, we looked really sharp.

And I think it’s fair to say, everyone who had been away on the England camps felt really fresh when they took to the field. I know I did.

That was because the time away with the national squads wasn’t about the rugby, it was all about bonding as a team and getting closer to the players from rivals clubs, which I felt was a great move.

We had a great time together and, as a result, we came back to our clubs with an extra spring in our step.