JONNY Lomax, who is one of four Saints players in the 24-man England squad, is looking forward to the prestigious tournament Down Under.

He is keen on donning the white shirt of England again, but these days he takes nothing for granted.

But he is grateful for his family and friends who have helped him overcome two lengthy spells of injury.

Lomax said: “I don’t look too far ahead any more. I have been through the lows to know that you never know what is around the corner.

“If you think things are going great, something can happen and in the blink of an eye we are back to rock bottom.

“The World Cup is not something I set out for but know that you have to perform week-in, week-out in order to give yourself an opportunity for an occasion as great as this.”

“So that was always my aim pre-season at Saints, to take it week-by-week and do my best I can for the club and see what happened.

“My first goal was to win something with St Helens, if something came off the back of the season… fantastic.

“If it doesn’t then you just move on, pick yourself up and work hard again.

“Rugby is repetitive like that, you get a couple of weeks off and then it is time to work hard again for next season.

“Being selected for England means we have got to work hard for another seven weeks and then a break, then time to go again.

“I don’t look too far ahead it is more I deal with the immediate – what will be, will be is something I have learned from the last two years. That thinking has stood me in good stead.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be picked for England and I am proud to have this opportunity. It is a challenge to relish.

“It was the same last year with the Four Nations and then at the end of it spend time with your family and missus and be proud of it, knowing that those people have allowed you to do it and got you through the tough times.

“After the game you don’t look the positives, but when you reflect and go home see family and missus, who have got you through the tough times, and they were proud and gave them all a love.

“I could not have got back to playing, let alone putting on an England shirt, without them.

“If I get the chance to pull on the England shirt this World Cup, it would be a great moment if I got to see my family I would be grateful for them flying out.

“To get through the national anthem without getting emotional would be a goal, because thinking back to last year when they were in the crowd, and thinking how they had helped me, was very emotional and difficult to hold back.”

“If you look across the board there are some great squads going over and that is good for the game and the competition.

“That is what you want as many strong teams as possible. There are some strong nations, but it makes that a bigger challenge and a great opportunity.

He believes the tournament’s big Saints contingent of 11 will all benefit the club going forward.

“It is great seeing Theo playing for France, Louie and Kyle for Ireland, the Welsh trio and Luke playing for Scotland.

“It is good for Saints going forward.

“There is the idea that you want to protect your own but exposure to such a great level of competition is only going to benefit and give you a platform to better yourself,” he said.