A Barrow Raiders player has received his first-ever international call-up.

Raiders forward Tom Hopkins has been called up to the Wales national squad, with the 29-year-old being one of 15 uncapped players named in John Kear’s initial 30-man squad ahead of their test match against France at 2.30 pm in Albi on Sunday, June 19.

Hopkins has made ten appearances for the Raiders so far in 2022, most recently playing in last Sunday’s 44-4 victory over Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship.

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Hopkins said: "I'm doing my best to stay as grounded as possible.
"I've been invited into the WRL camp next week for a training session on June 14, and following that training session the touring squad will be announced.

"I'm trying not to focus on the test match at this stage, I'm fully focused on how I'm playing for Barrow and looking after any niggles so I have the best training session I can.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting the lads at camp, and hopefully the coaching staff see enough that they want me to play against France.

"I'd love to be part of the Wales World Cup squad at the end of the year, but I know there's a lot that needs to go well in the meantime, so I’m just taking each day as it comes."

Hopkins is the second Raiders player to be selected by his national team ahead of the upcoming international break, with Jarrod Sammut set to feature for Malta against Lebanon in Sydney.