MORGAN Knowles marked his England debut with a try as Shaun Wane's side fell to a 26-24 defeat against the Combined Nations All Stars.

Formerly a Wales international, the 24-year-old Barrovian switched allegiances and was handed his first cap for England during Saturday's loss at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Knowles, a loose forward for club side St Helens, had found out on the Friday that he would be starting as a prop for Wane's side and revealed he had no qualms about playing in the position.

He said: "I enjoyed pulling the England jersey to make my debut but I am disappointed with the result.

"I found out yesterday at captain’s run when he named the team that I was playing prop.

"I have not done that before, apart from when there have been injuries.

"But it is pretty similar to loose forward the way Waney wants us to play so I had no bothers about it."

The Barrow Island youth player was one of six debutants who played in Warrington over the weekend.

England were hampered by a significant number of absentees, with Knowles' Saints team mates Alex Walmsley and Johnny Lomax amongst those who dropped out.

Saturday's game was head coach Wane' s first game in charge of England as the side begin preparation for this year's World Cup.

Knowles added: "It was a tough test, and that is exactly what we wanted, but all credit to All Stars they played really well.

"They have got some big bodies and were up for it."

Former Wigan Warriors head coach Wane was hired by England in February 2020 after three Super League Grand Final wins with Saints' fierce rivals.

But Knowles says he is already a big fan of Wane's coaching and has tipped England to improve after the defeat.

"We are disappointed with the result but it is a process we are looking at. We will go away and look at the positives but see what we need to work on as well.

"He is brilliant and I really like working under Waney.

"His game plans are really simple and there are a lot of effort based things and that is the way like to play. After that we will review it.

"The main thing is we get back to club level now and rip in."

Scoring a try nine minutes into the second half, Knowles had impressed on his debut and made a strong case for World Cup selection this autumn.

However, Covid-19 could postpone the competition for a year, with a final decision set to be made this week.