JOE BATCHELOR has enthused that representing England as “probably the pinnacle of your career” after scoring on his first World Cup start in England’s 94-4 win over Greece.

Ex-York Knights star Batchelor, who was making his World Cup debut for England, scored in the second half, by which point the Three Lions held a comfortable advantage.

Tries from Dom Young, Matt Lees, Ryan Hall, Tom Burgess and George Williams gave England a 44-4 lead at the break.

England’s thrashing of Greece ensured that they finished atop pool ‘A’, taking six points from an available six as they progressed to the final eight.

“It’s an immensely proud day for me and my family,” enthused Batchelor. “Representing England is probably the pinnacle of your career and something I’m very proud of.

“To do it with Kai (Pearce-Paul) today is a special feeling and I’m really, really happy.

“There’s lots you can take. We scored 94 points, so we have to be happy with that.

“But next week will be a completely different test, so we’ll have a hard week in training and ripping. We go again next week at Wigan.”

In the second half, aside from Batchelor, Tommy Makinson and Marc Sneyd crossed over to score as Burgess and Hall added to their tallies.

Pearce-Paul scored on what was also his debut to ensure an emphatic win for England ahead of their quarter-final clash with the winner of pool 'D' on Saturday in Wigan at the DW Stadium (2.30pm).

Batchelor was part of the Knights squad that won the Betfred League One title in 2018. He scored 41 tries in 54 appearances for York before moving to St Helens in 2019.