Phillips joins brother in Scotland squad

Workington scrum half Callum Phillips has been given permission to replace Gareth Moore in the Scotland squad, after the new Featherstone signing pulled out through injury.

Phillips will join up with older brother Brett in the squad, making them the second set of brothers at Steve McCormack’s disposal, with Andrew and Ian Henderson also in the squad.

The 21-year-old said: “I got the call on Saturday morning to come down to training on Sunday as a few things were happening.

“When I got in the meeting before training I was told Gareth Moore had dropped out and I was in the squad! I was delighted but very nervous. This time last year I was playing for Seaton against Maryport in the Cumberland League: now I’m going to be in the World Cup with players like Danny Brough and NRL and other Super League players.”

Phillips, who works with his brother at Sellafield power station, secured a professional contract with Workington ahead of the 2013, and immediately caught the eye of McCormack.

He added: “I only expected to get a couple of games this season but I had a decent game in my first game and worked hard to cement my place in the team and did alright this season.

“I started at hooker but moved to half-back later in the season and that gave me a bit more confidence.”

Scotland play Papua New Guinea at Featherstone in their warm-up game on Saturday (2pm ko) before facing Tonga (29 Oct) and Italy (3 Nov) at Workington and USA (7 Nov) at Salford in the RLWC2013.