Carvell reacts quickly to emergency call

Garreth Carvell was thrilled to answer a late-night SOS from England and replace stricken captain Adrian Morley on the rugby league Four Nations tour Down Under.

The prop forward was chosen as a direct replacement for his Warrington team-mate, who ruptured a bicep in Saturday's 18-18 draw with the New Zealand Maori.

Carvell was in the initial England squad and played against Cumbria in a warm-up match earlier this month but was left out of Steve McNamara's final 24-man party.

He caught a flight from Manchester last night and is due to link up with England in Wellington tomorrow, ahead of Saturday's opening Four Nations game against the Kiwis.

Carvell said: "I got a call from Steve at one o'clock in the morning and got on the first available flight.

"When I missed the cut, I told [England assistant coach] Jimmy Lowes I was going to keep training and keep myself in decent nick in case they picked up an injury. I said I was available 24 hours and they took it literally. It's exciting. The only reason I've come over is to play and arriving early in the week means I can get over the jet lag."

McNamara is expected to decide on a new captain overnight, with Wigan skipper Sean O'Loughlin among the front-runners along with Australia‑based duo Gareth Ellis and Sam Burgess.