Tierney: Playing against England will be '˜strange'

The Warriors winger was born in England and represented his homeland at academy level.

But he pledged his allegiance to Scotland for the Four Nations, and is hoping to help them to a huge upset in the Coventry double-header.

Tierney qualifies for Scotland through a grandparent - all but two of the squad are eligible through the ancestry rule - but will face his homeland this Saturday.

The 22-year-old said: “It may feel strange, but Scotland have given me that opportunity to play at the top level and represent some of my heritage, and it’s something I’m proud to do.”

England are hunting a landslide win to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Four Nations final.

And for Tierney, he is on course for his first-ever duel with England’s Ryan Hall.

“I’ve never been directly against him before, but he’s one of the best in Super League and been England winger for many years,” said Tierney, who played a key role in Wigan’s Grand Final charge.

“It’s going to be tough and a big test, every man has to step up and mark their opposite number well - myself included.

“They have some world-class forwards and our edge defence will be under pressure. They can strike from anywhere.

“I’m excited for the challenge.”

Tierney is confident Scotland can improve from their 54-12 loss to Australia last Friday night.

“We feel we undersold ourselves,” he added.

“The first 20 minutes was tough to stomach, and I know we got battered, but we showed some signs of toughness in the middle of the game.

“Even in the second-half, we did some good things, but we need to be more composed.”

Tierney appeared to be the victim of a swinging arm by Tyson Frizell midway through the second-half, but added: “It looked worse than it was. Luckily, he just caught my fringe.”