Workington Town skipper Ollie Wilkes is set to reach a career milestone this weekend – if he steps out for Scotland in the European Championships.

Scotland will take on France in Carcassone on Saturday and Wilkes is hoping he will be selected and secure the major landmark of 500 appearances in the game.

The 38-year-old former Super League star has racked up the outings for a number of clubs over the years and says he will be lucky to join a ‘privileged few’.

“It is something that I have had my eye on since I got to 400 to be honest,” admitted Wilkes. “It is a massive number of games and not a lot of people manage to get there these days.

“Hopefully, I will be one of the privileged few who have managed to stay injury-free and play for a long time.”

The veteran forward said he hadn’t realised the milestone was this close and believed it could have come about next season.

“Scotland RL chairman Keith Hogg told me I was about to hit 500 and it was announced prior to the last game,” explained Wilkes.

“They gave me the opportunity of handing out shirts to the rest of the team the night before we played, which was a great honour.

“We have had people like Andy Gregory handing them out so to be among them is a massive honour, one I am very grateful for.”

Looking back over his career, Wilkes cites scoring the winning try for Scotland against Fiji in the 2008 World Cup in Australia as one of his highlights.

But he says some of his best memories involve the friends he has made at the many clubs along the way, especially team-mates.

“I have had some great team-mates over the years,” he added. “It is surprising how differently you can be treated at different clubs but Workington are definitely one of the best for looking after their players.

“I have really enjoyed this season and the bottom line for me is that I just love playing rugby and I love the camaraderie with the boys.

“My role has changed a lot over the years I used to be a big impact player, now it is more a leadership role but I get a lot of satisfaction when someone does something I have shown them how to do.”