Lewis Hatton is set to swap the front row of a rugby league pack for the frontline of the coronavirus battle. The Swinton Lions forward is in the final year of his nurse training and is one of thousands set to be fast-tracked into hospitals in coming weeks.
The 23-year-old this week opted into the government’s scheme to help the NHS deal with the pandemic and is now waiting to hear where he will be deployed.
The former St Helens junior said: “Because I’m in the last six months of my training I had the option to opt in. It’s the same thing I’ve been training for it’s just come earlier than I expected, and sometimes it’s better to be thrown in the deep end. “It’s a bit nerve-wracking but I wanted to give it a go.