Jonathan Marcinczak has spoken of his delight at being named in Italy’s 30-man squad ahead of their forthcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The West Bowling hooker, 21, has won 12 caps for the Azzurri since their formation in 2008 and has set his sights on representing his ancestral country in the 2013 World Cup, to be staged in England and Wales.

Clayton lad Marcinczak, a plumber, is eligible to play for Italy due to his grandmother, who hails from Napoli.

Italy face Russia in Padova (October 15) and Serbia in Belgrade (October 23) before taking on Lebanon in Belgrade on October 29, where Marcinzack could line up alongside some of the Azurri’s leading names such as Anthony Minichello and Craig Gower.

The winner of the six-match series will join Scotland and Tonga in Group B of the 2013 World Cup.

Marcinczak said: “To play in the World Cup would be a big achievement for me and for Italian rugby league.

“Until three years ago there was no rugby league in Italy, it was all rugby union.

“A friend of mine called Angelo Ricci arranged for a group of lads to go over there and play a few games. We stayed in a hostel for two weeks and taught a lot of the guys, many of them rugby union players, the basics of rugby league.

“It’s built up into what is it today and hopefully it can continue to grow and grow.”

Marcinczak, a Bradford Bulls fan, previously played for Wibsey before joining West Bowling two years ago.

He has had trials with Super League club Huddersfield, explaining: “I was doing quite well but exactly two years ago I sustained knee ligament damage while playing for Italy in Germany. But I definitely have ambitions to play at a higher level and doing well for Italy can only help me.”