Maurie Fa'asavalu is among five uncapped players named by Great Britain coach Tony Smith for the upcoming Tests against New Zealand.
"Nice blend of youth and experience," says new coach
New Great Britain coach Tony Smith has named five uncapped players in his 25-man squad for the Gillette Fusion Test Series against New Zealand, with Samoan-born forward Maurie Fa'asavalu among those included.
The 27-year-old played for his birth country in the 2003 rugby union World Cup but has nevertheless qualified to play for Great Britain through residency - Fa'asavalu having spent four years playing for St Helens.
He gets his chance, perhaps surprisingly, ahead of Wigan's Andy Coley and Bradford's Andy Lynch. Nevertheless, the Bulls provide two other new caps in the shape of full-back Michael Platt and 18-year-old Sam Burgess.
The other two uncapped players named by Smith are Leeds second rower Jamie Jones-Buchanan and Warrington hooker Jon Clarke.
Difficult games
"I believe this is a very strong squad, which is a nice blend of youth and experience, who are ready to face what will be three very difficult games against Gary Kemble's New Zealand," said Smith.
"With the World Cup in Australia less than 12 months away, I thought it important to bring in some new faces.
"By giving them an opportunity to be part of the squad now and maybe feature in some of the games, I think we'll benefit from it greatly further down the line."
Problems
But Smith also has injury and disciplinary problems to contend with ahead of the first Test, which will be played on Saturday in Huddersfield.
Leeds stand-off Danny McGuire and Hull centre Kirk Yeaman respectively suffered wrist and ankle injuries during the New Zealand All Golds' 25-18 centenary international victory against the Northern Union on Saturday.
Nevertheless, Yeaman, who limped off on the hour after aggravating an existing sprain, said that the injury was not serious.
"It's not too bad," he said. "Fingers crossed I'll be alright for next week, if selected."
McGuire, who crossed the line twice for the Northern Union, added: "Somebody hit me off the ball and I landed awkwardly on my wrist. Hopefully it's not too serious. I'll get it checked out over the next couple of days."
The same match also produced the threat of disciplinary action against Adrian Morley and Danny Tickle after the Warrington prop and Hull second row were both placed on report for high tackles.
The incidents are due to go in front of a video review panel on Monday, with a disciplinary hearing to be held the following day should they decide there is a case.
Smith is expected to name his captain on Monday, with Jamie Peacock expected to retain the role ahead of Morley and Kevin Sinfield.
Squad: Sam Burgess (Bradford, age 18, caps 0), Rob Burrow (Leeds, 25, 2), Jon Clarke (Warrington, 28, 0), Gareth Ellis (Leeds, 26, 14), Marie Fa'asavalu (St Helens, 27, 0), Ade Gardner (St Helens, 24, 2), Martin Gleeson (Warrington, 27, 17), James Graham (St Helens, 22, 2), David Hodgson (Huddersfield, 26, 3), Jamie Jones-Buchanan (Leeds, 26, 0), Danny McGuire (Leeds, 24, 10), Adrian Morley (Warrington, 30, 27), Terry Newton (Bradford, 28, 14), Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan, 24, 8), Jamie Peacock (Leeds, 29, 23), Michael Platt (Bradford, 23, 0), Leon Pryce (St Helens, 26, 15), Gareth Raynor (Hull, 29, 4), James Roby (St Helens, 21, 5), Keith Senior (Leeds, 30, 30), Kevin Sinfield (Leeds, 27, 13), Paul Wellens (St Helens, 27, 17), Stephen Wild (Huddersfield, 26, 2), Jon Wilkin (St Helens, 23, 4), Kirk Yeaman (Hull, 24, 2).
