By Martin Morgan

Last updated 11:45, Friday, 25 July 2008

GREGG McNALLY will make his England Under-18 debut against Brisbane Broncos tomorrow – when a Test place will be up for grabs.

RISING STAR: Gregg McNally. pic MIKE McKENZIE

The Whitehaven scrum-half, above, will stake his claim for next weekend’s First Test against the Australian Schoolboys when he features in the warm-up alongside 20 team-mates, all from Super League clubs.

“This group haven’t played together before, and they all know that this game is almost a trial,” said team manager Francis Stephenson, speaking to News & Star Sport from Australia. If they put their hand up, there’s a very good chance they’ll get a shirt the following week. All 21 of our eligible players will play some part in the game this weekend.

“Gregg’s been going really well and is taking his chance to play for his country. Just because he’s from Whitehaven, that makes no difference. He’s a talented lad and has fitted in no problem, on and off the field.

“Brisbane are playing a mixture of their 17s and 18s, and it will be a good test for us before we play the Australia High Schools the week after.”

The England coaching team are taking nothing for granted before next week’s clash with the much-vaunted Schoolboys, who have been a launching pad for the careers of numerous NRL stars.

“Our coaching staff has been reviewing DVDs of them all week from a number of carnival games played up here in mid-July,” Stephenson added. “We’ll be well-prepared.”