Smith to include fringe players

The game will be a warm up for Great Britain’s three-match test series against New Zealand this autumn, while the French will be looking for some international success on the back of Les Catalans’ establishment in engage Super League.

Smith will be wanting to try out some players not used in last season’s Gillette Tri-Nations with one eye on this autumn’s Kiwi tour and the other on next year’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia, where he will take charge of the England team.

"We want to have a look at a few new faces with next year's World Cup in mind," said Smith. "That gives us a chance to give guys like Stuart Fielden, who have been on the scene a while, a bit of a break."

Meanwhile, France coach John Monie has said he would like to see the fixture restored as a regular feature, saying "Anybody who loves rugby league should love international rugby league and I'm all for trying to build a French team to play Britain on a yearly basis."

"It would be ideal if it could be played one year in England and the next year in France, where interest is growing all the time."