England coach Wayne Bennett has also named a strong line-up for the clash, with Super League’s Man of Steel Luke Gale to partner St George Illawarra captain Gareth Widdop in the halves and a powerful forward pack led by captain Sean O’Loughlin, Sam Burgess and James Graham.
Parramatta centre Brad Takairangi will make his debut for New Zealand in Saturday’s match against Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium, along with Melbourne prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Newcastle hooker Danny Levi, who have been named on the bench. Wigan utility Thomas Leuluai was named to start in the dummy half role.
Samoa will field a giant forward pack, featuring captain Frank Pritchard and Josh Papalii in the second row and Junior Paulo in the front row.
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf named all his big names, headed by Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita, in a strong line-up to face Scotland at Barlow Park, Cairns on Sunday.
New Zealand Warriors backrower James Bell and Penrith rookie Lachlan Stein have been selected for the first time in the Bravehearts side.
The Tonga-Scotland clash is the second match in a double-header in Cairns, which also features Ireland against Italy, whose side boasts NRL stars James Tedesco, Paul Vaughan and Nathan Brown, with Jack Johns - the son of Matthew Johns – partnering former Canberra and Hull KR playmaker Terry Campese in the halves.
Papua New Guinea, who will host the first of three pool matches in Port Moresby on Saturday, have named a strong side to play Wales, which includes Paul Aiton at lock and fellow hookers Kurt Baptiste and James Segeyaro on the interchange.
Wales will be led by Salford prop Craig Kopczak and have St Helens excitement machine Regan Grace on the wing.
Jarryd Hayne will make his first appearance for Fiji since the 2008 World Cup at five-eighth when the Bati take on USA in Townsville on Saturday night, while the Hawks have named Junior Vaivai in the centres and Toronto Wolfpack utility Ryan Burroughs on the wing.
Robbie Farah will pull on a Lebanon jersey for the first time since 2002 as captain and halfback against a France team dominated by Catalans players, including Jason Baiteri, in Canberra on Sunday.
