The Bulls' Grand Final hero Stuart Reardon slipped out of Headingley last night with his first Great Britain jersey safely tucked away in his bag after putting in a solid debut in the Lions' 52-18 Ashes warm-up win over New Zealand A.

"It was my first one so I wasn't going to swap it. You never know, I might not get to play again," said Reardon.

The match capped an incredible season for Reardon. The 22-year-old's progression from the Bulls Academy side to picking up the Harry Sunderland medal at the Grand Final and on into the Great Britain squad is the stuff of comic books.

He said: "It has been unbelievable - to get in this squad and play my first game. I thought it went all right and I'm just proud to be here.

"At the beginning of the year I was just expecting to get a few games for the Bulls first team. My aim was about four games. I didn't expect this at all."

Reardon admitted to feeling nervous before the match, and he had to endure about 15 minutes lurking on the right wing before getting his first touch.

"It felt good. I was nervous, but I always am, even before first-team games. If I hadn't have been a bit nervous I would have been wondering what was wrong."

Not everyone in the British camp was as happy as Reardon with the way the match went. Coach for the night Graeme Steadman was particularly disappointed with the first half effort.

"The mentality of the players was certainly a bit disrespectful of the opposition and also the ball. We gifted them field-position and on the back of it they played some quality football," said Steadman.