Scrum half Paul Deacon is the only Bradford Bulls player to start for Great Britain tonight in their international against France at Agen.

There were six members of the Grand Final-winning line-up in the squad of 20, and three are on the bench - props Paul Anderson and Stuart Fielden and loose forward Mike Forshaw.

The fact that second row Jamie Peacock and full back Michael Withers, plus Leeds centre Keith Senior, were omitted from the squad after training in the sunshine yesterday looks to be good news for the trio, as they have surely been pencilled in for the first Test against Australia at the McAlpine Stadium on November 11.

Great Britain may be defending an 11-year unbeaten record against the French, but the result will be the last thing on the mind of new coach David Waite.

The Australian, who takes charge of his first match as GB boss, will be looking for more selection pointers as he prepares for the restored Ashes Series.

The spotlight will focus, therefore, on the performances of Deacon and Lee Briers, who share the half-back roles, and young guns Kevin Sinfield and Paul King, who are expected to alternate between hooker and second row.

"Winning is important, but what is important is that we pick the right 17 for the first Test," said Waite. "It's part of the process in building to a game against the number one rugby league-playing nation."

Waite insists he has an open mind about his line-up against Australia, and is particularly keen to observe the display of his half-backs and dummy half.