Jamie Peacock could be forgiven for feeling a bit queasy when he leads his country out for the first time against the Kiwis tonight.

The Leeds-bound forward suffered a sickening blow in his last match as a Bull, coming within a whisker of losing a testicle in the aftermath of the Grand Final victory over the Rhinos.

"I got kneed in the testicles," said Peacock.

"They swelled up after the game and I went to see a doctor on the Monday and was told the worst-case scenario was that one of them would have to be removed. Fortunately that wasn't the case. Everything is fine now and I'm raring to go."

Peacock suffered the blow in the opening exchanges of the match but struggled on for 20 minutes before eventually seeking treatment on the sidelines, but he did return to play a leading role in the second half.

A replacement for Paul Sculthorpe, who was originally named as Andy Farrell's successor only to withdraw with a knee injury without ever having done the job, Peacock initially feared he would suffer the same fate. But, incredibly, even if his testicle had been removed, the 2003 Man of Steel insisted he would have played tonight.

"I was thinking that maybe there was kind of a curse, with my knee going against St Helens and then catching this injury, but they have all come good and I am fit and ready to play. The

doctors said that even if the operation were to happen the recovery time would only be a couple of weeks, so I would have been okay," he said.

The loss of Farrell, Sculthorpe and first-choice half back Sean Long has undoubtedly weakened the Lions but Peacock believes they will still be extremely competitive.

"We know those guys are world-class but the people who are here are here to do a job and I'm sure they'll do that."

l Iestyn Harris was the surprise omission when Great Britain coach Brian Noble trimmed his squad to 19.

The 29-year-old stand-off has been in impressive form for the Bulls and was expected to win his 13th cap.

Harris was left out along with Hull's Richard Horne, leaving the team

without a specialist stand-off. Noble is likely to opt for either Kevin Sinfield or Paul Deacon for the No 6 role.

Also omitted from the original 24-strong squad was St Helens back-rower Jon Wilkin, Hull winger Gareth Raynor and Wigan second-rower Stephen Wild.