Jamie Langley Column

It's a very exciting time knowing I'm going to be playing for my country tomorrow.

It's what you dream of as a kid starting out in the game and I'm really looking forward now to actually pulling on a Great Britain jersey.

I've had a few weeks off with injury this year, probably missing five or six games, and thought that might have had a bearing on whether I got selected or not.

Luckily enough though I've been named on the bench against France and I'm really happy to be involved.

As a young lad growing up, playing for Great Britain is something you always set out to do but I've got to say I've not been concentrating on it too much.

It's one of those things where if you're playing well for your club, it should all take care of itself.

Missing out last year through injury was disappointing but I've just tried to get my head down this time and hopefully my form has been good enough to merit this selection. Hopefully now I can kick on.

The lads have been together in Leeds a few days now. We've just had a few light sessions and Tony (Smith) has tried to keep us off our feet after what was a hard weekend of Super League.

He's been really smart about it and we've just gone through a few things, not got too heavy in team meetings and there's a real buzz about the camp now the game is close.

Lynchy's in the team tomorrow night as well and he's done really well to get a starting spot. He's deserved it as, over the last two or three years, he's been one of the form props in Super League and he's definitely earned this shot.

Andy's a great player and he's been knocking on the door for a while now. Hopefully we'll both take our chance against the French.

We're expecting them to be big and strong. They've got a lot of players in Super League now and we know it's going to be tough.

We've been working on a few things to match them. Steve Mac's been helping out with training as well and it's helped having a familiar face around.

Tony's talked about what we can expect from him as coach and he's really looking forward to these next couple of years. Hopefully some of that can rub off on the players.

There's a couple of lads who I played with in the England Academy - Chris Melling and Jon Wilkin - who are playing tonight, so that's been good.

There's some others, like Gaz Hock and Kirk Yeaman, who also played in that series while Paul Sykes, an old Bradford lad, is another making his debut.

Sykesy's been around a while now but he's showing how good he is and Chris (Melling) likewise.

He left Wigan for Harlequins to get a regular start and he's getting it now. Now he's got a shot with GB and I'm sure he'll take it with both hands. I've got to do the same.

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