John Bateman will this week be named in the England Academy side for their summer tour of Australia after helping them to a 38-18 win over France at Odsal.

The Bulls forward, 18, skippered Dave Elliott’s side and will be named in the group that will head Down Under in July for a two-Test series.

Bateman’s inclusion will force him to miss four Super League games for the Bulls but he looks certain to be fit to face Wakefield on Sunday despite aggravating a toe injury against the French on Friday night.

England fell behind at Odsal when Mickael Rouch touched down but they quickly responded through Wigan full back Lewis Tierney.

Moments later England found themselves ahead when James Saltonstall cut back inside from close range to wrong-foot the sliding French defence and give England a 10-6 lead.

That lead was further extended when Joe Burgess showed great awareness to slide over the line and evade the onrushing defence.

Further tries from Dominic Speakman, Jordan Baldwinson and Ryan Hampshire, who also kicked five goals, sealed victory.

“I was really pleased with the performance tonight,” said Elliott.

“In atrocious conditions we went out and played some good attacking rugby and I was pleased to see the lads have a go.

“Defensively I think we have a lot of work to do but I think that will come with more time together.

“Offensively we were excellent but we just need to work on the little areas that creep in defensively.”

Elliott will now turn his attention towards the Academy’s summer tour of Australia, when they will take on the Australian Schoolboys in a two-Test series, and he says he has a lot of tough calls to make ahead of naming his touring squad next week.

Rookie Bulls forward Liam McAvoy is in contention to join Bateman on the plane Down Under.

“This game was all about preparation for the tour Down Under and a few of the guys out there have cemented their place on the plane,” he said.

“A few have also given me a bit of a selection headache as they put in big performances to stake a claim.

“It’s going to be very tough for me to make the final selection for tour. We have a lot of very talented players in the group and not all of them can tour so I’m going to have some very hard decisions to make.”