KNIGHTS prop Leo Thompson will join an exclusive club tonight when he makes his Test debut for New Zealand against Samoa at Auckland's Eden Park.
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![Leo Thompson. Jonathan Carroll Leo Thompson. Jonathan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/AFKkRPHwQbXhqFfb42nFTx/ac0689d3-f774-491b-9795-a5e06c2bf5c1.jpg/r0_20_4555_3036_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The 23-year-old will become only the seventh Newcastle player to wear the black-and-white jersey and perform the iconic haka before a Test match, following in the footsteps of the club's inaugural captain, Sam Stewart, James Goulding, Tony Kemp, Junior Sa'u, Zeb Taia and Danny Levi.
Thompson's teammates will include a familiar face in hooker Fa'amanu Brown, who played two games for the Knights in a brief cameo stint at the back end of last season.
Brown joined Newcastle after gaining a mid-season release from Canterbury, and the journeyman featured in the last two NRL games of the regular season.
He has since signed with Hull FC in Super League and will tonight pack down against the Samoa players who were his teammates during last year's World Cup in England.
On the other side of the world, Knights veteran Tyson Frizell will play for his third country - Tonga - in their first Test against England at St Helens.
The back-rower has already represented Australia and Wales at international level.
His former Newcastle teammate Dominic Young, who has signed to play for the Sydney Roosters next season, will be on the end of England's backline.
New Knights signing Kai Pearce-Paul, who helped Wigan win the Super League grand final last week, missed out on selection in the England squad.
The three-Test tour is the first time a tier-two rugby league nation has embarked on such a venture in England.
Since taking over Tonga's national side in 2014, coach Kristian Woolf has overseen a great leap forward.
In 2017, Tonga reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time, toppling New Zealand in Hamilton along the way. Two years later, Woolf helmed the Pacific islanders to famous victories over Australia and Great Britain.
Sunday's clash against the Lions at Totally Wicked Stadium signals the culmination of a decade of toil.
"Historic is a great word for it and it is a special occasion for us," Woolf told AAP.
"We know the enormity of being the first team outside of Australia and New Zealand to be invited to do such a tour.
"That shows how far this group has come and is a showcase of Tonga's international standing.
"We are very proud to be in that position and we want to make sure we make the most of it."
Last year's World Cup quarter-final loss to eventual finalists Samoa was a blow, but the hurt from that defeat reveals how far the side has come.
"We were disappointed. We underachieved at the World Cup," Woolf said. "This tour gives us a chance to redeem ourselves."
We know if we are going to have success at the next World Cup (in 2026) we need to perform at our best a long way from home.
"We have picked old statesmen who know what it takes to win and we have picked for the future with a group of talented young guys that have made their mark in the NRL."
Gold Coast prop Moeaki Fotuaika, Manly second-rower Haumole Olakau'atu and South Sydney forward Keaon Koloamatangi will still be in their prime at the next World Cup, while outside backs such as Parramatta's Will Penisini, St George Illawarra's Moses Suli and Sea Eagles speedster Tolutau Koula are also key to future success.
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