Our ace can

for England,” said Stone, who is now putting his players through Super League pre-season training.

“In the first game he played against Australia, especially, he was great

“He’s carried for plenty of metres, as he has done at the Giants through the year.

“Jez has got a big game coming up against the Papua New Guinea boys in Melbourne and he will again be looking to do well.”

McGillvary will line up alongside former Giants teammate Kevin Brown on Sunday, with Gareth Widdop reverting to fullback. Widdop is happy to turn the clock back as England get ready to play knockout rugby.

The 28-year-old St George Illawarra captain and stand-off reverted to full-back for his country in their win over France and, in the continuing absence of the injured Jonny Lomax, will keep the role at his old Melbourne home ground of AAMI Park.

The Halifax-born Widdop has won the bulk of his 24 England caps at stand-off but made his England debut against France in the number one jersey back in 2010 and was man-of-the-match in the role in the 36-6 win over the French in Perth.

“It’s been okay,” he said. “It’s probably been six or seven years now since I played back there.

“I’ll play anywhere just to represent my country. Wherever I get put, I’ll happily do my best to try and get the job done.”

Brown keeps the number six jersey and gets the chance to build on his promising partnership with Luke Gale.

The trio combined superbly to put England into an early 26-0 lead against France after 28 minutes, although their failure to fully press home their advantage provided a clear indication of an area for improvement.