Leeds stand-off Danny McGuire was happy to cut short his Grand Final victory celebrations in order to further his representative career.
The 24-year-old has been drafted into the Northern Union side chosen by Great Britain coach Tony Smith for Saturday's centenary international against the New Zealand All Golds at Warrington.
McGuire will be the Northern Union's only Grand Finalist after agreeing to plug the gap caused by the loss of half-backs Paul Deacon (Bradford), Richard Horne (Hull) and Kevin Brown (Huddersfield).
He was told of his selection midway through the Rhinos' homecoming on Sunday and immediately called a halt to his celebrations.
"Danny was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when he came in for training," said Smith, whose stint as Leeds coach came to an end following Saturday's 33-6 win over St Helens.
"He's a good professional and wants to do the best for his country.
"He has hit some good form and he wants to get out there and have another crack at it for the Test series, because there is a bit of competition in that area at the moment."
McGuire won his 10th cap in Britain's 42-14 win over France at Headingley in June and is competing with St Helens' Leon Pryce for the number six jersey for the first Test against the Kiwis at Huddersfield on Saturday week.
He believes that Pryce, who was among a host of players rested for the mid-season clash with the French, is in pole position but is hoping a strong performance on Saturday will sway his coach.
He said: "If I play well, who knows? It's important for Great Britain as a whole for players on the fringe to perform well and put pressure on the players that are going to be in the 17.
"It's being talked about as a trial game - but there is a lot of talent here who would do really well in the starting 17 for Britain.
"I think towards the back end of the season I played some of the best rugby I've played for a long while and started to really enjoy my game.
"I felt it was starting to come together, so I hope I can carry that on for the next month.
"It's an honour to be involved in this game. There are not many players that are going to be able to say they were part of this special occasion. I hope it will provide another good memory from a good year."
Smith has named seven uncapped players in his Northern Union team. But there is no place for Warrington's teenage winger Kevin Penny, while Wigan captain Sean O'Loughlin was not considered because of injury.
North Queensland hooker David Faiumu is the only player involved in the Kiwis' record 58-0 defeat by Australia in Wellington named in the All Golds team, which is being coached by veteran Australian Wayne Bennett.
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