WARRINGTON Wolves’ Chris Hill will be proud to honour the memory of international rugby league’s most heroic performance when England face Australia 100 years on this Sunday.

The Rorke’s Drift Test, as it became known, saw the Northern Union side secure the Ashes after a 14-6 triumph against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground despite being down to nine men at one stage.

England will wear a commemorative red and white hooped shirt in Melbourne, featuring the names of the 1914 Ashes winners.

“That’s what this sport is about, there’s a load of history to it,” said Hill. “100 years on, we want to go there and get the result like these men did in this shirt – we want to replicate that.

“It’s a massive achievement, we don’t want to be going down to nine men at the weekend but it’s something we can take into consideration.

“It’ll drive us on, but just pulling this jersey on anyway is special to me. As long as you’ve got that England badge on your chest you’re always proud.”

However, Hill is expecting a backlash from Australia after their surprising 30-12 defeat to New Zealand.

It gives England the chance to knock Australia out of the running for the Four Nations at this stage for the first time in a series since 1954.

“They got touched up against New Zealand, so we’re looking forward to it,” added Hill. “Especially wearing this shirt 100 years since this famous test. We want to go and give a proud performance.

“I thought they would be a lot more evenly matched, but from the bits we watched they seemed to have folded late on.

“We have to focus on ourselves and what we do well, go and get the win and then if the Aussies get knocked out it’s a bonus.”

Hill made an impact from the bench in England’s opening win over Samoa, but the prop is happy to be involved in whatever role he is handed.

“I’ll play wherever needed, I’ll play on wing and have a dab at wing,” he joked. “I’ll play wherever and I’ll do the best job I can.

“We knew it was going to be tough against Samoa. They had nothing to lose, they had a free hit at us and they did that.

“We went to some dark places at times but we knew we could get through it. We need to hold the ball better, retain the ball, we can’t be giving the Aussies cheap possession.”

“The team spirit we’ve got and the scramble we’ve got for each, we really dug in.

“The group’s even tighter (than the World Cup) this time. It’s a young group, we’re really enjoying each other’s company and everyone is still buzzing and looking forward to this weekend.”