CONFIRMATION has come from England assistant coach Denis Betts that Warrington Wolves stand-off Kevin Brown will play in tomorrow's Rugby League World Cup semi final against Tonga, kick off 5am (UK time).

Although Brown was named in the team three days ago, he was only been to resume full training earlier today following a concussion that forced him out of the second half of last Sunday's quarter-final against Papua New Guinea.

He took part in the captain's run after receiving the all-clear from the required head tests.

"Kevin is fit, he's always been fit," said Betts.

"He was never in doubt. We just had to go through the protocol that has been put in place by the World Cup."

With second rower Sam Burgess also proving his fitness after turning an ankle against the Kumuls, England head coach Wayne Bennett is able to field an unchanged team for the contest at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland.

That means Wolves skipper Chris Hill will start in the front row and clubmate Ben Currie will be on the bench, but The Wire's fourth representative in the squad, Stefan Ratchford, misses out.

The match is a 30,000 sell-out, ensuring the biggest crowd for a rugby league game at the ground since 1995, and the vast majority will be clothed in red and cheering on Tonga.

Betts, who was the last man to lead England into a World Cup final in 1995, played at Mount Smart for the Auckland Warriors from the start of their existence that same year and says the tourists will thrive in the red-hot atmosphere.

"You want it to feel like a hostile environment where we have to really put our games on the line," Betts said. "It's exciting for me and I'm not playing."