Litten will come off the bench for Brian McDermott's England this weekend

Jez Litten is no stranger to the big occasion but he believes Saturday's World Cup opener will be the biggest moment of his rugby league career to date.

The Hull KR man is in Australia with England and in less than 24 hours' time, he'll be lining up with his teammates to sing the national anthem ahead of taking on Tonga in Perth.

Litten knows how that feels, having played in all three Ashes games last autumn, but playing down under in a World Cup is something that the hooker used to fantasise of as a child.

The 28-year-old grew up watching international rugby league and images of England and Great Britain facing off against the Haka remain strong in his mind.

It'll be the Sipi Tau for Litten tomorrow given England will be taking on Tonga, but it will still be something to relish as he lives out of boyhood dream in the Perth sunshine. As such, while he has played in the Ashes, Grand Finals, Challenge Cup finals and World Club Challenges, he believes Saturday morning might just trump them all.

"You don't get any bigger than a World Cup in Australia and against a team like Tonga as well, I think it will be my biggest game to date," Litten told Hull Live from down under. "I've just got to go out there, do my job and earn my teammates trust, that's the main thing, really.

"I always get nervous before games and I always get that feeling in my stomach, I don't think that'll ever change.

"Singing the national anthem last year against Australia was an unreal feeling, and it's something that I've really dreamt of as a kid, just being able to sing that national anthem and being against these teams as well.

"I used to watch the England teams and Great Britain teams go up against the Haka, and that's something I wanted to do as well, accept that challenge and get the opportunity to do it. I've got the chance to do it tomorrow.

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"So it's another thing ticked off, but obviously we're here to do a job and get a win and we need to get a win tomorrow. It's a massive game and it will get us started on the front foot."

Indeed, getting the campaign underway with a win is the goal, especially given the new format of the competition.

A win would put England in a prime position to progress from the combined Group B and C pool of course, but a defeat would give them a mountain to climb and potentially leave them staring down the barrel of a group stage exit. It really is that pivotal for the team in white.

That won't stop Brian McDermott's side from approaching the contest with heaps of confidence , though.

"They've got passion but I think we've got passion as well as Englishmen, and I think we just show it a different way," Litten said. "They've got the Haka, and we'll pay full respect to that, but we're all passionate Englishmen, and we'll show it in a different way.

"We want to match fire with fire, and I'm sure it'll be a great game when we both do it.

"If you look at the players what we've got, we've got some unbelievable players like Radley coming in off the back of a Grand Final and the likes of Herbie Farnworth and George Williams, who's played in a Grand Final.

"You've got the Wigan boys, who've had a good year, so we've got a lot of lads who are playing top teams and they've got some great knowledge and they're no strangers to these big occasions, so it's good to hear them speak and pick their brains as well."