Young Bull Burgess sets off to join his brother Down Under

The giant prop, 18, has yet to even make his Super League debut but has agreed a two-year deal with the NRL club where his more illustrious elder sibling has proved a notable success since a 200,000 switch from Odsal 12 months ago.

Burgess – whose twin brother Tom has turned down the same opportunity and instead remains at Bradford – will play in the Under-20s Toyota Cup but train full-time alongside the first team squad, including star new signing Greg Inglis.

Burgess featured in England Academy's stirring 38-30 Test triumph over Australian Schoolboys at Leigh on Saturday, a rare positive for the game here following the debacle of the senior side's performances in last month's Four Nations.

At the end of a week when the RFL launched the 2013 World Cup, the result offers some hope that today's tyros could possibly emerge to make England a more potent threat when that tournament comes around.

They face the Australian Schoolboys again at Castleford on Friday evening aiming to culminate the series with a 2-0 victory, a feat achieved only once before under the late Mike Gregory's inspirational stewardship in 2002.

"That's something we all want to achieve as a team," Burgess told the Yorkshire Post. "It would be really special for us. We're really proud of that first performance and it bodes well for the future.

"With the World Cup not being too far away – just three years' time – I can see a lot of these players not being too far off but we need to come back stronger still on Friday as the Aussies will return fighting."

England trailed 30-18 with just 10 minutes to go but outstanding captain Adam Milner took control, the Castleford hooker breaking clear to set up tries for Wigan's Matthew Sarsfield and Tigers team-mate Jordan Thompson.

Gareth O'Brien missed the second conversion but the classy Milner earned a penalty seconds later to level before Wigan scrum-half Sam Powell scored the crucial try, O'Brien improving before adding another late penalty.

Bradford will receive compensation for Burgess, who has two years remaining on his contract and is the latest English player moving to the more competitive NRL Down Under, a trend many in the game feel must increase if slumbering England are to improve on the international stage.

The Bulls last month allowed forward Mike Worrincy (Penrith) to move while England captain James Graham is set to switch in 2012 joining fellow internationals Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis (Wests Tigers).