For nearly a decade Andy Farrell has been a giant of British Rugby League.

He is without doubt one of the most talented players of his generation in whichever hemisphere you choose to draw comparison.

And at 26 he still has plenty more years in him to help his beloved Wigan pick up more silverware and plaudits.

But Farrell's real date with destiny may be only three weeks away.

And over the next three weeks he reckons that dream may just come true.

"Why am I confident? Because of the squad around me. Our game is getting better and better, and this time around our preparation has been fantastic," says Farrell.

"We have got a lot of fantastic players who are more than adequate to win a Test series against Australia."

Debut try

Farrell's potential was spotted by the Wigan club long before he signed on at Central Park from local amateurs Orrell St James back in October 1992.

In that season he managed just a couple of appearances from the bench, but was soon a Wigan regular.

He made his Test debut against New Zealand in the third Test at Leeds in 1993, scoring a try in the victory.

He has been a cornerstone of the British side since, whether running at second-row, loose forward or even stand-off, the perfect professional on and off the park.

Farrell's role now is not just as captain and team leader, but inspiration to the rest of the Great Britain side hoping to end 42 years of home field misery and finally win an Ashes series on British soil.

But he is quick to play down his part.

"I like to think of myself as being very competitive, but once you get on the field there's really no time to think about your own ego, you just have to get down to it."

He is, though, aware of the history of British failures.

Little chance

"There's been a lot of talk about the fact that we haven't won a test series since 1970, and a lot longer than that since we won in England.

"But I don't think it's heavy on my shoulders. I want to win every game I play in, and the next one just happens to be against Australia on Sunday.