For the last month, Forbes Magpies captain-coach Jake Grace has been preparing for an international.

The 25-year-old backrower has been named to make his debut for Malta – one of 11 debutants for the Knights – in their clash with the Philippines at New Era Stadium, Cabramatta, on Saturday.

It’s a serious step up from training at Spooner Oval for Grace, who qualifies for the fledging rugby league nation thanks to his maternal grandfather’s Maltese heritage.

“I’ve been approached about playing before, I was in touch with the Malta guys while I was in Sydney (playing with Penrith), but their games have always been during the season,” Grace said. 

“This one falls perfectly, and it’s a great opportunity to play a bit of different footy with a few different blokes.”

The clash is one of a number of steps Malta must take to qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

Malta will also field an under-17s side which will feature Narromine Jets young gun and Western Rams representative Zarrin Galea, adding to the interest for fans in the region.

“They’re fairly low down the pecking order, so there’s a few games we need to win to get into the World Cup,” Grace said of his match.

“We’ve got the Philippines this weekend and then there’s a few more tiers to go from there.”

As Grace eluded to earlier, he’s been in contact with the Maltese Rugby League since his time at the Panthers’ under 20s. He had hoped to further foster the old Penrith-Malta connection and recruit a couple of old, NRL friends for the clash.

“Shane Shackleton and Danny Galea, I tried to get them to have a run but they reckon they’re too old now,” Grace laughed.

Gates open at Cabra Leagues at 4pm with the main game at 7.30pm.