It is now 100 years since that Rorke's Drift Test in Sydney when a British team, reduced to 10 men, won the deciding Test 14-6.

On Sunday, at Melbourne's AAMI stadium, an Australian team, deprived of players and already beaten by New Zealand, will have their backs to the wall against a rejuvenated England team.

Call it a Reverse Rorke's Drift Test, but it is only one of the historical comparisons surrounding this match.

In 1914, the Lions management wanted the Third Test played in Melbourne in mid-August, after their tour of New Zealand, but another battle was taking place between the codes.

The NSWRL, mindful that the rival rugby union code was to host New Zealand's All Blacks in Sydney in mid-July 1914, insisted on the original date for the Third Test, July 4.

Furthermore, Sydney was to host the national Aussie rules carnival at the start of August, when six states would play a round robin in a major push to establish the Victorian code in the NSW capital.

So the July 4 Test at the SCG meant the British team had to play Three Tests in nine days.

The battle-weary British, playing with nine men at times and 10 men for most of the second half, were victorious.

On Sunday, the Australian and English teams will wear the original 1914 jumpers.

The England jersey is a red and white hooped design and features on its front the names of the 1914 players who defied the overwhelming odds to secure the Ashes.

England captain Sean O'Loughlin said: "It's always an honour and a privilege to represent your country but to do so against Australia in a jersey which commemorates such an important event in the sport's history is going to be even more special."

England centre Ryan Hall said: "If we beat them [Australia] this weekend, they're out [of the tournament] in their own backyard."

Well, Melbourne isn't exactly Australian rugby league's backyard.

But ARL Commission chief executive Dave Smith, like his predecessor 100 years ago, is aware of the battle between the four football codes for market share.

"We've got 6.5 million people watching us, including the top three TV slots in Australia, not just sport, in 2014," he said.

"Our challenge is to engage with them for all events, not just State of Origin and the NRL grand final."

Smith, a Welshman who served in the British Army along with his brother and father, was constantly reminded that seven of the 11 Victoria Crosses awarded following the Battle of Rorke's Drift went to members of the second battalion of the 24th Warwickshire Regiment of Foot, principally a Welsh unit.

"Each St David's Day the regiment would have a Rorke's Drift dinner, with men dressed as Zulu warriors and music from the movie," he said.

"As an ex-military man, I look at the bravery of both sides and the strategy involved and am proud that this incredible piece of military history has a link with my family and the history of rugby league."

The 1914 Lions employed a rare strategy of their own to win the deciding Test and it's a salutary lesson for those who believe front row forwards are dumb.

The Lions' forward from Widnes, Albert "Chick" Johnson, who had been moved to the wing, dropped the ball to his boot, dribbled it past his confused opponents, tapped it over the line and dived on it for the winning try.

Football Federation Australia boss David Gallop, who was once chief executive of the NRL, will read this and declare: What does a rugby league player do when he is desperate? Answer: Play soccer.

AFL lovers will respond by asking what they always do when comparing the codes: How many people were watching?

Fifty-five thousand, according to reports, more than double the expected crowd at AAMI Stadium on Sunday but probably less than the expected attendance at the MCG in June next year for the second State of Origin match.

The 1914 Lions did eventually play in Melbourne, at the MCG on August 17, where they defeated NSW 21-15 in front of 13,000 people.

The AFL, who side with the Zulus when talking attendance, would say that 100 years later, 13,000 is a standard rugby league crowd in Melbourne.

But Sunday's match will be shown live on the BBC and televised around Australia.