Italian skipper Nathan Brown claims this Rugby League World Cup will mean more for players now representing their family heritage.

There's a long list of high-profile players who have made a difficult choice in who to represent in the coming weeks, including Samoa's Brian To’o and Josh Papali’i, England's Aussie-based Victor Radley, Tonga's Felise Kaufusi and Ireland's Luke Keary.

"Some Samoan and Tongan players have said no to Australia and New Zealand and chosen to represent their backgrounds, which mean a lot to them," said Brown, who played 26 minutes of Parramatta's NRL Grand Final loss to Penrith earlier this month.

"I can’t wait to see them go out there and show how much passion and pride they have for their jersey.

"For me it's an honour and a privilege to be on this Italian team. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to represent my family and my heritage. Family is a big part of my life and the Italian heritage on my mum’s side really means a lot to me."

Australia's James Tedesco shared a joke with Brown as the captains gathered for the tournament launch in Manchester, having played together for Italy at the World Cup five years ago.

"I’m close mates with Browny, so I’ve spoken to him a fair bit," said the new Kangaroos skipper.

"He has a pretty inexperienced squad here but I played with him at the 2017 World Cup so I know how much passion he is bringing to that team. He'll get them all playing to a higher level when he speaks about what the jersey means to him."

Two-time State of Origin player Brown, 29, is the standout star in coach Leo Epifania's team, qualifying for Azzurri via his maternal grandmother.

And he is joined by four rising stars in the NRL system yet to make their first-grade debut plus Melbourne Storm half-back Cooper Johns, the son of ex-Australia international Matty and nephew of the legendary Andrew.

Brown highlights second row Gioele Celerino as proof how the game is improving in Italy, despite being the third lowest ranked of the 16 teams here in England.

And he warns against underestimating his side ahead of Group B fixtures against defending champions Australia, Fiji and Scotland.

"Gieole has become a much better player since the last World Cup, seeing him train these last few days and watching how he's developed his game has been really exciting to see," added Brown. “We have a lot of young, talented players and we've more than ever who play over in Italy too, which is great.

“Our mentality coming into this tournament is that no matter who we play, as long as we play with heart for 80 minutes.

"We’re not too worried about the scoreboard, we just know that we’re going to go out there, play for each other, our families and our country. That’s our mentality.”

The Rugby League World Cup promises to be the biggest, best and most inclusive event in the sport’s 127-year history with men’s, women’s and wheelchair teams competing in 61 games across 21 venues throughout England. Tickets are available via rlwc2021.com/tickets