The Great Britain Lions have been forced to evacuate their hotel in Auckland with a huge fire burning from the under construction SkyCity Convention nearby.

The drama comes days out from the Lions' tour match against the Tonga Invitational XIII in Waikato, with the team given 20 minutes to pack their bags and evacuate the SkyCity Grand Hotel before taking the bus to Hamilton a day earlier than planned.

Great Britain named their line-up on Tuesday night, with Australian-born former NRL players Jackson Hastings and Lachlan Coote earning international debuts.

Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita lead a strong Tongan side, with Tuimoala Lolohea and Ata Hingano to combine in the halves.