The French Rugby League Federation has seemingly confirmed that Toulouse will play host to both an England Men’s and Women’s match with France as the opponent.
It marks the first confirmed fixture for England Men following the collapse of the proposed Samoa series at the end of the season, something that is reportedly still being worked on.
England played France at Warrington Wolves’ Halliwell Jones Stadium last year with both England’s Men and Women running out as 64-0 victors, but this year the game is set for French soil.
The FFR have released a statement about how they’re set to celebrate 90 years of French Rugby League and it reveals that both England sides will clash with France on June 29th in Toulouse.
The doubleheader will serve as a curtain raiser for Toulouse Olympique playing Featherstone Rovers on the following day.
Their statement confirmed the date and then read: “The Toulouse crowd will witness a triple crunch that weekend. First the double poster France vs England with the men’s curtain raiser, the XIII of France Women then the Championship match between Toulouse Olympique XIII and Featherstone, the next day.
“On the occasion of this major highlight of the 90th anniversary of the FFR XIII, the exhibition “90 years of rugby league” will be accessible throughout the week preceding this event, at the Salle de la Prairie des Filtre in Toulouse.”
England Rugby League to travel to France
England Rugby League swept aside France in April 2023 with both Men’s and Women’s side winning by large margins. – Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
It will be a different kind of test for England as they travel to France but importantly it will mean minutes in the bank for Shaun Wane’s men with previous fears being that they wouldn’t play at all in 2024.
The importance of getting a game in comes from the fact that both England Men and Women are set to tour Australia in 2025 in the first Ashes series in two decades, a huge landmark event for the international game.
That tour of Australia precedes the Men’s World Cup in 2026 and the Women’s in 2027 where both teams will aim to improve on their 2022 tournaments, both falling short at the semi-final stage.
The games are still unconfirmed by the RFL but there had been planning in the works to ensure fixtures were played, with particular focus on getting the Samoa series back on for Shaun Wane’s side.
England lost to Samoa in that World Cup semi-final with a golden point drop goal breaking the hearts of Wane’s side, with the Pacific Islanders’ planned tour having been touted as somewhat of a chance to avenge the devastating loss.
As for England Women they fell short in the semi-final against a strong New Zealand side but new coaching has been brought in and skipper Jodie Cunningham will be keen to ramp up efforts ahead of the 2025 Ashes tour.
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