Once again, England will not play a mid-season international with Shaun Wane’s side set to head into the 2026 Rugby League World Cup without any warm-up match.
Of course, it’s still to be determined if Shaun Wane leads England into the next World Cup, as he’s contracted to do, with a review of the Ashes still ongoing.
Not only will England not play a mid-season international or any pre-tournament warm-up game, it’s also been confirmed that there currently are not any mid-season training sessions or meet-ups planned.
Rugby League Commercial chief Rhodri Jones briefed the press today ahead of Thursday’s Super League fixture release and one of the key points was that the domestic season is packed, meaning no room for a mid-season international.
Papua New Guinea and London Broncos head coach Jason Demetriou had recently floated the idea that PNG could take on England mid-season, but it’s now been confirmed that such an event will not happen.
“There are no spare weekends in the calendar. That’s the headline,” explained Jones when asked about a possible mid-season game.
He added: “There are, however, some weekends in Super League where there are no games on a Sunday, so there is the potential opportunity for squad gatherings Sunday afternoons, Monday mornings.
“But in terms of actual fixtures, there is no space in the calendar.”
No room for mid-season international ahead of Rugby League World Cup
Jones also confirmed to Serious About Rugby League that there are “no plans as yet for any England meet-ups next year”.
On whether that meant England would be “going into the World Cup with one hand tied behind their back”, Jones disagreed and argued that the intense Super League calendar should ensure players are fully prepared for the tournament. He also noted the difficulties around creating a competitive international game mid-season.
Jones explained: “I think it’s up to Super League to deliver the intensity that gets the players ready for that international period at the end of the year. I think it’s well debated around who would we play, would it be a competitive fixture.
“We have had games against France over the last couple of years and the reason why that hasn’t continued, I guess, is because of the perceived lack of quality on the field or lack of contest on the field.
“It’s a fully loaded domestic season, probably not helped by that week coming backwards into that Grand Final, so it means everything is probably a bit more congested. But I think this for us is a fantastic looking calendar for domestic and hopefully puts England players in the right shape ready for the World Cup.”
He added: “I think what we’ve tried to do is to make sure that there’s stuff around all the fixtures to make sure that the fixtures feel like they have the intensity certainly off the field and then ultimately it’s for the players on the field to deliver that.
“But I think the fact that there’s a World Cup at the end of the year is a pretty big carrot in terms of aspiration for players. So, I’d like to think that we’ll see the best of the players throughout the course of the year.”
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