England continued their prep for this year’s Rugby League World Cup with a comfortable win over France as stars from Wigan Warriors and Leeds Rhinos took centre stage.
Unlike the men’s side, who will have no mid-season international before the end-of-year World Cup, England women have had a mid-season international and they’ve continued their winning streak against France with a 38-4 win.
The fixture was played at the Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse and it looked as though the home side could spring an upset as they took an early lead, knocking over two penalties inside ten minutes.
That was the warning sign that England needed to get into gear and Stuart Barrow’s side quickly got started as they scored 38 unanswered points to record a comfortable win, with Wigan Warriors’ Izzy Rowe running the show as her teammates scored four of the seven tries.
Warriors’ winger Ellise Derbyshire scored England’s first and last as she scored a brace on debut, whilst Leeds Rhinos’ Lucy Murray also scored two with Wigan playmaker Izzy Rowe converting four of five tries in the first half to help England to a 28-4 lead.
Her teammate and reigning Woman of Steel Eva Hunter and Leeds’ Ella Donnelly had also scored in the first half and whilst the scoring slowed in the second 40, Jenna Foubister and Derbyshire crossed over to cement a comfortable win.
It was fine prep for England ahead of the World Cup with Stuart Barrow’s side set to face Australia, Samoa and Wales in their group with their first fixture being against Wales in the early hours of October 17th.
That and the clash against Australia will be played in Perth before England then take on Samoa in Wollongong with all those games being double-headers alongside the men’s team, who play Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea.
Job done 😃
On to the World Cup this autumn ✅#EnglandRL 🏴 pic.twitter.com/NbahTpqbds
— England Rugby League (@England_RL) July 25, 2026
