Ashes series confirmed for 2025 with new international calendar revealed

International Rugby League has today confirmed the return of the Ashes, with England Men and Women set to tour Australia in 2025.

The IRL has agreed to an international calendar to 2030, with today’s announcement that the next World Cup will take place in 2026 in the southern hemisphere.

New Zealand and the Kangaroos will head north to play England in 2027 and 2028 respectively, with international tours for other nations back on the agenda.

Shaun Wane’s England will host Tonga in an end-of-season test in 2023, with games set to take place St Helens, Huddersfield and Leeds.

It is the first ever international series between the two nations and the first time they have met since 2017’s memorable Rugby League World Cup semi-final in Auckland.

A stand-alone Women’s World Cup will be staged in 2028, with the next Men’s World Cup, after RLWC2026, to be held in 2030.

The development of Tri-Nations or Four Nations tournaments in each hemisphere will be key features of the first five years of the International Calendar.

The Ashes series was set to be revived in 2020, hosted in England, only to be cancelled due to the pandemic. It was last played in 2003 between Australia and Great Britain.

Ashes series to return in 2025

IRL chair Troy Grant said: “It is no secret that the Achilles heel for international rugby league for far too long has been the absence of an international calendar.

“The ad hoc nature of tournaments and international matches, and the absence of any clarity for nations, players and fans to plan their seasons, is over.

“The international calendar respects player workloads and importantly also reduces the impact on professional clubs.

“The standards have improved dramatically in recent years regarding player welfare and player workload issues, and they were key considerations in the calendar design.

“After we secure the future of international rugby league, our calendar will help rejuvenate and allow the game to grow globally, recognising the elite in our game and providing pathways for development of the game across all levels.

“I saw first-hand during RLWC2021 in England last year how much it means for players in each of our three disciplines to be able to represent their country of birth or heritage, put on that jersey and play with such pride for their family and nations.

“Our calendar will allow us firstly to secure the future of international rugby league.”

“I couldn’t be happier that we have finally arrived with our much-anticipated calendar.  It’s been frustrating and I’ve shared the frustrations of fans, our nations, our clubs and the game broadly that we have failed to realise the potential the international game offers.

“Our calendar will allow us firstly to secure the future of international rugby league, with quality and consistent matches that are competitive, build on traditional rivalries and showcase the greatest game on earth.

“The Ashes return, with England Men’s and Women’s teams to tour Australia in 2025, while international tours are back, with Tonga heading to England in 2023 in an historic start to the new era.

“We have had some well-known legacy issues and world impacting events that have disrupted and destabilised our best efforts but its onwards and upwards from here.

“I want to sincerely thank the Chairs of the Australian Rugby League Commission, England’s Rugby Football League, the Asia-Pacific and European confederations, and the New Zealand Rugby League for their contributions and coming together for the good of the game to make our calendar a reality.”

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