Decision made on England mid-season plans for 2026 ahead of World Cup

England will once again have no mid-season international going into next autumn’s Rugby League World Cup, it has been confirmed: with the domestic calendar too congested.

Super League will release the full fixture calendar for 2026 on Thursday, but RL Commercial CEO Rhodri Jones has already admitted in a media briefing on Tuesday that the schedule has no room for a standalone international weekend.

England coach Shaun Wane, whose own position is under threat going into the tournament following a 3-0 defeat in the Ashes, had insisted in the aftermath of that series that the national team needed to be made more of a priority to give them a chance of success.

But ahead of a World Cup on overseas soil late next year, there will be no room or opportunity for Wane to assemble a squad and play a mid-season Test match.

Jones confirmed to Love Rugby League on Tuesday morning that as far as the calendar goes, there is simply no room to be able to craft out a weekend.

It means that England will now once again go a full calendar year without a single meaningful fixture.

Jones confirmed: “There is no spare weekend in the calendar, that is the headline. There are some weekends in Super League when there are no games on a Sunday so there is an opportunity for squad gatherings on Sunday afternoons and Monday afternoons.”

However, Jones insisted that did not mean England were heading into the tournament with one hand tied behind their back and effectively under-prepared.

“I wouldn’t say they were. It’s up to Super League to deliver the intensity that gets the players ready for that international period.

“I think it’s always well debated about who would we play? Would it be competitive? We’ve had games against France in the past and that there was a lack of contest on the field.

“With everything it’s if the contest is there on the field, you would look to incorporate: but the contest isn’t there. It’s a fully loaded domestic season that’s not helped by coming back a week for the Grand Final – but this for us is a fantastic looking calendar and hopefully it puts the England players in the right shape.”

Papua New Guinea coach Jason Demetriou, who will be in England coaching London in 2026, had insisted he would be keen for the Kumuls’ UK-based players to come together and potentially play England in a mid-season Test that would serve as a warm-up for both teams.

But it now appears that will not happen.