Leigh to host England-France international

Leigh Sports Village will host the Gillette Fusion International between England and France on Saturday June 12 (5.15pm), a date which represents a significant day in the history of international Rugby League.

The match against a resurgent French team will be the first full international staged at the 10,000-capacity venue and marks the debut for the new England coach as he looks to build on his predecessor’s achievement in reaching the 2009 Gillette Four Nations Final.

The RFL are currently in the process of recruiting a new England Head Coach and the Gillette Fusion International will be his – and the public’s – only chance to see the national team in action on home soil before they head for Australia and New Zealand for the Four Nations in the autumn.

With all pre-purchase seating tickets costing just £10 (£5 concessions), a bumper crowd is expected for the clash against a French team which has made giant strides under Head Coach Bobbie Goulding, the former Leigh, Wigan and Great Britain scrum-half.

France gave England a mighty fright in last year’s Gillette Four Nations fixture at Doncaster, where Les Tricolores stunned a crowd of 11,529 by opening up a 12-4 interval lead before falling to a 34-12 defeat, a result Goulding and his players will be keen to avenge.

England rallied after that to reach the Gillette Four Nations Final and many of the players who featured in that campaign, including the likes of Sam Tomkins, Richie Myler, Kyle Eastmond, Tom Briscoe and Ryan Hall, will be desperate to impress the new coach in the first full international of 2010.

Seating tickets for the England v France game at Leigh Sports Village can be purchased from the RFL Ticket Office on 0844 856 11 13 or via www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk priced at £10 for adults, £5 concessions.