Tonga will make history when they travel to England this autumn

Drew Darbyshire
Kristian Woolf Tonga News Images

Photo: Craig Thomas/News Images

Tonga will create a nice little token of history this autumn when they face England in a three-match international test series on English soil.

The Tongans will become the first Pacific Islands nation to play a full international test series against England in England.

On Friday morning, the Rugby Football League confirmed that England will host Tonga in St Helens, Huddersfield and Leeds later this year.

Tonga head coach Kristian Woolf, who will make a return to his former club St Helens for the first test, wants his side to show the northern hemisphere their true capabilities after bowing out of last year’s World Cup in the quarter-finals.

He said: “There is no doubt that this is another historic moment for Tongan Rugby League.

“This will be the first time one of the Pacific Nations has been invited to play in a full three-test series against England, in the place where our great game began.

“It is easy to forget that this is an honour usually only reserved for countries like Australia and New Zealand.

“I know our players are excited by this challenge, and are also keen to go back to England to try and prove what we can do in the northern hemisphere.

“We feel we did not showcase our best at last year’s World Cup, and this will be an opportunity for Tonga to correct that.”

England boss relishing the prospect of facing Tonga

Shaun Wane has made no secret of his desire for more regular test matches against the top nations in the southern hemisphere, and is looking forward to this autumn’s series as he prepares to lead his side in the 2025 World Cup in France.

Wane said: “I’m absolutely thrilled at the prospect of hosting a such a huge, three-game test series against Tonga later this year.

“Throughout my time as England head coach I have said we need to challenge ourselves against the best sides the international game has to offer – and Tonga are certainly one of those.

“They’ve been a real success story on the international stage in recent years, building on their exploits at the 2017 World Cup, and they will offer a real test.

“The series offers another chance to showcase the international game on home soil following on from the success of last year’s World Cup.

“It’s also a great opportunity for us to get three high-quality test Matches under our belt as we continue to push towards the next World Cup in 2025. Hopefully we see the rugby league public come out and support us once again as we look for a series victory.”

England will use Saturday’s test against France as a warm-up game ahead of this autumn’s series against Tonga.

England face France in the international double-header in Warrington on Saturday. The women’s test gets underway at 2pm, followed by the men’s at 4:30pm, both live on Sky Sports.

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