2025 Kangaroo tour of England and France
Rugby league tour by England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2025 Kangaroo tour of England and France will be a tour by the Australia national rugby league team, in which The Ashes will be contested.[1] The tour will occur following the conclusions of the domestic seasons in the UK and Australia.[2]
The tour was originally scheduled be a tour of Australia by England.[3] However, in October 2024, talks began regarding moving the tour to England, thus making the Australia tourists.[2]
The tour marks the first time the Men's rugby league Ashes has been contested since 2003.[4][5]
Background
Summarize
Perspective
New International Calendar
Following France withdrawing as host and the subsequent cancellation of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup,[6][7] the International Rugby League saw need to revamp the international calendar. The confirmation of the replacement 2026 Rugby League World Cup came with it a selection of new and returning international rugby league competitions and tours between 2025 and 2030, including the return of The Ashes. The tournament return will begin with England's 2025 tour of Australia, which will see the inaugural women's Ashes being played, and Australia's 2028 tour of England. The 2025 Ashes will be the first since the 2003 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France.[3][8]
Great Britain or England
Great Britain were Australia's traditional Ashes opponents, having played against each other from 1908 to 2003. The Great Britain side started to disbanded started with the 1995 Rugby League World Cup in favour of the four home nations playing as individuals sides. This process was completed with the 2007 All Golds Tour, the centenary of the first ever international tour.
In 2024, the Rugby Football League considered the return of the Great Britain team for the 2025 tour, and possibly all future away tours, with the hope that the return of a traditional sporting brand would help connect more people to the team.[9] However, in September of that year, the governing body confirmed during the new England kit launch that England would continue the 2025 tour as planned.[10] A fan poll was conducted in regards to this subject.[11]
Host change
On 28 October 2024, The Guardian revealed that talks were underway between Rugby League Commercial (a branch of the Rugby Football League) and the Australian Rugby League Commission regarding the men's games being moved to England, with venues in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and London being considered for the three test games.[2] BBC Sport attributed the host change to Australia now hosting the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, originally to be hosted by France in 2025.[12]
Venues
Pending confirmation of a change of host, Rugby League Commercial will be looking to stage the three tests in Lancashire, London, and Yorkshire.[2] For the Lancashire venue, Wigan Warriors's Brick Community Stadium was reported as one of the favourites[13] along with Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.[14] In London, Wembley Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were reporting as being the front runners.[14] Finally, Leeds United's Elland Road and Hull FC's MKM Stadium were reported as the likely venues for the Yorkshire match.[15]
On 3 March 2025, it was reported that Wembley Stadium, Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium, and Headingley Rugby Stadium would be the test venues with the RFL being close to confirming the change in host.[16] These venues were confirmed by the Rugby Football League on 26 March upon the official announcement of the change of host.[1]
Fixtures
In March 2025, Australia head coach Mal Meninga revealed in a interview with L'Indépendant that the three fixtures against England had been scheduled for 25 October, 1 November, and 8 November, and talks were in place for a warm up game against France to be played prior to the Ashes.[17] Fixtures against England were confirmed on 26 March.[1]
25 October 2025 14:30 |
1 November 2025 14:30 |
8 November 2025 14:30 |
See also
- 2025 Australia Jillaroos tour of England
- 2025 England wheelchair rugby league tour of Australia
References
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