France urgently need help but it'll be epic seeing England take on Tonga
France certainly needs some help to make sure they are more competitive than they are now when they have the World Cup there in 2025 - the England result proved that.
It was a good run for some of Shaun Wane’s younger players but a 64-0 scoreline says plenty about what France need to do. If we’d have managed to keep Toulouse in Super League that would have really helped them, having two top-flight teams. That’s what they need. And maybe even to get to three. That’s how we can grow and strengthen the game in France.
Watching Toulouse drop out last year was, in my view, sad for the international game as it hinders France’s chances of being more competitive. They have some things they need to work out and let’s hope they do. On the back of that, though, it was good to hear the news that England will play three Tests here against Tonga in the autumn.
As a player, you really look forward to testing yourself against the best in the world in more than one game at the end of the season. It’s great to see for the elite players in our competition have that now against Tonga. They are a side that have been No1 in the world, beaten Australia, beaten New Zealand and Great Britain over the last few years and I think they will highly motivated when they come over here.
They’ll be a bit disappointed with what happened at the World Cup last year. The camp was a little bit too loose and they’ll be wanting to put that right. England have an enormous challenge against a hugely physical and talented Tonga side. I’m really pleased that all three games are in big stadiums in the heartlands as nothing looks better on TV when we have sold-out, vibrant stadiums for international rugby league.
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The quarter-final against Papua New Guinea in Wigan last year was packed out and just outstanding. The atmosphere was immense and England’s players rose to the occasion. It’s a smart move from the RFL to make sure these games are in the heartlands. As an ex-England captain, I can’t wait for them to see the test they give this English side. It will be a hell of a series.
Leeds' Ash Handley gathers to score England's eighth try against France (Photo by Alex Dodd - CameraSport via Getty Images) (CameraSport via Getty Images)They have history and none more so than that 2017 World Cup semi-final in Auckland. That was one of the greatest days of rugby league I've ever had the privilege to be involved with: a full stadium, nearly 40,000 Tiongans, a couple of thousands English fans and one of the greatest winning performances of an England team in the last 30 or 40 years to beat that Tonga side there. It was just such a good day for rugby league and shows why international rugby league is so, so important. That will live with me for the rest of my life. And I was just an England team manager, nevermind one of the players who played in it or fans who were there to witness it. And that’s what international rugby league gives us: occasions like that which stay with you forever.
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