England men and women to take on France in a double-header at the Halliwell Jones Stadium next year

Both sides will face France, the hosts of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup, on Saturday April 29.

The women’s game will get underway at 2pm, before the men kick off at 4.30pm.

It will be the first outing for both sides since their World Cup semi-final exits this week.

Mark Foster, the RFL’s chief commercial officer, said: “This autumn has been another reminder of the importance of our England teams in capturing the imagination of sports fans and TV viewers beyond our regular rugby league audience.

“We wanted to ensure that our England teams would return to action in front of a home crowd as soon as possible in 2023 – and we are pleased to be able to arrange a double header against France, whose men’s and women’s teams will also be moving on from their World Cup campaigns and starting to focus on the exciting prospect of hosting the next tournament in 2025.

“This will be the third consecutive year that we have staged a double header of Women’s and Men’s internationals at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium, which was the venue for one of the most memorable occasions of the World Cup when the Samoa and Tonga Men’s teams contested a compelling quarter-final.

“We are also delighted to partner with Rugby League Cares so that ticket buyers can have the opportunity to give back to the Rugby League community during difficult economic times and provide young, disadvantaged fans with the chance to watch their England heroes against France.”

Paul Wood, the former Warrington and Great Britain prop who is now Health and Wellbeing Programme Manager for RL Cares, added: “It’s great to see the sport building on the success of the World Cup by hosting this England-France double-header at the Halliwell Jones.

“Just as it has underlined the importance of international competition, the World Cup has provided a showcase for all the brilliant work RL Cares does to support people of all ages in communities where Rugby League is played.

“The charity has touched the lives of thousands of young people in recent months by delivering the Movember Ahead of the Game programme.

"I’m sure the Rugby League family will get behind this fantastic offer and help us continue to enhance the lives of some of the sport’s most vulnerable people."