England Knights to face Jamaica this October

Sam Powell toured PNG with England Knights last year

The match, to be played on Sunday, October 20, eight days after the Super League Grand Final, will see the Knights play on home soil for the first time for six years.

The Knights, formerly Emerging England and England A, were re-established in 2018 and went on a two-match tour to Papua New Guinea in the autumn. Wigan's Tom Davies and Sam Powell toured to PNG and the latter was vice-captain.

A revised Knights performance squad will be announced on Monday morning and PA understands it will include two members of the England Academy squad who beat the Australian Schoolboys 2-0 last autumn.

They are Leeds centre Harry Newman, who has scored eight tries from 14 appearances since making his Super League debut in March, and Huddersfield prop Oliver Wilson, who made his senior debut earlier this month.

Kevin Sinfield, the RFL's rugby director, said: "This is a fixture that works on so many levels and I hope it will capture the imagination of rugby league supporters and Jamaicans in Leeds, Yorkshire and well beyond.

"The Knights are an important part of the England performance unit as we build towards hosting the World Cup in 2021 and it was a priority to find them meaningful competition again this autumn after the unique experiences they gained in Papua New Guinea last year.

"The way the Jamaica team has developed over the last few years to reach the World Cup has already been a bit of a rugby league fairytale and it's great that the Knights can help them with their preparations for RLWC2021."

The Reggae Warriors defeated the USA in Jacksonville last October to secure their first ever World Cup appearance.

Jamaica head coach Jermaine Coleman, who grew up as a member of Leeds' Jamaican community before joining London Skolars, said: "This is an exciting opportunity for us as a team.

"The effort that has gone into the journey so far has been unbelievable. We have a fantastic group of people involved with the team both on and off the field. We see this as our first steps in our preparation to the World Cup."