England v Tonga series confirmed with Yorkshire to host two fixtures

St Helens' Totally Wicked Stadium will host the opener on Sunday, October 22 before the teams move on to the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield the following Saturday, October 28. The final game is scheduled for Headingley on Saturday, November 4.

England and Tonga last met in a memorable World Cup semi-final in Auckland in 2017.

Confirmation of a series that has been a long time in the making provides a boost to England boss Shaun Wane ahead of Saturday's Test match against France.

“I’m absolutely thrilled at the prospect of hosting such a huge three-game Test series against Tonga later this year," said Wane, who has yet to oversee a series since taking the reins in early 2020.

“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.”

Tonga have made huge strides in recent times, following up their run to the 2017 semi-finals with stunning back-to-back wins over Great Britain and Australia two years later.

Kristian Woolf's side suffered a disappointing quarter-final exit at the hands of Samoa in last year's World Cup but can call on superstars such as Jason Taumalolo and David Fifita.

Woolf is looking forward to breaking new ground later this year.

“There is no doubt that this is another historic moment for Tongan rugby league," said the former St Helens boss.

"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.”