Regular warm-up matches are provided for Southgate, who is presently leading the national team through the European Championship. After that, it’s right into World Cup qualifying. Though it is a regular schedule, it can be unforgiving at times.
At that level, rugby league is still somewhat of a mystery because successful club sports in the northern and southern hemispheres haven’t always resulted in coordinated global thinking.
Fortunately for Wane, the worldwide board has started to establish a fixture framework as part of the game’s efforts to organize its worldwide calendar.
Supporters of Wane’s team will have three games to look forward to this year: England’s men and women will tour Australia in the autumn, reviving the Ashes series concept; on Saturday, they play France in Toulouse; and in the build-up to that match, Wane spoke with the Rugby League podcast that having a real international calendar is crucial for the game. “The conversations I’m having with players now are more intense when we’re picking teams and it’s a lot more enjoyable.”
