England plan a long tour down under
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:36
In June 2010 England will tour Australia and New Zealand, their first five match mid-year tour since their visit to South Africa 10 years ago.
England will play two Test matches, against Australia in Perth on June 12 and in Sydney on June 19, and three midweek games.
A squad of 44 players will travel and take part in the Tests and midweek matches. There are two games against the Australian Barbarians on June 8 and on June 15. England play the New Zealand Maori on June 23, a match which will form part of the New Zealand Maori centenary celebrations.
"The tour presents all the players and coaches with a great opportunity to test themselves against some excellent teams," England manager Martin Johnson said.
All five matches will be very tough and give us the opportunity to look at some players who may not have had the opportunity to play on this tour if it had been restricted to two test matches. The games will be great occasions and to play the New Zealand Maori in their centenary year is a huge honour."
RFU elite rugby director Rob Andrew said: "I'd like to thank the Australia and New Zealand Unions for helping us to set up this tour and Premier Rugby and the RPA (Rugby Players Association) for their on-going support for the England representative teams as part of the eight-year agreement.
"It will give England squad members an excellent opportunity of experiencing a full tour before they potentially get selected for a Rugby World Cup [in New Zealand].
"The squad will include players that would otherwise have travelled to Denver for the Churchill Cup with the England Saxons in May and June and it also gives a number of players the opportunity to step up into the Saxons squad."
Contact Us | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Advertising
