Team information | |
---|---|
Nickname | The Knights |
Governing body | Rugby Football League |
Region | Europe |
Head coach | Paul Anderson |
Captain | TBA |
Most caps | Jodie Broughton (5) |
Top try-scorer | Jodie Broughton (6) |
Top point-scorer | Luke Gale (28) |
Team results | |
First international | |
Knights 38–18 France (15 October 2011) | |
Biggest win | |
Knights 62–4 Ireland (16 June 2012) |
England Knights is the feeder team for the England national rugby league team. The Knights play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an international environment and to compete for a place in the England first team.
The idea of a second England team originated in the 1990s as "Emerging England" to give young players a chance to play internationally before being called up to the senior side. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s Emerging England played against the senior sides of developing nations. In another incarnation as "England A", the team took on the Australian national rugby league team in the second game of the 2003 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. Australia defeated England A 26–22 in front of 6,817 fans.
England Knights were officially formed in 2011, eight years after England A played Australia. A squad of players under 25 were chosen play against France and where they came out 38–18 victors. The following year they competed in and won the 2012 European Championship and defeated Samoa in a 2013 test match.
The England Knights team was not utilised between 2014 and 2017.
In 2018 it was announced that the Knights would go on a two series tour of Papua New Guinea. [1] [2]
Opponent | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 88% |
Cumbria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
Jamaica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
Papua New Guinea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% |
Samoa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
Scotland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Competition | Location | Attendance | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 October 2011 | England Knights | 38–18 | France | Friendly | 2,071 | ||
22 October 2011 | Cumbria | 12–26 | England Knights | Friendly | 1,163 | [3] | |
16 June 2012 | England Knights | 62–4 | Ireland | Friendly | 11,083 | ||
20 October 2012 | Ireland | 4–56 | England Knights | 2012 European Championship | Deramore Park, Belfast | [4] | |
28 October 2012 | Scotland | 24–62 | England Knights | Meggetland Stadium, Edinburgh | |||
19 October 2013 | England Knights | 52–16 | Samoa | Friendly | [5] | ||
27 October 2018 | Papua New Guinea | 12–16 | England Knights | 2018 Knights tour of Papua New Guinea | Lae, Papua New Guinea | ||
3 November 2018 | Papua New Guinea | 32–22 | England Knights | Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | [6] | ||
20 October 2019 | England Knights | 38–6 | Jamaica | Friendly | Headingley Stadium, Leeds | 7,113 | [7] |
15 October 2021 | England Knights | 56–4 | Jamaica | Friendly | Wheldon Road, Castleford | 2,250 | [8] [9] |
1 October 2022 | France B | 6–18 | England Knights | Friendly | Bordeaux | [10] | |
9 October 2022 | Scotland | 4–28 | England Knights | Friendly | Edinburgh | [11] |
On 26 July 2022, a women's knights team was launched. The team is managed by Leeds Rhinos head coach Lois Forsell. [12] The team called up a performance squad to training camps in 2023 [13] and 2024. [14]
In 2019, an England reserve side called "England Lions" played Wales, losing 20–24, while the senior side was on tour against Papua New Guinea. [15]
The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents the entire isle of Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete in the Super League as well as the Australasian National Rugby League. Ireland is also represented by an Ireland A side, which is made up of players from the Irish domestic competition.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.
The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL).
The Cook Islands national rugby league team have represented the Cook Islands in international rugby league football since 1986. Administered by the Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), the team has competed at three Rugby League World Cups, in 2000, 2013 and 2021, and are coached by Karmichael Hunt.
Women's rugby league is the female-only version of rugby league.
Niall Evalds is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback or winger for Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League, and the England Knights and England at international level.
Sam Powell is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half or hooker for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League and the England Knights at international level.
Tom Lineham, is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for York Knights in the RFL Championship.
The England women's national Rugby League team represents England in Women's Rugby League. They are administered by the Rugby Football League. As Great Britain, they toured Australia in 1996, New Zealand in 1998, and reached the first-ever Women's Rugby League World Cup final in 2000, where they lost 26–4 to New Zealand.
Joe Philbin is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a loose forward, second-row and prop for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. He has played for Ireland, Great Britain and England at international level.
Toby King is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the Warrington Wolves. He has played for Ireland, England and the England Knights at international level. He made his England debut on 29 April 2023 in the 64-0 victory over France at the Halliwell Jones Stadium
The 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup was the 16th Rugby League World Cup, and one of three major tournaments of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 15 October 2022 to 19 November 2022. It was originally due to be held between 23 October 2021 and 27 November 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent withdrawals of Australia and New Zealand caused the tournament to be postponed. 16 teams competed in the tournament, an increase of two from the previous two tournaments and the first to feature 16 teams since the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.
Kruise Leeming is a rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for Wigan Warriors in the Super League.
Tara-Jane Stanley is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback for York Valkyrie in the Women's Super League. She has played at representative level for England, and club level for Thatto Heath Crusaders and Castleford Tigers Women.
International rugby league matches were played throughout 2018.
The Woman of Steel is an award in English rugby league. It is awarded to the player of the year in the Women's Super League; the winner is determined by a poll of the players in the Women's Super League.
The 2019 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019.
A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2019 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the RLIF World Rankings.
Xavier Coates is a Papua New Guinea international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League (NRL).