England to host New Zealand & France in September as part of Women's Rugby World Cup preparation
- Published
England last played New Zealand at WXV1 last November, which the Red Roses won 33-12
England will host New Zealand and France in September as they build up to hosting the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2025.
The fixtures will be played before the WXV1 tournament in Canada.
The matches were announced by Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney at an event to mark 500 days before the World Cup starts.
Dates and venues for the games are expected to be announced "in the next few weeks".
Sweeney also talked about Impact '25, a "transformational" programme to "supercharge" the sport's growth.
The aim is to have 100,000 female players in England by 2027, with more than £12m already invested into the project.
"The opportunity to grow the women's and girls' game was a primary driver behind our bid to host Women's Rugby World Cup 2025," Sweeney said.
"If you look at women's sport, what's happening with the Lionesses in football and you see it across cricket as well, it is here to stay and we need to make sure it grows as quickly as possible."
The 2025 World Cup begins on 22 August, with games in London, Brighton, Bristol, Exeter, Manchester, Northampton, Sunderland and York.
Twickenham Stadium, which holds the world record attendance of 58,498 for a women's Test match, will host the final on 27 September.