England will play two home fixtures at Twickenham next summer as part of their preparation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Eddie Jones’ side will host Wales at Twickenham on Saturday 12 August in the second game of a double-header.
In their opening warm-up game, England will travel to Cardiff to play Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday 5 August. England will also take on Fiji on Saturday 26 August – their last match before they travel to France for the Rugby World Cup.
They will play a further away fixture, the weekend before, with opposition to be announced in the coming months.
After the summer fixtures Jones’ squad will base themselves in Le Touquet, in the north of France. Their opening 2023 Rugby World Cup game is against Argentina in Marseille (Saturday 9 September), before playing Japan, Chile and Samoa in Pool D.
"These matches will be crucial as we enter our final preparation stage for the Rugby World Cup," said Jones. "It’s our chance to develop our tactical approach, improve our game fitness and to say thank you to the supporters for the last four years.
"We’re very fortunate to have such a tough opponent in Wales and to play them both home and away, along with the atmosphere we always experience in Cardiff. It will be great preparation for the squad.
"We also know Fiji are a rapidly improving team under Vern Cotter, they have some excellent individuals and are a similar proposition to Samoa who we will face in the World Cup.
"These are the matches where the World Cup is almost in touching distance and the feeling that the support of a full Twickenham Stadium will give the squad real momentum going into the tournament in France."
England’s 2023 Rugby World Cup squad according to the bookies
Props (5):
- Ellis Genge 1/50
- Kyle Sinckler 1/10
- Mako Vunipola 1/5
- Will Stuart 1/3
- Joe Marler 2/5
Ellis Genge of England (digitally altered) during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Tonga at Twickenham Stoop on 6 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Hookers (3):
- Jamie George 1/14
- Luke Cowan-Dickie 1/6
- Jamie Blamire 5/6
Locks (4):
- Maro Itoje 1/50
- Courtney Lawes 1/14
- Jonny Hill 1/5
- Ollie Chessum 1/5
Final whistle celebrations for Maro Itoje of England Rugby after the Six Nations Championship match between England and Wales at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on February 26th 2021. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK
Back-row (5):
- Tom Curry 1/14
- Billy Vunipola 1/9
- Alex Dombrandt 1/9
- Sam Underhill 1/5
- Lewis Ludlam 2/5
Tom Curry of England Rugby during the Six Nations Championship match between England and Italy at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on January 13 2021. - PHOTO: Micah Crook/PPAUK
Scrum-halves (3):
- Jack van Poortvliet 1/33
- Ben Youngs 1/9
- Harry Randall 4/7
Ben Youngs of England on the break to go over for a try during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Tonga at Twickenham Stoop on 6 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Fly-halves (2):
- Marcus Smith 1/50
- George Ford 1/5
Marcus Smith of England celebrates after winning during the Autumn Nations Match between England and South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on 20 November 2021. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Centres (4):
- Owen Farrell 1/50
- Manu Tuilagi 1/5
- Henry Slade 3/10
- Joe Marchant 8/15
Manu Tuilagi of England during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Australia at Twickenham on 13 November 2021. Photo: Micah Crook/PPAUK
Back-three (5):
- Freddie Steward 1/50
- Jack Nowell 1/14
- Jonny May 1/9
- Tommy Freeman 3/10
- Henry Arundell 2/5
Freddie Steward of England goes over for a try during the Autumn Nations Match between England and Australia at Twickenham on 13 November 2021. Photo: Micah Crook/PPAUK
NOTABLE ABSENTEES:
- Anthony Watson 5/6
- Sam Simmonds 5/6
- Jack Willis 13/10
- Ben Earl 2/1
- Danny Care 10/1
Danny Care of England arriving before the six Nations Championship match, between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium, London , UK, on the 17th March 2017. (Photo:Dean Lancaster/PPAUK)
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