England Knights
England Knights (previously known as Emerging England and England A) is considered the feeder team for the England 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.
| 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) | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| Team results | |||
| First international | |||
 Knights 38–18  France(15 October 2011) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Knights 62–4  Ireland(16 June 2012) | |||
History
1990s-2000s: Origins
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 Kangaroos in the second game of the 2003 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. The Kangaroos defeated England A 26–22 in front of 6,817 fans.
2011-2013: Foundation
In the late 2000s, the idea of a second England team was dropped until 2011 when the RFL decided to resurrect it as England Knights. 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. Unfortunately the Knights would then go on a 5-year hiatus.
2014-2017: Hiatus
The England Knights team was not utilized at all in 2014-2017.
2018: Return
In 2018 it was announced that the Knights would go on a two series tour of Papua New Guinea.
Current squad
The England Knights squad for the 2018 tour of Papua New Guinea was announced on the 3rd of October.[1] However, on the day the Squad was due to fly out, Declan Patton from the Warrington Wolves was called up to replace the injured Danny Richardson.[2]
Competitive Records
References
- "Hughes to lead England Knights on Papua New Guinea adventure". rugby-league.com. 3 October 2018.
- "Warrington Wolves half-back Declan Patton answers late call from England Knights ahead of Papua New Guinea internationals". rugby-league.com. 3 October 2018.