(Reuters) – England will face world number one Ireland in Dublin next summer as they prepare for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced on Wednesday.
England will play Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Aug. 19 after a double-header against Wales — first in Cardiff on Aug. 5 and then at Twickenham Stadium a week later.
Eddie Jones’ team will wrap up their preparation with a game against Fiji at Twickenham on Aug. 26 before they travel to France for the World Cup, which begins on Sept. 8.
“It’s a great chance to benchmark ourselves against the current No. 1 team in the world,” coach Jones said.
“We are looking forward to taking them on in front of a lively Irish crowd and work towards being at our best for when the Rugby World Cup starts.”
England, who are fifth in the world rankings, won the World Cup in 2003 in Australia. They lost to South Africa in the final of the 2019 edition in Japan.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
