England Rugby set to rediscover Northern soul in Nations Championship

While French rugby fans regularly get to see their national team play all around the country, England’s ‘away’ Test vs Fiji at Everton FC’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on July 11 will represent a rare opportunity for supporters of the Red Rose to see their team play ‘up north.’

All three of Fiji’s home matches in the Nations Championship will be played on UK soil, with the England clash sandwiched in between Tests vs Wales at Cardiff City Stadium, on July 4, and vs Scotland at Murrayfield, on July 18.

Only six previous England Tests in the modern era have been played outside of Twickenham, despite the majority of England internationals being born in the region, and this will be the second time that they are the ‘away’ team.

Before ‘the Cabbage Patch’ was turned into English Rugby’s HQ in 1910, fixtures were regularly shared around the country. The Kennington Oval was used for England’s first home international in 1872, and matches were also played in London at Blackheath and Richmond.

But just as many northern cities, at least until the Great Schism, when the codes split into two, were used by England as a home base, including games in Manchester (Whalley Range), Dewsbury (Cross Flatts) and Leeds (Cardigan Fields and Headingley).

England’s six post-Twickenham Tests are listed below:

England 8 New Zealand 25, November 22, 1997, Old Trafford, Manchester
Clive Woodward’s second Test in charge was remembered more for Richard Cockerill’s eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with All Blacks hard man, Norm Hewitt, during the Haka rather than the actual play on the pitch.

The match was pretty decent to be fair, and the best of the set of six, with England far more competitive than the scoreline suggests. Phil de Glanville scored their only try.

As gallant as they were, England’s ‘lap of honour’ after a 17-point loss raised eyebrows. “I have to say I was a little surprised at the way they responded to defeat. If you run a lap of honour after losing by 17 points, isn’t there a problem somewhere?” commented All Blacks coach, John Hart.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sky Sport NZ (@skysportnz)

England 110 Netherlands 0, November 14, 1998, McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield RWC qualifier
England could have played with 13 men in Huddersfield, the birthplace of rugby league, and still come out on top, with some ease, such was the dearth of quality of opposition.

Neil Back became the first England forward to score four tries in a capped international since 1881, and Jerry Guscott matched him try for try. Paul Grayson equalled Rob Andrew’s mark for most points in a Test by an England player (30) in what was England’s highest Test score at the time.

England 23 Italy 15, November 22, 1998, McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield RWC qualifier
With only four teams automatically qualifying for an expanded RWC 1999 – hosts Wales, reigning champions South Africa, runners-up New Zealand and third-placed France – England and 64 other nations were forced to battle it out for the 16 remaining spots.

While England breezed past the Dutch in their first qualifier, it was a different story a week later against a stubborn Italian outfit desperate to prove their worth.

Diego Dominguez’s boot had kept Italy right in it, and England needed tries from Dan Luger and Will Greenwood at the end of each half, and the accurate boot of Paul Grayson, to save face. Even so, it could have been a different story had Alessandro Troncon not had a try disallowed.

The crowd of 15,353, this writer included, left less than impressed.

Argentina 15 England 37, June 6, 2009, Old Trafford, Manchester
In an attempt to boost their coffers, Argentina opted to play the first of their two ‘home’ games against England in Manchester.

Los Pumas’ points were scored in the first 52 minutes, all from the boot of Juan Martin Hernandez, but a brace from Delon Armitage secured England the victory. Winger Matt Banahan was named Player of the Match after marking his Test debut with a try and Andy Goode booted 22 points.

While Argentina did not get the result they wanted on the pitch, it was reported at the time that staging the game in England had helped their Union raise an estimated £500,000.

England 60 Uruguay 3, October 10, 2015, The City of Manchester Stadium
At least Stuart Lancaster’s reign as England head coach ended with a few fireworks but, in truth, this was a match that few cared about. England had already become the first host nation to fail to get out of their pool at a Rugby World Cup after defeats to Wales and Australia, so this was the proverbial dead rubber.

Nick Easter and Jack Nowell will remember the subdued occasion for their hat-tricks, Anthony Watson helped himself to a brace and there was a first Test try for a young Henry Slade, who won his second cap.

England 37 Italy 0, August 7, 2019, St James’ Park, Newcastle
Newcastle United’s iconic ground had staged some rip roaring matches at RWC 2015, but this RWC 2019 warm-up fixture wasn’t close to being entertaining. England laboured to a 9-0 half-time lead, thanks to Owen Farrell’s three penalties, before stepping up in the second half to score tries through Ben Youngs, Joe Marchant, Ellis Genge and Anthony Watson.

Ruaridh McConnochie made his debut on the right wing and the presence of Mark Wilson in the back row gave the locals someone to cheer while they waited for the game to burst into life.