France v England: George Delaney has been called up to the senior squad for the first time

France v England Doubleheader Test

Venue: Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Date: Saturday, June 29 You start: 14:30 BST (Women), 17:00 BST (Men)

St Helens prop George Delaney has earned his first senior England call-up as part of a new-look squad to take on France in Toulouse on Saturday.

Castleford Tigers center Sam Wood, Wigan Warriors player Brad O’Neill, Hull KR loose forward Elliot Minchella, Huddersfield Giants forward Oliver Wilson and Leeds Rhinos forward James McDonnell have also been called up in Shaun Wane’s 20-man squad .

Delaney, 20, has been rewarded for an outstanding season with his club, establishing himself as a regular in the front row for Saints head coach Paul Wellens.

Wane has selected a squad with many young players, doing so with an eye on the 2026 World Cup.

He said: “I am pleased with the squad we have assembled for this mid-season international. There is a strong balance between some more experienced international players and some newer faces in the England squad.”

McDonnell and Wilson were members of the England Academy that beat Australia Schoolboys in 2018.

O’Neill, a near-ever-present for Wigan over the past two years, was a key figure in a side that in June became the first English club since 2007 to hold all four major honors simultaneously – the Super League title. , the League Leaders’ Shield, the Challenge Cup and the World Club Challenge trophy.

Minchella helped Hull KR to both the Challenge Cup final and the Super League play-offs in 2023.

Delaney, who joined the St Helens academy aged 15, made his first-team debut in April 2022 and later that year represented the England Knights against Scotland.

He returned to Saints the following season to play 18 Super League games after a loan spell in the Championship with Swinton.

Last August, he signed a contract keeping him at Saints until 2026 and has missed just three games this season.

Next Saturday’s match is part of a double header, with both the men and women facing France.

Wane’s side then face a two-Test series against Samoa, with the first game at Wigan’s Brick Community Stadium – formerly the DW Stadium – on Sunday, October 27, and the second at AMT Headingley in Leeds on Saturday, November 2 (both 14: 30 GMT).

England Team: Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves), George Delaney (St Helens), Tyler Dupree (Wigan Warriors), Ash Handley (Leeds Rhinos), James Harrison (Warrington Wolves), Tom Johnstone (Catalans Dragons), Matty Lees (St Helens), Mikey Lewis, Jez Litten (both Hull KR), James McDonnell (Leeds Rhinos), Elliot Minchella (Hull KR), Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos), Matty Nicholson (Warrington Wolves), Brad O’Neill, Harry Smith, Luke Thompson (all Wigan Warriors), Jack Welsby (St Helens), George Williams (Warrington Wolves), Oliver Wilson (Huddersfield Giants), Sam Wood (Castleford Tigers).