England's women's rugby league side opened their 2026 account with a commanding 38-4 win over France in Toulouse, overturning an early deficit to run in seven tries at Stade Ernest-Wallon.

The match, played on 25 July, was England's first of the year and a designated World Cup preparation fixture for both sides, with the women's and men's Rugby League World Cups set to run simultaneously across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in October and November (BBC Sport).

France, ranked fourth in the world to England's third (International Rugby League), started brightly. Two converted penalties — in rugby league, a rare scoring method, since teams almost always prefer to tap the ball and run rather than kick at goal — gave the hosts a 6-0 lead inside the opening minutes.

From there, England took charge. Head coach Stuart Barrow, who had named a 19-player squad for the fixture (Rugby Football League), saw his side reel off seven tries to lead 28-4 at half-time, with the second period a quieter affair.

Two players crossed for braces. Ellise Derbyshire, on her England debut, scored twice — her first a milestone try, her second a statement of intent. Lucy Murray matched her with a pair of her own. Eva Hunter, the current Woman of Steel — the award given to the best player in the women's domestic game — added her name to the scoresheet, as did Ella Donnelly with her first England try and Jenna Foubister with one of her own. Izzy Rowe kicked five conversions from seven attempts (BBC Sport).

For France, the match marked a new beginning under head coach Alan Walsh, appointed to lead the side on the road to the World Cup. The French federation had billed the England Test as the first full-scale examination of their World Cup build-up (FFR XIII). The 38-4 scoreline will sting, but the hosting of a competitive mid-season international against a top-three side is itself part of the process.

The result also preserved England's unbeaten record against France. That dominance now stretches across every meeting between the two nations in the women's code, a record Barrow's side defended with clinical finishing despite the slow start.

For both teams, the focus now narrows. The World Cup looms in fewer than three months, and mid-season Tests like this are the last chance to test combinations, blood debutants and measure progress against elite opposition before the tournament begins. England, on this evidence, have depth to burn — a debutant scoring a brace, a first cap try, and the reigning domestic player of the year all contributing in a comfortable away win.