Everton have been offered the chance to host England’s Nations Championship game against Fiji in July at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in what would be their first match in England held away from Twickenham since 2019.
The 11 July Test against Fiji is an away fixture for England in their second game of the inaugural Nations Championship after they face South Africa in Johannesburg the previous week. However, the host union wants to move it to a neutral venue to maximise the revenue they receive from gate receipts.
Steve Borthwick’s side had originally been scheduled to play Fiji in South Africa before travelling to Argentina to play the Pumas for their final summer fixture on 18 July, but the Fiji Rugby Union is understood to have asked permission from the Nations Championship organisers to switch it to England.
World Rugby, the Six Nations and Sanzaar have all given their blessing on the proviso that the game is not held at England’s home ground of Twickenham for integrity reasons.
While the contract has yet to be signed, Everton’s new stadium is understood to be the preferred option for all parties, with negotiations over the terms of the agreement still ongoing. There are relatively few other options available, as Wembley, the Emirates Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium all have gigs booked during July, while neither Manchester United or City have been approached.
England games away from Twickenham are relatively rare, and the Rugby Football Union is privately delighted at being given an unexpected opportunity to take the national team on the road. England played a World Cup warm-up match at Newcastle’s St James’ Park in 2019, and a pool game in the 2015 competition against Uruguay was held at the Etihad Stadium.
World Rugby is understood to have sanctioned the switch due to the lack of suitable venues in Fiji and a desire to help the financial growth of the smaller unions. The venues for Fiji’s other notional Nations Championship home games this summer against Wales and Scotland have also yet to be announced.
Everton have moved quickly to establish Bramley-Moore Dock as a leading multi-sport venue since the 53,000-capacity stadium at the start of the season. A rugby league Ashes Test match between England and Australia attracted a sell-out crowd in November, the sport’s Magic Weekend involving all 14 Super League clubs will take place there in July, while Scotland this week announced it as the venue for an international friendly against Côte d’Ivoire on 31 March as they prepare for this summer’s World Cup. Everton and the Six Nations declined to comment.
England’s preparations for the upcoming Six Nations have suffered a setback with the announcement that second-choice loosehead Fin Baxter must undergo foot surgery.
Baxter was set to travel to Girona for the squad’s pre-tournament training camp before their opener against Wales on 7 February after being included on a list of five players who were to undergo rehabilitation for injuries in the hope they would recover in time for the opening rounds. However, no date for Baxter’s return has now been set.
Senior tighthead Will Stuart had already been ruled out of the entire Six Nations because of a ruptured Achilles while Asher Opoku-Fordjour is also unavailable for the campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Harlequins back row Jack Kenningham has been added to England’s training squad for the trip to Spain with Ben Curry staying at Sale as part of his rehabilitation from injury.
