Monday 27 June 2016 16:15, UK
England coach Wayne Bennett wants to bring back a mid-season international in 2017.
Bennett put forward the proposal as part of his plans to help England end a 45-year wait for major silverware as they eye the 2017 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The Rugby Football League (RFL) scrapped the traditional mid-season Test against France following a series of one-sided scores and replaced it with a series of matches against an Exiles side drawn from the elite crop of overseas players in Super League.
However, they also fell by the wayside, largely due to falling interest and scarcity of dates in a congested domestic season.
Now Bennett, 66, who has succeeded Steve McNamara in the post of national coach, wants Super League clubs to agree to a mid-year break next season to enable him to organise an international match, with Dubai thought to be a possible location.
The long-serving Brisbane Broncos coach, who will take charge of England at the 2016 Four Nations Series in October and November, also wants clubs to release players for a two-week training camp before the start of next season and for regular testing sessions throughout the year with the England conditioning team.
Bennett, who met a 31-strong group of players and took in three Super League matches during a recent whistle-stop trip, did not perform any media duties during his time in England but outlined his plans on his return to Brisbane via Skype to a meeting of Super League representatives last week.
An RFL spokesman said: "He set out the measures he believed were needed to improve England's prospects internationally, in particular with regard to the 2017 World Cup.
"He proposed a number of one-off measures for 2017, including a pre-season training camp and the re-introduction of a mid-year Test for the senior team.
"The clubs were broadly supportive of his ideas subject to gaining more details."
