HEAD COACH John Mitchell says his England players must use next month’s new WXV Global Series as an audition for the 2029 World Cup in Australia.

England take on Australia in Salford on September 12 on the opening weekend of the new tournament, which features the world’s 12 top-ranked teams, and face Canada at Sandy Park the following Saturday.

Mitchell’s side then play New Zealand at Twickenham Stadium on September 26 before hitting the road in October for back-to-back Tests in Canada and a final Global Series clash against the US.

The Red Roses extended their unbeaten run to 38 Tests in May when they beat France 43-28 in Bordeaux to seal an eighth consecutive Six Nations crown and a fifth successive Grand Slam.

Mitchell, whose squad have regathered in Nottingham in preparation for the new series, said: “We can be very patient around how we go about things.

“But ultimately it’s kind of like you’re auditioning for Australia 2029 because geographically we’re definitely going to be travelling some distance in this tournament.

“So I think in many ways we’re trying to mirror that and understand how important our connections are, and play exciting rugby.”

Mitchell said the new series was an exciting challenge, especially the two Tests against world number three side Canada and their final match in New Jersey against the US on October 30.

“That’s really cool. We’ve got one-offs against Australia, New Zealand and America, but we’ve got a Test series against Canada. So to me, that’s a really nice challenge,” he said.

“Not only for us as a group, but it’s also a really nice challenge for us as a coaching group as well, because you don’t get put in too many series.

“It’s probably not too dissimilar to New Zealand about to play South Africa in a series, it requires a little bit more unpredictability, I guess.

“If you become too predictable in a series, then you’re likely to get put away. So that’s what excites me and certainly the coaching group.”

New Zealand-born Mitchell, who confirmed he became a British citizen this summer, said the Red Roses’ unbeaten run, which stretches back to their 2022 World Cup final defeat to New Zealand, is not discussed among his squad.

“We’re doing a lot of work at the moment, just creating greater awareness around how, where and why we want to raise our standards,” he added.

“Like our training standards and our operating standards, because ultimately, if we don’t stay true to those — and we as leaders who are the guardians of that — if we let that sort of stuff slip as a result of new players coming in and younger players, then that could prove costly.”