St James’ Park will host England for a Rugby World Cup warm-up game next summer, the first time the RFU have taken a home match away from Twickenham in 21 years.
England will play Italy at Newcastle United’s home ground next summer, The Times reports, before the squad fly out to Japan for the 2019 World Cup.
The RFU had been looking at Manchester to host the fixture, but opted for Tyneside’s 52,405-seater stadium that will also stage the 2019 Heineken Champions Cup final in May.
It will be the first time that the governing body has decided that a home game should be away from Twickenham since England’s World Cup qualifiers in Huddersfield against Italy and the Netherlands in 1998.
Playing away from Twickenham will come at a cost for the RFU, with each game at England’s London base bringing in around £10million, according to The Times.
However, chief executive Steve Brown told the paper: “It’s a good thing. It’s always a commercial challenge, but I think the case has been made for us considering more games in the north.”
The ground hosted its first rugby internationals during the 2015 World Cup, with thousands watching South Africa versus Scotland, New Zealand versus Tonga and Samoa versus Scotland at the Magpies’ home, as well as at the specially-constructed fan zone nearby.
In March, Newcastle Falcons played for the first time at St James’ Park, smashing their attendance record in the process.
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The fixture — in which the Falcons narrowly secured a 25-22 victory against Northampton Saints — drew 30,174 fans, dwarfing the previous record of 11,750 set at Gateshead International Stadium in 1998.
Rugby League organisers have also staged the annual Magic Weekend four times at St James’ Park, with thousands of fans flocking to Newcastle to watch all 14 teams compete in seven matches squeezed across one weekend.
In 2017 England’s head coach Eddie Jones praised Newcastle United as “one of the greatest football clubs in England” on a visit to Tyneside and spoke of his delight at being able to visit a “great stadium” like St James’ Park.
The Australian, who led Australia to the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 and the Tri Nations title in 2001, told nufcTV: “This is one of the greatest football clubs in England so it’s lovely to have the opportunity to be here.
“A few of the meetings are at St James’ Park. It’s a great stadium, it was used in the World Cup in 2015.
“I’m 100% looking forward to seeing St James’ Park . It’s a great stadium and to go there is going to be terrific.”
Eddie Jones’s side are due to play four warm-up fixtures in August and September next year before the World Cup in Japan.