Wales coach John Kear is looking forward to his charges’ first full international in more than three years following the pandemic.
The Dragons will travel to Albi to take on France on Sunday, June 19 – the day after England face the Combined Nations All Stars in their own mid-season run-out at Warrington.
All three countries are preparing for the postponed World Cup, which takes place in England in October and November.
While France faced England in Perpignan in October – Shaun Wane’s side won 30-10 – Wales last played in November 2018, when they beat Ireland 40-8 in Wrexham to qualify for the World Cup.
Their only action since then was in the following year’s Rugby League World 9s in Sydney when France were among their opponents.
Wales will take on Tonga, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands at the World Cup, when they will be based in Preston.
Kear, who has overseen the Wales team since 2014, also coaches Championship club Bradford and was at the France helm in 1997, said: “I think all nations need to take advantage of the free international weekend.
“As we’ve not played as a team for a number of years, I see this as essential preparation for the World Cup against formidable opposition.
“The French game has had a renaissance – they’ve had success with Catalans and Toulouse and they’re hosting the 2025 World Cup.
“The game will be a tremendous challenge, it’s away from home and it will really test our mettle to see what we need to work on to improve for the World Cup.
“We’ll have a good team out – as it’s a free weekend we can select from all who are available from Super League.”
France coach Laurent Frayssinous said: “This Test match will allow us to take an additional step in our preparation for the World Cup.
“We know what we need to improve and we have set targets to achieve in this game.
“Wales are a proud nation, who always give their best on the pitch, and are very well organised and trained by John Kear, who knows how to bring out the best in his players.”
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