Next summer will see England host the Barclays Churchill Cup for the first time ever, with the tournament to run between the months of May and June.

This will be the fifth year of the Churchill Cup - the 2006 edition saw Ireland 'A' enter for the first time and the Shane Jennings-led 'A' side secured third place, beating England Saxons 30-27 in a dramatic Plate final, in Edmonton last June.

The tournament has previously been held in Canada and the USA, and will return to North America in 2008 and 2009 - USA Rugby will host in '08.

Terry Burwell, tournament director of the Barclays Churchill Cup, confirmed: "The tournament has been growing in popularity and success since its introduction in Vancover in 2003, with six international teams now involved.

"The Rugby World Cup in France next September gives us a great opportunity to host the tournament for the first time in England, with the main aim to help prepare players for the World Cup, and reduce the amount of travelling teams have to do in the months leading up to September.

"With the exception of the New Zealand Maori, the majority of the squads from five of the six participating teams (England Saxons, Ireland 'A', Scotland 'A', Canada and the USA) are playing in the UK and Ireland and it makes sense from a player welfare point of view for the tournament to be held in England for this one off year."

The match venues for the 2007 tournament will be announced shortly. The opening matches will be played out over the weekend of May 19-20, with the three finals - the Bowl final, Plate final and the Cup final - to be held on Saturday, June 2. All nine matches will be broadcast by Sky Sports.

The Maori won last year's Cup final, beating Scotland 'A' 52-17 at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium.