New Zealand national rugby league team

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This article is about the New Zealand national men's rugby league team. For the women's national rugby league team, see New Zealand women's national rugby league team.
New Zealand
Badge of New Zealand team
Nickname The Kiwis
Governing body NZRL
Region Asia-Pacific
Head coach Stephen Kearney
Captain Issac Luke & Adam Blair
Most caps Ruben Wiki (55)[1]
Top try-scorer Manu Vatuvei (22)[1][2]
Top point-scorer Matthew Ridge (168)[1]
RLIF ranking 1st
Colours
First international
 Wales 9–8 New Zealand 
(Aberdare, Wales; 1 January 1908)
Biggest win
 Tonga 0–74 New Zealand 
(Auckland, New Zealand; 1999)
Biggest defeat
 New Zealand 0–58 Australia 
(Wellington, New Zealand; 14 October 2007)
World Cup
Appearances 14 (first time in 1954)
Best result Champions, 2008

The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours are black with white and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis won the most recent Four Nations competition in 2014 and, since the 2015 ANZAC Test, New Zealand are the number one ranked team in the world by the RLIF. Since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas, in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues.

A New Zealand side first played in a 1907 professional rugby tour which pre-dated the birth of rugby league football in the Southern Hemisphere, making it the second oldest national side after England. Since then the Kiwis have regularly competed in international competition, touring Europe and Australia throughout the 20th century. New Zealand have competed in every Rugby League World Cup since the first in 1954, reaching the final of the past three tournaments. In 2008 New Zealand won the World Cup for the first time. They also contest the Baskerville Shield against England, and play an annual ANZAC Test against Australia.

History

Official Rankings as of December 2015[3]
Rank Change Team Points
1 Steady  New Zealand 897.00
2  Australia 719.00
3  England 655.00
4  Samoa 280.00
5  France 209.00
6 Increase  Ireland 162.00
7 Decrease  Fiji 147.00
8 Increase  Wales 132.00
9 Decrease  Scotland 121.00
10 Steady  United States 102.00
11 Increase  Serbia 72.00
12 Steady  Italy 65.00
13  Canada 62.00
14 Decrease  Papua New Guinea 60.00
15 Increase  Russia 46.00
16 Decrease  Tonga 40.00
17 Increase  Belgium 40.00
18  Malta 32.00
19 Steady  Germany 28.00
20  Lebanon 27.00
21 Increase  Spain 26.00
22 Decrease  Cook Islands 23.00
23  Ukraine 22.00
24 Steady  Greece 21.00
25 Increase  Denmark 20.00
26 Decrease  Norway 19.00
27 Increase  Jamaica 16.00
28 Decrease  Netherlands 15.00
29 Decrease  Sweden 15.00
30 Steady  Czech Republic 14.00
31 Decrease  South Africa 13.00
32 Steady  Niue 4.00
33  Hungary 2.00
34  Latvia 2.00
35  Morocco 0.00

Rugby football was introduced into New Zealand by Charles John Monro, son of the then speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, Sir David Monro. He had been sent to Christ's College, East Finchley in north London, where he became an enthusiastic convert to the new code. He brought the game back to his native Nelson, and arranged the first rugby match between Nelson College and Nelson Football Club, played on 14 May 1870.

When New Zealand's national rugby team (the All Blacks) toured Britain in 1905 they witnessed the growing popularity of the breakaway non-amateur Northern Union's games. On his return in 1906, All Black George William Smith met the Australian entrepreneur J J Giltinan to discuss the potential of professional rugby in Australasia. The first New Zealand team to play professional rugby was known as the All Blacks. To avoid confusion, the terms professional All Blacks or All Golds are used.

The professional All Blacks

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See also: 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain
Albert Henry Baskerville.

In the meantime, a lesser known New Zealand rugby player, Albert Henry Baskerville (or Baskiville) was ready to recruit a group of players for a Great Britain pro tour. It is believed that Baskerville became aware of the profits to be made from such a venture while he was working at the Wellington Post Office in 1906. A colleague had a coughing fit and dropped a British newspaper. Baskerville picked it up and noticed a report about a Northern Union (NU) match that over 40,000 people had attended.

Baskerville wrote to the NRFU asking if they would host a New Zealand touring party. The 1905 All Blacks tour was still fresh in English minds, thus the NU saw the upcoming competitive New Zealand tour as exceptional opportunity to raise the profile and finances of the NU game. The NU agreed to the tour provided that some of those original All Blacks were included in the New Zealand team. George Smith arrived back in New Zealand and after learning of Baskerville's plans, the two teamed up and began signing players.

The New Zealand Rugby Union became aware of the tour and promptly applied pressure to any All Black or New Zealand representative player it suspected of involvement. They had the New Zealand Government's Agent General in London deliver a statement to the British press in an effort to undermine the tour's credibility. This had little effect and by that time the professional All Blacks were already sailing across the Tasman to give Australia its first taste of professional rugby.

The All Golds

It was during this time that references to the professional All Blacks as the All Golds first appeared.

Clearly, "All Golds" was a play on the amateur "All Blacks" name but it was also an insult to the players, criticising the arrangement where they would each share in the wealth of the tour. The name "All Golds" is now thought to have originated in a New Zealand newspaper in May/June 1907 (see panel below), amidst editorial arguments over whether it was honourable for the proposed "professional All Blacks" team to be paid.

The first documented use in Australia was in a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald (7 August), just before Baskerville's team arrived. Interestingly, those same Herald articles also had a tag for those who supported the amateur rugby union calling them the "Lily Whites" (who were clean, pure, and repelled the evils of professionalism).

The first tour

Lua error in Module:Details at line 30: attempt to call field '_formatLink' (a nil value). Professional rugby in the southern hemisphere kicked off with the professional All Blacks playing a professional rebel New South Wales team organised by Smith's contact, James Giltinan. The games drew little interest to start with, but were a major success for the rugby rebels of Australia, as they finally had the money to start the first professional Rugby Football League and hence change the face of rugby in Australia.

New Zealand made it to Great Britain in 1907. They included Australian Dally Messenger in their party. He missed the first Test defeat, but played in the two Tests which the All Golds won. At this time professional rugby, under the banner of the Northern Union, was not played by the RFU rules which was all the All Golds knew. The All Golds took on a week of intensive training after which they started the tour. From a New Zealander's point of view, the tour may not have been successful, but to the All Gold's credit they performed well considering they only had a week to learn the rules. However, from the NU's point of view the tour would have been a godsend, because professional rugby was left in a better state than when they arrived. The tour's results were seen the following year when the NRFU clubs more than doubled their membership numbers. The tour had obviously excited the public, raised the profile of their game as well as the game's finances.

During their return voyage from England, the All Golds made a stop-over in Australia where they discovered that professional rugby was being played with Northern Union rules, under the banner of the New South Wales Rugby Football League (NSWRFL). The All Golds played another 10 games in Australia, boosting the finances of the fledging NSWRFL premiership; making the All Golds tour one of the most significant contributions to the sport of rugby league in Australia.

The All Golds were Hercules Richard "Bumper" Wright (captain), George William Smith (vice-captain), Albert Baskirville (secretary), Herbert Turtill, Harold Rowe, Duncan McGregor, Dally Messenger, Edgar Wrigley, Joseph Lavery, Richard Wynyard, William Wynyard, Lance Todd, Edward Tyne, William Tyler, Arthur Kelly, Tom "Angry" Cross, William Massa Johnston, Eric Watkins, Conrad Byrne, Adam Lile, Daniel Gilchrist, Arthur Callam, Charles Pearce, William Trevarthen, Charles Dunning, William Mackrell, Daniel Fraser (assistant manager), Jim Gleeson (treasurer), and H.J. Palmer (financial manager).[4]

The Kiwis

File:Michael Joseph Savage Rugby League.jpg
Michael Joseph Savage Prime Minister 1935-40 was the patron of NZ Rugby League.

The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand saw the Kiwis' first ever test on home soil, with the British side proving too strong. In 1911 the New Zealand national team toured Australia.

1920 represented a high point for New Zealand rugby league (and sport in that country) with two matches against the touring British Lions rugby league team drawing 40,000 fans each in Auckland's Domain.

The NZRU was able to control a lot of what the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) was able to get its hands on. In 1926, the Union took legal action, trying to stop the League from using the name, the "All Blacks" as their touring name. The NZRL felt that they had equal ownership to the name and were not ready to relinquish it. However, by this time the press had already nicknamed the team 'the Kiwis', because of the badge included on their jerseys. Despite the League trying to discourage its usage, the name has stuck ever since.

The 1926–27 New Zealand tour of Britain involved several skirmishes within the Kiwi party.[5] Problems began on the boat journey over, with disputes developing about aspects of the trip and a rift developed between tour manager and coach, Mr Mair, an Australian and seven forwards. The disputes continued once the party arrived in Britain, with one of the rebels being involved in a street fight with another member of the tour party after the opening match. In mid-November, following further disturbances, which almost led to the tour party being evicted from their Harrogate hotel, it was decided that coach Mair would withdraw from team selection and match tactics for a period of four weeks. The tour, and the costly disputes, continued, with the rebels eventually setting sail for home a week earlier than their colleagues. Three months later all seven players were banned for life by the New Zealand authorities. New Zealand did not visit Europe again until 1939.

In 1938, for a tour of Australia, the New Zealand Rugby League officially adopted the name the "New Zealand Kiwis". This side was also the first to wear a white "V" on their jerseys.[6]

Post-war

In 1947 at Bradford in England, a crowd of 42,680 saw New Zealand play, setting a new record for the team on British soil.[7]

The Kiwis were unbeaten in any test series from 1948 to 1951 and won six of their nine tests. They toured England and France in 1951–52. New Zealand were hosted by France for the first ever World Cup match in 1954's inaugural tournament. They lost that match as well as the remaining two to finish last. In the 1957 World Cup New Zealand got their first World Cup win, with victory against France in one of their three matches. The Kiwis got exactly the same result in the 1960 World Cup too.

During the 1961–63 era, New Zealand won seven out of ten test matches, including a 2–0 series win over Great Britain, then considered the top rugby league nation in the world. The most outstanding performance by the New Zealanders was their record-breaking 19–0 win over Britain in 1962. It was only the second time a British team had been held scoreless. New Zealand in the period 1960–65 won the Courtney Goodwill Trophy for most successful test-playing nation,

The Kiwis again got a sole win against France from their three matches of the 1970 World Cup.

In 1971, the Kiwis embarked on a 34 match tour of England and France. While they only won half of the matches they played against English club teams, they won the test series 2–1 (winning the first test 18–13, the second 17–14 but losing the third 3–12). They won the series against France 2–0 (winning the first test 27–11, the second 24–2 but drawing the third 3–3).

In the 1972 World Cup New Zealand failed to win a game. In the season-long 1975 World Series, New Zealand won 2 out of their 8 games, finishing second last. The 1977 World Cup brought the Kiwis the familiar result of a sole win against France. A World Cup rated Test took place on Sunday 7 July 1985 at Carlaw Park. Australia's 18–0 defeat was the first time they had failed to score in a Test against New Zealand.

On Tuesday 7 July 1987, New Zealand team warmed up for internationals against Papua New Guinea and Australia by taking on the Queensland state team at Lang Park, Brisbane. They then went on to record a 22–16 victory.

Australia crashed to a defeat on Tuesday 21 July 1987, when the Kangaroo dominance of the international game suffered a rare setback. New Zealand were their opponents in a match which had been arranged to fill the gap created by the non-appearance of France. New Zealand won the game 13–6. The next four internationals between Australia and New Zealand were all staged in New Zealand, and all were won by the Kangaroos. In the final Test match of the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour, New Zealand just pipped the British 12–10 in a freezing encounter in Christchurch for a place in the final against Australia. Played at Eden Park in Auckland, it was the most hyped game in the history of rugby league in New Zealand, and the crowd of 47,363 was the biggest ever for a game in Auckland. Sadly for the Kiwis, the final proved to be a huge anti-climax and they were outplayed by the Aussies.

On 20 June 1993 the first all-professional, and all-overseas based, Kiwis side took the field against Australia.[6] New Zealand almost got their revenge on Australia in the 1995 World Cup semi-final when, with the scores level at 20–20, a last minute drop-goal attempt by skipper Matthew Ridge brushed the wrong side of the post, allowing the game to go into extra-time. From there, Australia went on to win. Due to the NZRL's alignment with Super League, a New Zealand team selected only from Australasian-based players competed in 1997's Super League Tri-series against Queensland and New South Wales.

In 1998 the Kiwis travelled to the UK for a three-test series against Great Britain, winning the first and second tests and drawing the third.

New Millennium

The Kiwis handed England their biggest ever loss to again make the final in the 2000 World Cup,[8] but again went down to the Kangaroos 40–12. Gary Freeman coached New Zealand from 2001–02. Beginning in 2002, a 'New Zealand A' team was selected from players in the domestic New Zealand competition. New Zealand A toured France and the United States in 2002, and the United Kingdom in 2003. In 2004 they hosted New South Wales Country.

In 2003 the Kiwis played their 100th international against Australia.[9] Brian McClennan was appointed national coach of New Zealand in June 2005. His appointment was controversial, mainly because he had no professional coaching experience.[10]

2005 would be considered one of the Kiwis greatest years, as they captured the 2005 Tri-Nations title, effectively becoming "de facto" World champions as the three best countries competed in that competition. In the course of winning the Tri-Nations the Kiwis defeated Australia in Sydney for the first time in half a century. In London, the Kiwis posted their highest score ever against Great Britain and, in winning the final, posted the first shut out of Australia in 20 years. The 24–0 result at Elland Road, Leeds equalled the Kiwis' biggest ever win against Australia – a 49–25 win in Brisbane almost 50 years previously. It was Australia's first defeat in a series or tournament since 1978.[11] In New Zealand, Brian McClennan earned praise from the press and signed an extension to his coaching tenure with the Kiwis. In 2006 the Kiwis lost both mid-season tests to the Kangaroos and Lions. The 2006 Tri-nations brought controversy when New Zealand fielded an ineligible player, Nathan Fien, against Great Britain and were later stripped of the two points earned from their 18–14 win.[12]

In November 2010, The Kiwis' kicked off a new decade of International football with victory in the now remodelled Four Nations competition. The Kiwis' win was a thriller, with them behind 10–12 with two minutes left after Benji Marshall had missed a difficult equaliser. In the next set of six Marshall drifted across the field, drawing defenders, before landing a pin-point long cut-out ball to flying winger Jason Nightingale; A series of miracle passes resulted in Nathan Fien scoring a try, and New Zealand snatching the game.

In July 2007, the Leeds Rhinos announced that Brian McClennan would be joining the club as Head Coach on a two-year contract from 1 December 2007. McClennan subsequently resigned as national coach and his position was taken up by Gary Kemble in August 2007.

All-Golds revival

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The final home Test for Great Britain against New Zealand, played at Wigan RLFC's DW stadium in 2007

Under Gary Kemble the Kiwis went on to lose the first of their three test series against Great Britain going down 14–20 against the Lions at Huddersfield on 27 October 2007.[13] Following the loss an Australian newspaper reported that former Kiwi captain Hugh McGahan was concerned at Kemble's poor start and suggested that former Australian and current Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett should be pursued for the role.[14] McGahan later claimed that his comments had been grossly misreported by the journalist.

In the second test of the series on 3 November 2007, Kemble returned to KC Stadium, the ground on which he had spent a large portion of his playing days with Hull. It was to be a disastrous homecoming, however, as the Kiwis suffered their second humiliating defeat under Kemble when beaten 44–0 by an inspired Great Britain.[15] The win gave Great Britain an unassailable series lead leaving the Kiwis with only pride to play for in the final test at JJB Stadium in Wigan.

Intense criticism followed the second test loss, some of it directed at the players, some of it toward the management of the NZRL. However, Kemble also copped severe criticism from some quarters with one commentator suggesting that Kemble "must be sacked at the series-end" and describing him as a "captain of calamity".[16] Following the loss, Kiwi's captain Roy Asotasi hinted at the possibility of internal issues for the players in adjusting to Kemble's coaching style when he compared Kemble's approach with that of his predecessor McClennan describing them as "very different" and reporting that the group was "still trying to gel".[17] Following the loss Kemble acknowledged that he was contemplating resigning from his post if the Kiwis were whitewashed 3–0 by Great Britain.[18]

Despite a far more spirited performance in the third test the Kiwis were unable to prevent the whitewash losing 22–28 after leading 12–0 early in the match. Kemble was forthright in expressing his desire to remain Kiwi coach following the loss with the general feeling being that the loss was "close enough" for him to retain the position.[19] Kemble was the subject of some ridicule for post-match comments which suggested that the Kiwis "almost won the test series" despite an aggregated score of 92–36 across the three tests.[20]

In December 2007 the NZRL held its annual awards dinner. Being one hundred years since the inception of rugby league in New Zealand, a 13-man New Zealand team of the century was named on the evening, with Cliff Johnson named at captain. Mark Graham was named in the second-row and was also honoured as the greatest Kiwi player of the century.

Kemble resigned as head coach after captain Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell both publicly said that they had no confidence in his coaching abilities. Subsequently former Kiwi, Stephen Kearney was appointed coach with Wayne Bennett given a role as an advisor.

The All Golds were revived again in 2008 as a testimonial match for Ruben Wiki, where they defeated the New Zealand Maori team 44–10 at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth.

2008 Rugby League World Cup

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Main article: 2008 Rugby League World Cup

New Zealand were granted automatic qualification to the 2008 World Cup.

The 2008 World Cup tournament was held in Australia from 26 October, culminating in the final between Australia and New Zealand on 22 November. It was the 13th staging of the World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event. It was the fourth time that the tournament was held in Australia, the first being in 1957. The tournament was won by New Zealand, being coached by Steve Kearney and Assistant Coach Wayne Bennett, who defeated Australia 34–20 in the final in one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport.

File:Kiwis Team Photo.jpg
The Kiwis celebrating their world Cup final victory.

The match started after a confrontational New Zealand haka, with Australia choosing to march forward to face the Kiwis rather than watching from the usual several metres away. New Zealand almost opened the scoring, Benji Marshall just knocking on in the in-goal area. Australia then struck with two quick tries to captain Darren Lockyer and David Williams, who was a mid-week replacement for the injured Brent Tate. Australia almost scored a third time. However, Lockyer was ruled to have knocked on over the goal line in similar circumstances to Marshall's attempt. Australia looked to have full control of the game before Jeremy Smith opened the scoring for New Zealand by busting over right under the goal posts. Four minutes later New Zealand were in again, via an Anthony Laffranchi strip which led to a Jerome Ropati try. With only five minutes before the break, Lockyer scored to put Australia in front 16–12 at half time.

After half time it was the Kiwis who scored first when fullback Lance Hohaia slipped past Lockyer and beat Slater to score. Billy Slater then made a costly error to gift New Zealand their fourth try in the 65th minute. Having fielded a kick, Slater ran close to the touchline and under pressure when about to be pushed out of play, threw the ball backwards over his head in a futile attempt to keep the ball in play. But the ball fell towards Marshall who ran to score an easy try. The Kangaroos closed the gap to 22–20 with a Greg Inglis try before a controversial penalty try put New Zealand comfortably clear. A Nathan Fien kick into the in goal was mishandled by Joel Monaghan who then pulled the collar of Lance Hohaia, unfairly denying him a chance to ground the ball. Adam Blair then scored for New Zealand to seal the win, and the World Cup, for New Zealand.

The game was the Australian team's first loss since Great Britain defeated them in November 2006 and their first loss to New Zealand since November 2005. It was also their first loss in a World Cup match since 1995 and in a final since 1972.

2013 Rugby League World Cup

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Main article: 2013 Rugby League World Cup

New Zealand were granted automatic qualification to the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

File:Haka Kiwis 2 01112013.JPG
New Zealand performing their new 'Te Iwi Kiwi' Haka before their group match against France

New Zealand took on Samoa, France and Papua New Guinea in the pool stage. In their first match they took on 'Toa Samoa'. New Zealand were outright favourites, but their opponents never gave up in the match. New Zealand were leading 36–4 in the second half before Samoa gained unexpected momentum as they ran in scoring 5 consecutive tries, leaving New Zealand only leading by 36–24 with 15 minutes to go and all the momentum in favour of the Pacific Island nation. In the end NZ would avoid a shock upset, by scoring a try late to seal the match. New Zealand then took on France in Avignon. France did worry New Zealand as they were struggling with only scoring 12 points in the first half before a late 39th-minute try. In the second half, however, New Zealand went on to show class in patches, but it was good enough to give them a 48-point victory. New Zealand then took on Papua New Guinea in the last match of the group stage. Even though 'the Kumuls' scored 10 points and made some big hits, New Zealand made the headlines and easily won the match in a crowd that was officially the second biggest crowd to watch at rugby league match at the Headingley Carnegie Stadium in 2013. New Zealand advanced to the quarter-final.

In the quarter-final they took on Scotland, who were appearing in their first-ever World Cup quarter-final. Scotland's strong defence shocked New Zealand as they struggled to break out of tackles but once NZ scored in the 8th minute it was all one way traffic from there. For Scotland's consolation they did manage to put the ball down on the NZ try-line but it didn't make any difference.

In the semi-final they took on hosts England at the famous Wembley Stadium. In front of over 67,000, this match was one of the games of the tournament as it was a see-sawing affair containing flick passes, magic steps and barnstorming runs with only 2 points separating the teams at the full-time siren. Inside the last minute of the match New Zealand were trailing by 4 points. They were positioned 20 meters away from the English line on the last tackle, before the tiring English defence made a high-tackle on Sonny Bill-Williams and gave NZ a penalty. Following the tap, Shaun Johnson stepped the English defence, scoring an individual try. He then converted the conversion and New Zealand advanced to the final for a third consecutive World Cup tournament.

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Main article: 2013 Rugby League World Cup Final

In the final they took on the World's best ranked team and biggest rivals Australia. This was the third consecutive World Cup final that contained New Zealand taking on Australia. Australia were determined all tournament to win back the Rugby League World Cup trophy that they conceded in 2008. The biggest ever international rugby league crowd came to witness the match, but those fans weren't enough to support New Zealand to another World Cup Final victory.

2017 Rugby League World Cup preparation (2014–2017)

At the end of the 2014 club season they participated in the Four Nations held in Aussie and NZ with the final being held in NZ for the first time.[21] The side was similar to the Anzac test's with only a few changes. New Zealand took on the Aussies first in front of a massive crowd at Suncorp Stadium. The so-called 'Cauldron' has been NZ's cauldron over the years with key final wins in the 2008 World Cup and the 2010 Four Nations and New Zealand won there again. New Zealand this time showed class and made the Aussies look weak with a convincing 18-point victory. However, the next match against Samoa was supposed to be 'the easiest' match by a mile. But no-one saw the 'minnow' nation leading and within four minutes of a famous victory, but it was Shaun Kenny-Dowall's try that made NZ survive a shock defeat. Even though Samoa were holding on well in defence and were the better team in the second half Kearney was always calm and told the media he knew "the boys could win it, it was just a matter of when". After another great performance from Samoa against the Kiwis it was time for another team to get revenge and that team was England. They were hungry for revenge after that heartbreaking last minute defeat in the World Cup and this match wasn't much worse in terms of entertainment as NZ again got the victory by a two-point margin. So this result put them into the final to take on Australia. New Zealand would go on to beat Australia and this result made a couple of records such as New Zealand going through a tournament undefeated and beating Australia in 2 consecutive matches since 1998.

In 2015, New Zealand began the year with the Anzac Test in Brisbane, a venue where the Aussies were looking for revenge after losing to NZ at the venue for 3 times in the past four matches. Controversy occurred as the match had to be shifted to two days later after record heavy falls in Brisbane made the surface too slow to play in. On the third of May, Australia hosted New Zealand in the 2015 annual Trans-Tasman test. Another classy performance, like the opening Four Nations match in 2014, made history for New Zealand as a convincing 14-point victory never looked in danger. This made New Zealand claim a historic first Anzac-Test victory since 1997. This also meant that the Kiwis beat the Aussies 3 consecutive times for the first time since 1953.[22]

On 15 May 2015, the new RLIF World Rankings were announced and it read that, for the first time ever, New Zealand are officially the best team in the World.[23]

In October 2015, New Zealand travelled to England to take on the English in a three match test-series. Despite being the best ranked team in the World, the Kiwis would head into their series as slight underdogs after several experienced regulars, such as Shaun Johnson, Manu Vatuvei, Kieran Foran, Simon Mannering and Thomas Leuluai, were not selected due to injury resulting in Kearney picking six rookies.[24] The Kiwis' first match was an exhibition game against the 2015 Super League champions, the Leeds Rhinos. The match took place at the Headingley Stadium to celebrate the Ground's 125th anniversary. The Kiwis had a slow start in both halves, conceding the first tries but would go on to win the match convincingly.

Results

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Main article: List of New Zealand Kiwis matches

New Zealand have been playing international matches since 1907.

Country Matches Won Drawn Lost
 Australia 147 35 3 109
 Cook Islands 1 1 0 0
 England 12 7 1 4
 France 54 35 5 14
 Great Britain 109 39 5 65
 Lebanon 1 1 0 0
 Papua New Guinea 18 17 0 1
 Samoa 3 3 0 0
 Scotland 1 1 0 0
 Tonga 4 4 0 0
 Wales 10 7 0 3
British Empire 1 0 0 1
Great Britain/France 1 0 0 1
Total 346 148 14 184

Tournament history

A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within New Zealand

World Cup

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See also: Rugby League World Cup
World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
France 1954 Fourth place 4/4 3 0 3 0
Australia 1957 Third place 3/4 3 1 2 0
United Kingdom 1960 Third place 3/4 3 1 2 0
Australia/New Zealand 1968 Fourth place 4/4 3 0 3 0
United Kingdom 1970 Fourth place 4/4 3 1 2 0
France 1972 Fourth place 4/4 3 0 3 0
Australia/France/New Zealand/England/Wales 1975 Fourth place 4/5 8 2 4 2
Australia/New Zealand 1977 Third place 3/4 3 1 2 0
Australia/France/New Zealand/Papua New Guinea/United Kingdom 1985–88 Second place 2/5 7 4 2 1
Australia/France/New Zealand/Papua New Guinea/United Kingdom 1989–92 Third place 3/5 8 5 3 0
United Kingdom 1995 Semi-final 3/10 3 2 1 0
France/United Kingdom 2000 Second place 2/16 6 5 1 0
Australia 2008 Champions 1/10 5 4 1 0
England/Wales 2013 Second place 2/14 6 5 1 0
Australia/New Zealand 2017 Hosts
Total 1 Title 14/14 64 31 30 3

Tri-Nations/Four Nations

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See also: Rugby League Four Nations
Tri-Nations/Four Nations record
Year Round Position GP W L D
Australia/New Zealand 1999 Second place 2/3 3 2 1 0
United Kingdom 2004 Third place 3/3 4 0 3 1
United Kingdom 2005 Champions 1/3 5 3 2 0
Australia/New Zealand 2006 Second place 2/3 5 2 3 0
Tournament Changed to Four Nations
England/France 2009 Third place 3/4 3 1 1 1
Australia/New Zealand 2010 Champions 1/4 4 3 1 0
England/Wales 2011 Third place 3/4 3 1 2 0
Australia/New Zealand 2014 Champions 1/4 4 4 0 0
England/Scotland 2016
Total 3 Titles 8/8 31 16 13 2

Kits

NZ Jersey
1997–present
Kit provider Period
Australia ISC 2008
United Kingdom KooGa 2009–2011
Australia BLK 2012 – present

Players

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See also: List of New Zealand national rugby league team players

Current squad

The New Zealand national team squad for the 2015 Tour of Britain.[25] (caps and points apply after the tour finished)

  • Kieran Foran was originally named in the train-on squad but withdrew later on, opting for an off-season rehabilitation of an elbow injury that has troubled him for much of the season.[26]
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Pts Club
Fullback Tuimoala Lolohea (1995-01-23) 23 January 1995 (age 29) 1 0 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors
Fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 30) 11 36 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Wing Jason Nightingale (1986-09-20) 20 September 1986 (age 37) 28 68 Illawarra colours.svg St. George Illawarra Dragons
Wing Curtis Rona (1992-05-26) 26 May 1992 (age 31) 0 0 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Wing Jordan Kahu (1991-01-28) 28 January 1991 (age 33) 3 7 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Centre Dean Whare (1990-01-22) 22 January 1990 (age 34) 15 8 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Centre Peta Hiku (1992-12-04) 4 December 1992 (age 31) 9 0 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Centre Gerard Beale (1990-07-18) 18 July 1990 (age 33) 7 16 Cronulla colours.svg Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall (1988-01-23) 23 January 1988 (age 36) 17 36 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Five-eighth Kodi Nikorima (1994-04-03) 3 April 1994 (age 30) 3 0 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Prop Adam Blair (Captain) (1986-03-20) 20 March 1986 (age 38) 34 8 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Prop Ben Matulino (1989-01-03) 3 January 1989 (age 35) 23 4 New Zealand colours.svg New Zealand Warriors
Prop Sam Moa (1986-06-14) 14 June 1986 (age 37) 9 8 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Prop Jesse Bromwich (1989-05-03) 3 May 1989 (age 34) 17 8 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Hooker Issac Luke (Captain) (1986-10-03) 3 October 1986 (age 37) 36 60 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs
Hooker Manaia Cherrington (1994-08-02) 2 August 1994 (age 29) 0 0 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Second-row Lewis Brown (1986-10-03) 3 October 1986 (age 37) 10 4 Panthers colours.svg Penrith Panthers
Second-row Tohu Harris (1992-01-07) 7 January 1992 (age 32) 10 8 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Second-row Kevin Proctor (1989-02-28) 28 February 1989 (age 35) 11 4 Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm
Second-row Alex Glenn (1988-07-31) 31 July 1988 (age 35) 12 0 Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos
Lock Martin Taupau (1990-02-03) 3 February 1990 (age 34) 9 0 Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers
Lock Sio Siua Taukeiaho (1992-01-03) 3 January 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters
Lock Isaac Liu (1991-04-26) 26 April 1991 (age 32) 0 0 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Sydney Roosters

Notable past players

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Main article: List of New Zealand Kiwis representatives

Captains Category:New Zealand national rugby league team captains

Team of the Century (1907–2006)

Coaches

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Main article: List of New Zealand Kiwis coaches

The current coach of New Zealand is former captain of the team, Stephen Kearney.

Records

New Zealand A

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  • New Zealand A def. Australian Invitational XIII 48–18 (22 October 2006)
  • New Zealand A def. Australian Invitational XIII 40–16 (15 October 2005)

Between 2002 and 2003 the New Zealand Residents were referred to as New Zealand 'A'

  • National League 1 Representative def. New Zealand A 40–28 (2 November 2003)
  • Great Britain def. New Zealand A 52–18 (29 October 2003)
  • Warrington Wolves def. New Zealand A 28–26 (26 October 2003)
  • National League 2 Representative def. New Zealand A 27–6 (22 October 2003)
  • New Zealand A drew Cumbria 24–24 (19 October 2003)
  • New Zealand A def. USA 74–4 (6 October 2002)
  • France def. New Zealand A (29 September 2002)

See also

Sources

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 All statistics are correct as of September 2013, as per RLP.
  2. ↑ New Zealand Rugby League Playing Records NZRL.co.nz
  3. ↑ RLIF Rankings.
  4. ↑ John Haynes From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers, Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. ISBN 0-473-03864-1
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Coffey and Wood The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League ISBN 1-86971-090-8
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ New Zealand legend sends out SOS to Broncos coach | The Courier-Mail at www.news.com.au
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ http://nzleague.co.nz/index.php?page=kiwis_games&comp_id=95&game_id=104
  30. ↑ http://nzleague.co.nz/index.php?page=kiwis_games&comp_id=114&game_id=63

External links

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