New Zealand national rugby league team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||
Nickname | The Kiwis | ||||||||||||||||
Association | New Zealand Rugby League | ||||||||||||||||
Region | Oceania | ||||||||||||||||
Head coach | Stephen Kearney | ||||||||||||||||
Captain | Roy Asotasi | ||||||||||||||||
Home stadium | Mt Smart Stadium | ||||||||||||||||
RLIF ranking | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||
Most caps | Ruben Wiki (121) | ||||||||||||||||
Top try-scorer | Frank Pritchard (72) | ||||||||||||||||
Top point-scorer | Matthew Ridge (168) | ||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
First international Wales 8 - 9 New Zealand (Aberdare, Wales; 1 January 1908) |
|||||||||||||||||
Biggest win Tonga 0 - 74 New Zealand (Auckland, New Zealand; 1999 |
|||||||||||||||||
Biggest defeat New Zealand 0-58Australia (Wellington, New Zealand; 14 October 2007 |
|||||||||||||||||
World Cup | |||||||||||||||||
Appearances | 12 (First in 1954) | ||||||||||||||||
Best result | Runners-up, 1988; 2000 |
The New Zealand national rugby league side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. They are administered by the New Zealand Rugby League. The Kiwis were briefly considered world champions, until the 25th of November, 2006, when they were narrowly defeated by the Australian Kangaroos.
The Kiwis have never won the Rugby League World Cup, although they reached the final in 1988 and 2000. They contest the Baskerville Shield against Great Britain, and play an annual ANZAC Test against Australia.
Contents |
[edit] History
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 May 14, 1870.
When New Zealand's national rugby team (the All Blacks) toured Britain in 1905 they witnessed the growing popularity of the breakway 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.
[edit] The Professional All Blacks
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 professional tour of Great Britain. 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 were still fresh in English minds, thus the NU saw a 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.
[edit] 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 (August 7), 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).
[edit] The tour
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 finally 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.
When the New Zealand ‘All Golds’ toured Britain in 1907-08 they included Messenger in their party. He missed the first Test defeat, but played in the two Tests which the ‘All Golds’ won.
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.
[edit] The Kiwis
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. 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.
The Kiwis were unbeaten in any test series from 1948 to 1951 and won six of their nine tests.
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.
A World Cup rated Test took place on Sunday 7th 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 7th 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.
The Kiwis have a proud World Cup history and although they have yet to win the competition, they have appeared in the final twice. In 1988, New Zealand just pipped Great Britain 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.
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.
The Kiwis again made the final in the 2000 World Cup, but again went down to the Kangaroos 40-12.
Gary Freeman coached New Zealand from 2001-02.
Since 2002, a 'New Zealand A' team has been 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.
Brian McClennan was appointed national coach of New Zealand in June 2005. His appointment was controversial, mainly because he had no top-level experience in Australia or Great Britain.[1]
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 compete 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 ago. It was Australia's first defeat in a series or tournament since 1978. 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. [1]
In July 2007 Leeds Rhinos announced that Brian McClennan would be joining the club as Head Coach on a two year contract from 1st December 2007. McClennan subsequently resigned as national coach, his position was taken up by Gary Kemble in August 2007, though after a disastrous thrashing at the hands of Australia in a one off test in Wellington and a tour of England which saw them lose the test series he resigned. Considerable pressure had been placed on him to do so by captain Roy Asotasi and other senior players who declared they had no confidence in him as the sole coach. Subsequently former Kiwi, Stephen Kearney was appointed coach with Wayne Bennett given a role as an advisor.
New Zealand has been granted automatic qualification to the 2008 World Cup.
[edit] 2007 Kiwi tour of Great Britain and France
-
For more details on this topic, see 2007 All Golds Tour.
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 27th October 2007[2]. 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 [3]. McGahan later claimed that his comments had been grossly misreported by the journalist.
In the second test of the series on 3rd 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 [4]. 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 2nd 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" [5]. 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" [6]. Following the loss in an extremely frank admission Kemble acknowledged that he was contemplating resigning from his post if the Kiwis were whitewashed 3-0 by Great Britain.[7]
Despite a far more spirited performance in the 3rd 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. [8] 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. [9]
[edit] New Zealand Squad
Number | Name | DOB | Position | Club | Caps (points) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brent Webb | Fullback | Leeds Rhinos | 5 (8) | |
2 | Sam Perrett | Wing/Fullback | Sydney Roosters | 3 (0) | |
3 | Iosia Soliola | Centre | Sydney Roosters | 6 (16…) | |
4 | Setaimata Sa | Centre/Backrower | Sydney Roosters | 0 (0) | |
5 | Krisnan Inu | Wing | Parramatta Eels | 0 (0) | |
6 | Lance Hohaia | Five eighth/Utility | New Zealand Warriors | 10 (0) | |
7 | Thomas Leuluai | June 22, 1985 | Halfback | Wigan Warriors | 5 (3) |
8 | Roy Asotasi (c) | Prop | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 16 (0) | |
9 | Issac Luke | Hooker | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 5 (0) | |
10 | Nathan Cayless | Prop | Parramatta Eels | 32 (32) | |
11 | Sonny Bill Williams | Second row | Canterbury Bulldogs | 6 (2) | |
12 | Simon Mannering | Second row | New Zealand Warriors | 11 (0) | |
13 | David Fa'alogo | Second row | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 5 (0) | |
14 | Jeremy Smith | April 14, 1980 | Second row | Melbourne Storm | 0 (0) |
15 | Dene Halatau | Hooker | Wests Tigers | 7 (0) | |
16 | Adam Blair | Prop | Melbourne Storm | 1 (0) | |
17 | Frank Pritchard | Second row/Lock | Penrith Panthers | 8 (4) |
[edit] Possible 2008 World Cup Squad
NOTE: Players could be omitted due to form and/or injury
As of October 20, 2007:
[edit] Notable players
|
|
|
|
[edit] Results
[edit] New Zealand A
- New Zealand A def. Australian Invitational XIII 48-18 (22 October 2006)
- New Zealand A def. Australian Invitational XIII 40-16 (15 October 2005)
- 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)
[edit] Tests
See:
[edit] Kiwis Results By Year
- Kiwis won 37, lost 59
2008
- Kiwis 12 - 28 Australia, Sydney Cricket ground, Sydney ( Centenary ANZAC Test )
2007
- Kiwis 6 - 30 Australia, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 0 - 58 Australia, Westpac Stadium, Wellington (trans-Tasman Test)
- Kiwis 14 - 20 Great Britain, Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
- Kiwis 0 - 44 Great Britain, KC Stadium, Hull
- Kiwis 22 - 28 Great Britain, JJB Stadium, Wigan
- Kiwis 22 - 14 France, Stade Jean Bouin, Paris
2006
- Kiwis 12 - 50 Australia, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 14 - 46 Great Britain, Knowsley Road, St. Helens
- Kiwis 18 - 30 Australia, Mt Smart Stadium, New Zealand (Tri-Nations)
- Kiwis 15 - 20 Australia, Telstra Dome, Melbourne (Tri-Nations)
- Kiwis 18 - 14 Great Britain, Jade Stadium, Christchurch (Tri-Nations)
- Kiwis 34 - 4 New Zealand Residents, Wingham Park, Greymouth
- Kiwis 34 - 4 Great Britain, Westpac Stadium, Wellington (Tri-Nations)
- Kiwis 12 - 16 Australia (extra time), Aussie Stadium, Sydney, (Tri Nations Final)
2005
- Kiwis 16 - 32 Australia, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 38 - 28 Australia, Telstra Stadium, Sydney (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 26 - 28 Australia, Ericsson Stadium, Auckland (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 42 - 26 Great Britain, Loftus Road, London (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 30 - 22 England, Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
- Kiwis 12 - 38 Great Britain, Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 38 - 22 France, Toulouse
- Kiwis 24 - 0 Australia, Elland Road, Leeds (Tri Nations Final)
2004
- Kiwis 10 - 37 Australia, EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 16 - 16 Australia, North Harbour Stadium, Albany (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 12 - 32 Australia, Loftus Road, London (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 12 - 22 Great Britain, Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 24 - 20 France, Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
- Kiwis 24 - 26 Great Britain, KC Stadium, Hull (Tri Nations)
2003
- Kiwis 6 - 48 Australia, Aussie Stadium, Sydney (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 30 - 16 Australia, North Harbour Stadium, Albany
2002
- Kiwis 24 - 32 Australia, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
- Kiwis 50 - 22 Wales, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
- Kiwis 30 - 16 Great Britain, Ewood Park, Blackburn
- Kiwis 14 - 14 Great Britain, McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield
- Kiwis 10 - 16 Great Britain, JJB Stadium, Wigan
- Kiwis 36 - 10 France, Stade Aime Giral, Perpignan
2001
- Kiwis 36 - 0 France, Ericsson Stadium, Auckland
- Kiwis 10 - 28 Australia, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
2000
- Kiwis 0 - 52 Australia, Telstra Stadium, Sydney (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 64 - 0 Lebanon, KC Stadium, Hull (World Cup)
- Kiwis 84 - 10 Cook Islands, Madejski Stadium, Reading (World Cup)
- Kiwis 58 - 18 Wales, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (World Cup)
- Kiwis 54 - 6 France, The Jungle, Castleford (World Cup Quarter Final)
- Kiwis 49 - 6 England, Reebok Stadium, Bolton (World Cup Semi Final)
- Kiwis 12 - 40 Australia, Old Trafford, Manchester (World Cup Final)
1999
- Kiwis 14 - 20 Australia, Telstra Stadium, Sydney
- Kiwis 24 - 22 Australia, Ericsson Stadium, Auckland (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 74 - 0 Tonga, Carlaw Park, Auckland
- Kiwis 26 - 4 Great Britain, Ericsson Stadium, Auckland (Tri Nations)
- Kiwis 20 - 22 Australia, Ericsson Stadium, Auckland (Tri Nations Final)
1998
- Kiwis 22 - 12 Australia, North Harbour Stadium, Albany (ANZAC Test)
- Kiwis 12 - 30 Australia, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
- Kiwis 16 - 36 Australia, North Harbour Stadium, Albany
- Kiwis 22 - 16 Great Britain, McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield
- Kiwis 36 - 16 Great Britain, Reebok Stadium, Bolton
- Kiwis 23 - 23 Great Britain, Vicarage Road, Watford
1997
- Kiwis 22 - 34 Australia, Aussie Stadium, Sydney
- Kiwis 30 - 12 Australia, North Harbour Stadium, Albany
1996
- Kiwis 62 - 8 Papua New Guinea, International Stadium, Rotorua
- Kiwis 17 - 12 Great Britain, Ericsson Stadium, Auckland
- Kiwis 18 - 15 Great Britain, Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
- Kiwis 32 - 12 Great Britain, Jade Stadium, Christchurch
1991
- Kiwis 12 - 32 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane 3rd Test
- Kiwis 0 - 44 Australia, SCG, Sydney 2nd Test
- Kiwis 24 - 12 Australia, Olympic Park, Melbourne 1st Test
1988
1987
1986
- Kiwis 12 - 32 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane 3rd Test (Kiwis outclassed, Graham Lowe resigns as Kiwis coach)
- Kiwis 12 - 29 Australia, SCG, Sydney 2nd Test
- Kiwis 8 - 25 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland 1st Test
1985
- Kiwis 18 - 0 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland 3rd Test
- Kiwis 6 - 10 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland 2nd Test (Kiwis lose to last minute try by John Ribot)
- Kiwis 20 - 26 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane 1st Test (Inspirational Kiwi captain Mark Graham deliberately taken out of game by high shot from Noel 'Bushranger' Cleal)
1983
- Kiwis 19 - 12 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane 2nd Test (Kiwis famously end five year unbeaten run by Kangaroos)
- Kiwis 4 - 16 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland 1st Test
1982
- Kiwis 2 - 20 Australia, SCG, Sydney 2nd Test
- Kiwis 8 - 11 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane 1st Test (Kiwis lose to last minute try by John Muggleton)
1980
- Kiwis 6 - 27 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland June 1 (1st Test)
- Kiwis 6 - 15 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland June 15 (2nd Test)
1978
- Kiwis 2 - 24 Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, June 24 (16,577) (1st Test)
- Kiwis 7 - 38 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane, July 15 (18,000) (2nd Test)
- Kiwis 0 - 33 Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, July 22 (6,541) (3rd Test)
1972
- Kiwis 11 - 36 Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, July 8 (29,714) (1st Test)
- Kiwis 7 - 31 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane, July 15 (20,847) (2nd Test)
1971
- Kiwis 24 - 3 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland, June 26 (13,971) (One Off Test)
1969
- Kiwis 10 - 20 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland, June 1 (13,375) (1st Test)
- Kiwis 18 - 14 Australia, Carlaw Park, Auckland, June 17 (11,000) (2nd test)
1967
- Kiwis 13 - Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, June 10 (23,473) (1st Test)
- Kiwis 22 - 35 Australia, Lang Park, Brisbane, July 1 (30,122) (2nd Test)
- Kiwis 9 - 13 Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, July 8 (27,330) (3rd test)
1952
- Kiwis 13 - 25 Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (60,331)
[edit] See also
- New Zealand RL
- Rugby league in New Zealand
- 2007 All Golds Celebrations
- New Zealand Māori rugby league team
- National Rugby League
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Google-Video
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup Site
- New Zealand Rugby League Fans Forums - RugbyLeague.org
|
|
|
|