The 2015 New Zealand rugby league tour of England was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. The New Zealand national rugby league team played a match against the Leeds Rhinos and competed in a three match test series against England for the Baskerville Shield, losing 2-1.
New Zealand had originally intended to host a tour against France, while Australia was speculated to host a Great Britain Lions tour. However the Australian Rugby League Commission declined to host a tour and as an alternative the Rugby Football League invited the New Zealand Rugby League to tour Great Britain for a three match series.[1]
New Zealand was last in the United Kingdom for the World Cup in 2013.
On 25 February 2015, the three test match venues were confirmed with Hull's KC Stadium hosting game one on 1 November, the London Olympic Stadium hosting the second test on 7 November and the final test match being held at Wigan's DW Stadium on 14 November.[2]
The match against Leeds was the first time a Super League side had played a touring side since 2002, when the Kiwis played matches against Hull F.C. and St. Helens. It was the first time that Leeds played New Zealand since 1992. The match celebrated the 125th anniversary of Headingley Rugby Stadium. Leeds has defeated New Zealand once in eleven matches between the two teams.[3] [4]
An initial training squad was named on 8 September 2015 and added to as teams were eliminated from the NRL finals. Kieran Foran was among those initially named but he later withdrew due to injury, joining Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai, Manu Vatuvei, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Jared Warea-Hargreaves as being unavailable for the tour.[5] Skipper Simon Mannering was also later made unavailable for the test series due to injury.[6]
The final touring squad of 23 players was named on 8 October.[7]
On 10 October, Jason Taumalolo withdrew from the touring 23-man squad due to a knee injury. He was replaced by Manaia Cherrington.[8] Curtis Rona left the tour after the second test match, returning to Australia to be present for the birth of his daughter.[9]
| Name | Club | Position(s) | Games | Tries | Goals | FGs | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerard Beale | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Adam Blair (c) | Brisbane Broncos | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jesse Bromwich | Melbourne Storm | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Lewis Brown | Penrith Panthers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Manaia Cherrington | Wests Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Alex Glenn | Brisbane Broncos | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tohu Harris | Melbourne Storm | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Peta Hiku | Manly Sea Eagles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jordan Kahu | Brisbane Broncos | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | Sydney Roosters | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Isaac Liu | Sydney Roosters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tuimoala Lolohea | New Zealand Warriors | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| Issac Luke (c) | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | |
| Ben Matulino | New Zealand Warriors | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sam Moa | Sydney Roosters | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Jason Nightingale | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Kodi Nikorima | Brisbane Broncos | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Kevin Proctor | Melbourne Storm | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Curtis Rona | Canterbury Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sio Siua Taukeiaho | Sydney Roosters | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Martin Taupau | Wests Tigers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Roger Tuivasa-Sheck | Sydney Roosters | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Dean Whare | Penrith Panthers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
The four matches were played at the following venues in England.
| Leeds | Hull | London | Wigan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headingley | Olympic Stadium | DW Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 21,062 | Capacity: 25,400 | Capacity: 66,000 | Capacity: 25,138 | |
New Zealand played four matches on tour, including three test matches against England.[10] England also played a test match against France on 24 October.[11] [12]
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Score | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 October | Leeds Rhinos | Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds | Won | 34–16 | 20,158 | [13] | |
| 1 November | England | KC Stadium, Kingston upon Hull | Lost | 12–26 | 23,526 | [14] | |
| 7 November | England | Olympic Stadium, London | Won | 9–2 | 44,393 | [15] | |
| 14 November | England | DW Stadium, Wigan | Lost | 14–20 | 24,741 |
| Year: | 2015 |
| Game 1 | |
| Home: | Leeds Rhinos |
| Away: | New Zealand |
| Home Abbr: | LEE |
| Away Abbr: | NZL |
| Home Half1: | 6 |
| Home Half2: | 10 |
| Home Total: | 16 |
| Away Half1: | 10 |
| Away Half2: | 24 |
| Away Total: | 34 |
| Date: | 23 October 2015 |
| Stadium: | Headingley |
| Location: | Leeds, England |
| Referee: | Richard Silverwood |
| Attendance: | 20,158 |
| Network: | Premier Sports,[16] Sky Sport 2[17] |
| Commentators: | Stuart Pyke |
| Commentators2: | Iestyn Harris |
Gerard Beale was originally named to play but was replaced by Lewis Brown.
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| Year: | 2015 |
| Test 1 | |
| Home: | England |
| Away: | New Zealand |
| Home Abbr: | ENG |
| Away Abbr: | NZL |
| Home Half1: | 12 |
| Home Half2: | 14 |
| Home Total: | 26 |
| Away Half1: | 12 |
| Away Half2: | 0 |
| Away Total: | 12 |
| Date: | 1 November 2015 |
| Stadium: | KC Stadium |
| Location: | Hull, England |
| Mom: | Brett Ferres |
| Referee: | Ben Thaler[18] |
| Attendance: | 23,526 |
| Network: | BBC Sport,[19] Sky Sport 2 |
| Commentators: | Dave Woods |
| Commentators2: | Jonathan Davies |
| Commentators3: | John Kear |
Alex Glenn and Lewis Brown were named as 18th and 19th man respectively for the Kiwis.[20]
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| Year: | 2015 |
| Test 2 | |
| Home: | England |
| Away: | New Zealand |
| Home Abbr: | ENG |
| Away Abbr: | NZL |
| Home Half1: | 2 |
| Home Half2: | 0 |
| Home Total: | 2 |
| Away Half1: | 2 |
| Away Half2: | 7 |
| Away Total: | 9 |
| Date: | 7 November 2015 |
| Stadium: | London Olympic Stadium |
| Location: | London, England |
| Mom: | Issac Luke |
| Referee: |  Gerard Sutton |
| Attendance: | 44,393 |
| Network: | BBC Sport, Sky Sport 2 |
| Commentators: | Dave Woods |
| Commentators2: | Jonathan Davies |
| Commentators3: | Brian Noble |
Stephen Kearney originally named Tuimoala Lolohea at halfback before selecting Kodi Nikorima to start the match.[21]
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| Year: | 2015 |
| Test 3 | |
| Home: | England |
| Away: | New Zealand |
| Home Abbr: | ENG |
| Away Abbr: | NZL |
| Home Half1: | 8 |
| Home Half2: | 12 |
| Home Total: | 20 |
| Away Half1: | 6 |
| Away Half2: | 8 |
| Away Total: | 14 |
| Date: | 14 November 2015 |
| Stadium: | DW Stadium |
| Location: | Wigan, England |
| Mom: | Matty Smith |
| Referee: | Ben Thaler[22] |
| Attendance: | 24,741 |
| Network: | BBC Sport, Sky Sport 2 |
| Commentators: | Dave Woods |
| Commentators2: | John Kear |
| Commentators3: | Brian Noble |
With the win, England retained the Baskerville Shield. Isaac Liu and Gerard Beale were 18th and 19th man respectively for New Zealand.[23]
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England's captain, Sean O'Loughlin was awarded the George Smith Medal as player of the series. This was England's first major series win in 8 years with their last win coming in the previous Kiwis tour of Great Britain.[24]