2015 New Zealand rugby league tour of England

New Zealand vs Leeds Rhinos in Game 1 of the tour

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.

Background

The Third test: New Zealand against Great Britain in 2007.

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. Leeds has defeated New Zealand once in eleven matches between the two teams.^[3][4]

Squad

Training squad

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]

Club Team	Players
Squad named on 8 September[7]
Manly Sea Eagles	Kieran Foran, Peta Hiku
New Zealand Warriors	Solomone Kata, Tui Lolohea, Simon Mannering (c), Ben Matulino, Bodene Thompson
Parramatta Eels	Manu Mau
Penrith Panthers	Lewis Brown, Sam McKendry, Elijah Taylor, Dean Whare
Wests Tigers	Manaia Cherrington, Tim Simona, Martin Taupau
Added on 18 September[8]
South Sydney Rabbitohs	Bryson Goodwin, Issac Luke
St George Illawarra Dragons	Jason Nightingale
Added on 24 September[9]
Canterbury Bulldogs	Curtis Rona, Greg Eastwood
Cronulla Sharks	Gerard Beale, Sosaia Feki
Wests Tigers	Te Maire Martin
Added on 1 October[10]
Melbourne Storm	Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris, Kevin Proctor
Sydney Roosters	Matt McIlwrick, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Isaac Liu, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Sam Moa

Final squad

The final touring squad of 23 players was named on 8 October.^[11]

On 10 October, Jason Taumalolo withdrew from the touring 23-man squad due to a knee injury. He was replaced by Manaia Cherrington.^[12] Curtis Rona left the tour after the second test match, returning to Australia to be present for the birth of his daughter.^[13]

Name	Club	Position(s)	Games	Tries	Goals	FGs	Points
Gerard Beale	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Centre	0	0	0	0	0
Adam Blair (c)	Brisbane Broncos	Prop, Second-row	4	0	0	0	0
Jesse Bromwich	Melbourne Storm	Prop	4	1	0	0	4
Lewis Brown	Penrith Panthers	Second-row	3	0	0	0	0
Manaia Cherrington	Wests Tigers	Hooker	0	0	0	0	0
Alex Glenn	Brisbane Broncos	Second-row	3	0	0	0	0
Tohu Harris	Melbourne Storm	Second-row	4	1	0	0	4
Peta Hiku	Manly Sea Eagles	Fullback	4	0	0	0	0
Jordan Kahu	Brisbane Broncos	Fullback, Wing, Centre	4	2	1	1	11
Shaun Kenny-Dowall	Sydney Roosters	Wing, Centre	4	1	0	0	4
Isaac Liu	Sydney Roosters	Lock	0	0	0	0	0
Tuimoala Lolohea	New Zealand Warriors	Fullback, Wing, Five-eighth	2	0	2	0	4
Issac Luke (c)	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Hooker	4	0	4	0	8
Ben Matulino	New Zealand Warriors	Prop	4	0	0	0	0
Sam Moa	Sydney Roosters	Prop	4	1	0	0	4
Jason Nightingale	St. George Illawarra Dragons	Wing	4	2	0	0	8
Kodi Nikorima	Brisbane Broncos	Fullback, Halfback, Hooker	4	1	0	0	4
Kevin Proctor	Melbourne Storm	Second-row	4	0	0	0	0
Curtis Rona	Canterbury Bulldogs	Wing	0	0	0	0	0
Sio Siua Taukeiaho	Sydney Roosters	Second-row	2	0	0	0	0
Martin Taupau	Wests Tigers	Lock	4	0	0	0	0
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	Sydney Roosters	Fullback	4	3	0	0	12
Dean Whare	Penrith Panthers	Centre	4	1	0	0	4

Venues

The four matches were played at the following venues in England.

Leeds	Hull	London	Wigan
Headingley	KC Stadium	Olympic Stadium	DW Stadium
Capacity: 21,062	Capacity: 25,400	Capacity: 66,000	Capacity: 25,138

Fixtures

New Zealand played four matches on tour, including three test matches against England.^[14] England also played a test match against France on 24 October.^[15][16]

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Score	Attendance	Report
23 October	Leeds Rhinos	Headingley, Leeds	Won	34–16	20,158	[17]
1 November	England	KC Stadium, Kingston upon Hull	Lost	12–26	23,526	[18]
7 November	England	Olympic Stadium, London	Won	9–2	44,393	[19]
14 November	England	DW Stadium, Wigan	Lost	14–20	24,741	[20]

Game 1

2015 (2015) Game 1  ()
Leeds Rhinos New Zealand 16 34
1 2 Total LEE 6 10 16 NZL 10 24 34
Date	23 October 2015
Stadium	Headingley
Location	Leeds, England
Referee	Richard Silverwood
Attendance	20,158
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	Premier Sports,[21] Sky Sport 2[22]
Commentators	Stuart Pyke Iestyn Harris

Gerard Beale was originally named to play but was replaced by Lewis Brown.

23 October 2015

Leeds Rhinos	16–34	New Zealand
Tries: Moon (2) 28' c, 55' c Briscoe 73' Goal: Lilley (2/3) 29', 56'	[17]	Tries: Nightingale 37' c Kahu 40' Bromwich 63' c Whare 66' Tuivasa-Sheck (2) 69', 80' Nikorima 78' c Goal: Luke (1/2) 38' Lolohea (2/5) 63', 78'

FB 1 Ashton Golding RW 2 Tom Briscoe RC 3 Jimmy Keinhorst LC 4 Joel Moon LW 5 Ash Handley SO 6 Danny McGuire SH 7 Jordan Lilley PR 8 Kylie Leuluai HK 9 Robbie Ward PR 10 Mitch Garbutt SR 11 Adrian Morley SR 12 Josh Walters LF 13 Adam Cuthbertson Substitutions: BE 14 Ali Lauitiiti BE 15 Anthony Mullally BE 16 Mitch Achurch BE 17 Jordan Baldwinson BE 18 Rob Mulhern BE 19 Brad Singleton Coach: Brian McDermott

FB 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Jordan Kahu LC 4 Dean Whare LW 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall FE 6 Peta Hiku HB 7 Tuimoala Lolohea PR 8 Jesse Bromwich HK 9 Issac Luke (Captain) PR 10 Ben Matulino SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Martin Taupau Substitutions: BE 14 Kodi Nikorima BE 15 Adam Blair (Captain) BE 16 Sam Moa BE 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho BE 18 Alex Glenn BE 20 Lewis Brown Coach: Stephen Kearney

Test 1

2015 (2015) Test 1  ()
England New Zealand 26 12
1 2 Total ENG 12 14 26 NZL 12 0 12
Date	1 November 2015
Stadium	KC Stadium
Location	Hull, England
Brett Ferres
Referee	Ben Thaler[23]
Attendance	23,526
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	BBC Sport,[24] Sky Sport 2[22]
Commentators	Dave Woods Jonathan Davies John Kear

Alex Glenn and Lewis Brown were named as 18th and 19th man respectively for the Kiwis.^[25]

1 November 2015

England	26–12	New Zealand
Try: Hodgson 21' c Ferres (2) 36' c, 59' c O'Loughlin 77' c Goal: Widdop (5/5) 21', 36', 46', 59', 77'	[18]	Try: Harris 7' Moa 17' c Goal: Luke (2/3) 17', 27'

FB 1 Zak Hardaker RW 2 Joe Burgess RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 John Bateman LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 Gareth Widdop SH 7 George Williams PR 8 James Graham HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 Chris Hill SR 11 Elliott Whitehead SR 12 Liam Farrell LF 13 Sean O'Loughlin (Captain) Substitutions: BE 14 James Roby BE 15 Tom Burgess BE 16 Michael Cooper BE 17 Brett Ferres Coach: Steve McNamara

FB 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Jordan Kahu LC 4 Dean Whare LW 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall FE 6 Peta Hiku HB 7 Tuimoala Lolohea PR 8 Jesse Bromwich HK 9 Issac Luke (Captain) PR 10 Sam Moa SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Adam Blair (Captain) Substitutions: BE 14 Kodi Nikorima BE 15 Martin Taupau BE 16 Ben Matulino BE 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho Coach: Stephen Kearney

Test 2

2015 (2015) Test 2  ()
England New Zealand 2 9
1 2 Total ENG 2 0 2 NZL 2 7 9
Date	7 November 2015
Stadium	London Olympic Stadium
Location	London, England
Issac Luke
Referee	Gerard Sutton[23]
Attendance	44,393
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	BBC Sport,[24] Sky Sport 2[22]
Commentators	Dave Woods Jonathan Davies Brian Noble

Stephen Kearney originally named Tuimoala Lolohea at halfback before selecting Kodi Nikorima to start the match.^[26]

7 November 2015

England	2–9	New Zealand
Goal: Widdop (1/1) 8'	[19]	Try: Kenny-Dowall 43' c Goal: Luke (1/2) 14' Kahu (1/1) 43' Drop Goal: Kahu (1/1) 77'

FB 1 Zak Hardaker RW 2 Joe Burgess RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 John Bateman LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 Gareth Widdop SH 7 George Williams PR 8 James Graham HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 Chris Hill SR 11 Elliott Whitehead SR 12 Liam Farrell LF 13 Sean O'Loughlin (Captain) Substitutions: BE 14 James Roby BE 15 Tom Burgess BE 16 Michael Cooper BE 17 Brett Ferres Coach: Steve McNamara

FB 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Jordan Kahu LC 4 Dean Whare LW 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall FE 6 Peta Hiku HB 19 Kodi Nikorima PR 8 Jesse Bromwich HK 9 Issac Luke (Captain) PR 10 Sam Moa SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Adam Blair (Captain) Substitutions: BE 14 Lewis Brown BE 15 Martin Taupau BE 16 Ben Matulino BE 17 Alex Glenn Coach: Stephen Kearney

Test 3

2015 (2015) Test 3  ()
England New Zealand 20 14
1 2 Total ENG 8 12 20 NZL 6 8 14
Date	14 November 2015
Stadium	DW Stadium
Location	Wigan, England
Matty Smith
Referee	Ben Thaler[27]
Attendance	24,741
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	BBC Sport,[24] Sky Sport 2[22]
Commentators	Dave Woods John Kear Brian Noble

With the win, England retained the Baskerville Shield. Isaac Liu and Gerard Beale were 18th and 19th man respectively for New Zealand.^[28]

14 November 2015

England	20–14	New Zealand
Try: Whitehead (2) 27' c, 63' c O'Loughlin 72' c Goal: Widdop (4/4) 5', 27', 63', 72'	[20]	Try: Nightingale 36' c Tuivasa-Sheck 75' Kahu 79' Goal: Luke (1/3) 36'

FB 1 Zak Hardaker RW 2 Jermaine McGillvary RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 John Bateman LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 Gareth Widdop SH 7 Matty Smith PR 8 James Graham HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 Chris Hill SR 11 Elliott Whitehead SR 12 Liam Farrell LF 13 Sean O'Loughlin (Captain) Substitutions: BE 14 James Roby BE 15 Tom Burgess BE 16 Michael Cooper BE 17 Brett Ferres Coach: Steve McNamara

FB 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Jordan Kahu LC 4 Dean Whare LW 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall FE 6 Peta Hiku HB 7 Kodi Nikorima PR 8 Jesse Bromwich HK 9 Issac Luke (Captain) PR 10 Sam Moa SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Adam Blair (Captain) Substitutions: BE 14 Lewis Brown BE 15 Martin Taupau BE 16 Ben Matulino BE 17 Alex Glenn Coach: Stephen Kearney

Aftermath

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.^[29]

References

1. Kiwis to tour England in 2015 nzherald.co.nz, 4 September 2014
2. "Olympic Stadium to host England-New Zealand rugby league Test". BBC Sport. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
3. "Kiwis to take on Leeds in historic clash". New Zealand Herald. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
4. "Kiwis take on Rhinos in historic clash". nzrl.co.nz. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
5. "Kiwis five-eighth Kieran Foran out of tour to England with elbow injury". stuff.co.nz. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
6. "Kiwis skipper Simon Mannering ruled out of tour to England due to "gastric issues"". stuff.co.nz. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
7. "Warriors rookies named in Kiwis train-on squad". New Zealand Herald. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
8. "Trio added to wider Kiwis tour squad". New Zealand Rugby League. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
9. "Five more added to Kiwis training squad". sports.yahoo.com. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
10. "Roosters rookies make Kiwis squad". nrl.com. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
11. "Kiwis name squad for England tour". NRL.com. 8 October 2015.
12. "Star Kiwis forward Jason Taumalolo ruled out of England tour as Manaia Cherrington gets the call-up". stuff.co.nz. 10 October 2015.
13. "Top three winners and losers from Kiwis tour of England". stuff.co.nz. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
14. England and New Zealand to make history at London's Olympic Stadium aprlc.com, 26 February 2015
15. "England to face France before New Zealand series". 27 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
16. "Rugby League Super 8s - News & Live Scores - Betting Tips - Sporting Life". sportinglife.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-26. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
17. "BBC Sport - New Zealand beat Leeds Rhinos in warm-up before England series". BBC Sport.
18. "England claim comeback win over New Zealand in first Test". Sky Sports.
19. "New Zealand beat England 9-2 to level Test series". Sky Sports.
20. "International Series 2015: England 20-14 New Zealand - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 14 November 2015.
21. "Leeds v NZ live on Premier Sports". 21 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
22. KIWIS Tour of Great Britain - LIVE SKY SPORT 2 skysport.co.nz, 22 October 2015
23. "Referees appointed for New Zealand v England Test Series". 21 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
24. "England series with New Zealand to be shown live on BBC". 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
25. "Kiwis name four debutants for first test". New Zealand Herald. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
26. "Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney admits to taking huge gamble on Kodi Nikorima". stuff.co.nz. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
27. "Ben Thaler gets nod to referee England-New Zealand decider". 11 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
28. "New Zealand unchanged for third Test against England". Sky Sports. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
29. "England claim series victory". sportinglife.aol.co.uk. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.