New Zealand Rugby League

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The first rugby league team outside of Great Britain came in 1907 with the formation by Albert Baskerville of the New Zealand “Professional All Blacks” (aka “All Golds”).

The team toured England and Wales over the northern winter of 1907/08, and the campaign included the first ever international Test series, with the Kiwis defeating England 2-1.

Albert Baskerville

New Zealand toured Australia with Tests in 1908 (winning 2-1) and 1909 (losing 2-1). Though the first rugby league clubs in New Zealand were formed in 1908, the NZRL was not founded until 1910.

In the intervening period many of the more prominent Kiwis left New Zealand to take up contracts with English clubs, and their absence inhibited growth of the code.

Immediately prior to the outbreak of World War One in 1914 the code was making strong progress, but all advantages so far gained were lost when clubs and competitions were closed for the duration of the war.

New Zealand played its first Test on home soil in 1910 at Auckland against the touring Great Britain (aka England) Lions.

On the back-end of Ashes tours to Australia, the Lions were regular visitors to New Zealand. The Kiwis made their second tour of Great Britain in 1926/27, before undertaking more frequent visits to the Northern hemisphere after WW2. For the most part though, England/Britain has dominated between the nations in the more than 100 matches played over the past century.

Australia toured New Zealand three times before WW2, and the Kiwis made their first visit across the Tasman Sea since 1909 for a two-Test series in 1948. Since that time the two nations have forged a traditional rivalry, however, Australia has won over 80% of the matches played.

In 2005 the Kiwis defeated Australia 24-0 in the Tri-Nations Final in England, inflicting upon the Kangaroos their first loss in a series in almost three decades of international rugby league. The New Zealanders took the Kangaroos into extra-time to decide the 2006 Tri-Nations Final.

The Kiwis also have a long history of matches against France, meeting over 50 times since their first contest in Paris in 1947. The New Zealanders have enjoyed good success over the French, winning 32 times to France’s 14.

The Kiwis have taken part in every World Cup tournament since the first in 1954. New Zealand were beaten by Australia 25-12 in the Final of the 1988 series, held at Auckland’s Eden Park in front of 46,000 fans. The Kangaroos also got the better of New Zealand in the 2000 World Cup Final, defeating the Kiwis 40-12 at Manchester in England. The Kiwis finally broke through by defeating Australia 34-20 in the 2008 World Cup Final in Brisbane.

New Zealand originally wore an entirely black playing strip, until adopting the now traditional white double-V to their jersey in 1937. References to the team being called “Kiwis” (after the national bird of New Zealand) extend back to their first Australian tour in 1908.