Wikipedia

2019 Great Britain Lions tour

The 2019 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019.

2019 Great Britain Lions tour
Date26 October 2019 – 16 November 2019
Coach(es)Wayne Bennett
Tour captain(s)James Graham
Top point scorer(s)Gareth Widdop (12)
Top try scorer(s)Josh Hodgson (2)
Summary
P W D L
Total
04 00 00 04
Opponent
P W D L
 Tonga
1 0 0 1
 New Zealand
2 0 0 2
 Papua New Guinea
1 0 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tourPacific 1996

Background

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This tour was the first matches played by the Lions since 2007 when they defeated New Zealand 3–0 during the New Zealand tour that year. The last time the Lions travelled to Australasia was for the 2006 Tri-Nations tournament and the last full Lions tour was in 1996.[1]

After the 2007 New Zealand tour to Great Britain the Great Britain Lions were disbanded and more emphasis was placed on the four home nations; England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In 2017 the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) announced a four-year cycle of tours and tournaments to include the resurrection of the Great Britain Lions and a tour by the team to the Southern Hemisphere.[2] At the RLIF's 2018 meeting a proposal by the Australian Rugby League Commission for the Lions tour to be postponed in favour of a tour to Europe by the Australian Kangaroos was rejected and the 2017 announced cycle was confirmed.[3]

Squad

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The 24-man Great Britain squad was named on 14 October 2019.[4] Ages are as of 26 October 2019.

Following injuries to Gildart and Hall, Ash Handley was called into the squad on 7 November.[5]

Nat. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
  Stand-off Blake Austin (1991-02-01)1 February 1991 (aged 28)   Warrington Wolves
  Second-row John Bateman (1993-09-30)30 September 1993 (aged 26)   Canberra Raiders
  Prop Tom Burgess (1992-04-21)21 April 1992 (aged 27)   South Sydney Rabbitohs
  Hooker Daryl Clark (1993-02-10)10 February 1993 (aged 26)   Warrington Wolves
  Centre Jake Connor (1994-10-18)18 October 1994 (aged 25)   Hull F.C.
  Fullback Lachlan Coote (1990-04-06)6 April 1990 (aged 29)   St Helens
  Centre Oliver Gildart (1996-08-06)6 August 1996 (aged 23)   Wigan Warriors
  Prop James Graham (captain) (1985-09-10)10 September 1985 (aged 34)   St. George Illawarra Dragons
  Wing Ryan Hall (1987-11-27)27 November 1987 (aged 31)   Sydney Roosters
  Wing Ash Handley (1996-02-16)16 February 1996 (aged 23)   Leeds Rhinos
  Fullback Zak Hardaker (1991-10-17)17 October 1991 (aged 28)   Wigan Warriors
  Stand-off Jackson Hastings (1996-01-04)4 January 1996 (aged 23)   Salford Red Devils
  Prop Chris Hill (1987-11-03)3 November 1987 (aged 31)   Warrington Wolves
  Hooker Josh Hodgson (1989-10-31)31 October 1989 (aged 29)   Canberra Raiders
  Second-row Jack Hughes (1992-01-04)4 January 1992 (aged 27)   Warrington Wolves
  Second-row Josh Jones (1993-05-12)12 May 1993 (aged 26)   Salford Red Devils
  Stand-off Jonny Lomax (1990-09-04)4 September 1990 (aged 29)   St Helens
  Wing Jermaine McGillvary (1988-05-16)16 May 1988 (aged 31)   Huddersfield Giants
  Second-row Joe Philbin (1994-11-16)16 November 1994 (aged 24)   Warrington Wolves
  Prop Luke Thompson (1995-04-27)27 April 1995 (aged 24)   St Helens
  Stand-off Jacob Trueman (1999-02-16)16 February 1999 (aged 20)   Castleford Tigers
  Prop Alex Walmsley (1990-04-10)10 April 1990 (aged 29)   St Helens
  Second-row Elliott Whitehead (1989-09-04)4 September 1989 (aged 30)   Canberra Raiders
  Scrum-half Gareth Widdop (1989-03-12)12 March 1989 (aged 30)   St. George Illawarra Dragons
  Scrum-half George Williams (1994-10-31)31 October 1994 (aged 24)   Wigan Warriors

Itinerary

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At the RLIF congress in November 2018 a provisional tour was arranged with Great Britain to play tests against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa with the exact locations and dates being subject to ratification by the various national league and player organisations.[6] In March 2019 it was confirmed that test matches would only be played against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.[7]

In September 2019 the Tongan National Rugby League's membership of the RLIF was suspended and in order to fulfil the fixture against the Lions a Tongan Invitational XIII was selected to play against Great Britain.[8] The members of the suspended Tonga board labelled the invitational side as a 'rebel' squad and insisted that the game against Great Britain could not be classed as a test match.[9] The International Rugby League (the RLIF was rebranded earlier in October 2019) disagreed and gave the match test status.[10]

Test Venues

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The tests played in New Zealand took place at the following venues.

Hamilton Auckland Christchurch
Waikato Stadium Eden Park Rugby League Park
Capacity: 25,800 Capacity: 50,000 Capacity: 18,000
     


New Zealand leg

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26 October 2019
20:10 NZDT (UTC+13)
Tonga   14–6   Great Britain
Tries: Jennings, Katoa
Goals: Taukeiaho (3/3)
 Report
 Tries: Bateman
Goals: Widdop (1/1)

Notes:

  • Tesi Niu (Tonga), Jackson Hastings, and Josh Jones (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts. Hastings and Jones were the only Great Britain players to have not previously represented their home nation.
  • James Graham (Great Britain) made his 50th Test appearance – his 6th for Great Britain, with 44 for England. He became the 4th Briton and 8th person overall to do so.[12][13]
  • James Graham (Great Britain) is the only player to have previously played for the Lions, who were last active in 2007.[13]
2 November 2019
17:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
New Zealand   12–8   Great Britain
Tries: Isaako, Harawira-Naera
Goals: Isaako (2/3)
 Report
 Tries: Clark
Goals: Widdop (2/3)
Eden Park, Auckland[11]
Attendance: 25,575
Referee: Chris Kendall (England)[14]

Notes:

  • Adam Blair (New Zealand) made his 50th Test appearance for New Zealand becoming the 2nd New Zealander and 9th person overall to do so.[15]
9 November 2019
20:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
New Zealand   23–8   Great Britain
Tries: Manu, Johnson, Maumalo
Goals: Isaako (5/7)
Drop goals: Isaako
 Tries: Hodgson
Goals: Widdop (2/2)

Notes:

  • Blake Austin and Jack Hughes (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts, having not previously represented their home nation.

Papua New Guinea leg

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16 November 2019
17:30 (UTC+10)
Papua New Guinea   28–10   Great Britain
Tries: Boas, Ipape, Johnston, Olam, Putt
Goals: Martin (3/4), Laybutt (1/1)
 Report
 Tries: Austin, Hodgson
Goals: Widdop (1/2)

Aftermath

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The tour failed to live up to expectations, with Great Britain failing to win a single match on the tour. Coach Wayne Bennett, whose contract with the RFL expired at the end of the tour, was heavily criticised for his team selections. Six half-backs were chosen in the initial 24-man squad, but injuries during the tour resulted in stand-off Blake Austin being deployed as an emergency winger due a shortage of other players at the position.[16] Bennett was also criticised for placing too much focus on England players – Lachlan Coote was the only player selected outside of the England setup, while Welsh-born Regan Grace, who had recently won the 2019 Super League Grand Final with St Helens, reportedly wasn't even considered for selection.[17][18]

RFL rugby director Kevin Sinfield defended the squad selection, but conceded that there had been less interest than expected in the revival of the Lions tour, with attendances on the New Zealand leg of the tour being lower than expected.[19] Bennett's contract was ultimately not renewed, and he was replaced as England coach by Shaun Wane.

In November 2020, a documentary covering the tour, titled "Once Were Lions", was released on BBC iPlayer.[20]

References

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  1. ^ "Great Britain's rugby league Lions edge closer to a southern hemisphere tour". The Guardian. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Great Britain and Irish Lions to tour New Zealand in 2019". BBC Sport. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Great Britain and Irish Lions to tour in 2019 and 2024". BBC Sport. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Great Britain Lions: Jackson Hastings & Zak Hardaker in 24-man squad". BBC Sport. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Handley called up to Great Britain squad". rugby-league. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Great Britain to visit southern hemisphere next year in first Lions tour since 1996". BBC Sport. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Great Britain: 2019 tour to include Tests against New Zealand, Tonga and Papua New Guinea". BBC Sport. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Rugby League: Tonga test side named as 'Invitational XIII'". Newshub. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Rugby league: Banned Tonga board fires back at 'rebel' NRL stars". Newshub. 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Great Britain Rugby League Lions lose 14-6 to Tonga Invitational XIII on return". BBC Sport. 26 October 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d "Great Britain tour fixtures confirmed". Wales Rugby League. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  12. ^ "James Graham in line to win 50th cap". rugby-league.com. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  13. ^ a b Laybourn, Ian (25 October 2019). "'Right up there with the best of them': Great Britain coach Wayne Bennett praises 50-cap man James Graham". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Former players a perfect match". RFL. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  15. ^ Long, David (31 October 2019). "Adam Blair to complete year of milestones with 50th test cap for Kiwis". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Papua New Guinea 28-10 Great Britain Rugby League Lions: Comeback tour ends in 4-0 whitewash". BBC Sport. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Wayne Bennett has failed as Great Britain Lions coach". The Guardian. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Lions tour 2019: Phil Clarke and Brian Carney review Great Britain's winter tour". Sky Sports. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Future of Great Britain Lions in grave doubt after disastrous tour". The Guardian. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Rugby League documentary Once Were Lions coming to BBC iPlayer". BBC Media Centre. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
External videos
  New Zealand v Great Britain Game 1 on YouTube
  New Zealand v Great Britain Game 2 on YouTube
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