1998 Great Britain Women's Rugby League Tour of New Zealand

Last updated

1998 Great Britain Women's Rugby League Tour of New Zealand
Coach(es)Jackie Sheldon
Tour captain(s)Lisa McIntosh
Top test point scorer(s)Joanne Hewson (1t) & Brenda Dobek (2g) 4
Top test try scorer(s)Joanne Hewson 1
Summary
PWDL
Total
06030003
Test match
03000003
Opponent
PWDL
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
3 0 0 3
Tour chronology
Previous tour 1996
Next tour 2002

The Great Britain Women's Rugby League tour of New Zealand in 1998 was the first such visit by a female British or English Rugby League team, and their second tour after a 1996 visit to Australia. Six matches were played during the three-week tour, including three Test Matches. For the host nation, New Zealand, this tour followed on from a visit by the Australian women's rugby league team during the previous year, 1997.

Contents

Great Britain won the three tour matches but lost each of the three Test Matches by large margins, registering a single try and two goals in the series.

Team Leadership

The team was coached by Jackie Sheldon. Roland Davis was tour manager and Lisa McCandless was team manager. The team was captained by Lisa McIntosh with vice-captain Liz Kitchen. [1] Paula Clark served as the team's physiotherapist. [2]

Squad

A photo of the 1998 touring team is included with the Gilmour interview on the Women in Rugby League website.
Point scorers are known for five of the six matches, excluding the first tour match against New Zealand Māori. Joanne Hewson scored a try against Auckland, and another try in the 1st Test. Joanna Will scored two tries in the match against Canterbury.
The Jumper Number column shows the order players were listed in the team named for the 2nd Test, which appeared in a preview article in the Christchurch newspaper, The Press. [3]

Jumper
Number		PlayerPositionClub
Jill Adams Stand-off Newcastle foundation colours.svg Redhill
2Jane Banks Wing Wigancolours.svg Wigan
17Heather Biggs Rochdale colours.svg Rochdale
5Teresa Bruce Wing St. George colours.svg Wakefield
Julie Burrows Prop St. George colours.svg Wakefield
Karen Burrows Newcastle foundation colours.svg Redhill
6Brenda Dobek Stand-off St. George colours.svg Wakefield
11Lucy Ferguson Second-row St. George colours.svg Wakefield
4Natalie Gilmour Centre St. George colours.svg Wakefield
7Mandy Green Halfback , Hooker City colours.svg Dudley Hill
Sue Hayward St. George colours.svg Wakefield
1Joanne Hewson Fullback , Wing Barrowcolours.svg Barrow
Michelle Janczuk City colours.svg Dudley Hill
Sharron Johnson Wigancolours.svg Wigan
3Allison Kitchin Centre Barrowcolours.svg Barrow
15Liz Kitchin interchange Barrowcolours.svg Barrow
9Michelle Land Hooker St. George colours.svg Wakefield
13Lisa McIntosh Lock City colours.svg Dudley Hill
8Sally Milburn Prop Barrowcolours.svg Barrow
16Chantelle Patrick Wing City colours.svg Dudley Hill
Tracy Pincher Newcastle foundation colours.svg Redhill
14Kirsty Robinson Centre St. George colours.svg Wakefield
12Rebecca Stevens Second-row Sheffeagles colours.svg Sheffield
Vicky Studd City colours.svg Dudley Hill
Joanna Will Fullback St. George colours.svg Wakefield
10Sam Wood Prop St. George colours.svg Wakefield

Results

Sunday, August 16
New Zealand Māori Townsville Blackhawks colours.png 4–32 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain
Result [4]
Waitakere Stadium, Auckland
Referee: John McEwan
Wednesday, August 19
Auckland Canterbury colours.svg 18–20 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain
Tries: 3
Stacey O'Carroll
Ana Rewha
Marianne Hemara
Goals: 3
Angela Searancke 3		HT 10-8
Report [5]
Tries: 4
Teressa Bruce
Vicky Studd
Joanne Hewson
Brenda Dobek
Goals: 2
Brenda Dobek 2
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Referee: Arthur Clarke

A 'spectacular' try to Brenda Dobek in the closing minutes won the match for Great Britain, against an Auckland side that were missing their national team representatives. [5]

1st Test

Sunday, August 23
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg28–6Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Tries: 5
Trish Hina 2
Leah Witehira
Germaine Wiki
Sara White
Goals: 4
Zavana Aranga 4		HT 18-6
Report [6]
Tries: 1
Joanne Hewson
Goals: 1
Brenda Dobek
Puketawhero Park, Rotorua
Referee: Derek Horne

Playing a more physical game, to dominate possession and territory, New Zealand scored three converted tries in the first 30 minutes. A slick switch pass by Debbie Chase sent Trish Hina in for the opener. Leah Witehira found a gap for the second and Germaine Wiki broke through tackles for the third try.

Just as the game was looking to break wide open for New Zealand, Great Britain wing Joanne "Flo-Jo" Hewson showed why she is rated the most dangerous Lioness attacker as she danced around her marker and left the cover defence in her wake.

— New Zealand Press Association, The Press, Christchurch (24 August 1998)

Both teams displayed improved defence in the second half, with Great Britain 'tackling ferociously' on their own line. Capitalising on sustain pressure, Trish Hina scored her second try after 15 minutes. In an 80-metre run, winger Sara White fended off two defenders and outsprinted others for an 80th minute try.

Wednesday, August 26
7.30pm
Canterbury North Sydney colours.svg 0–20 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain
Tries: nil
Goals: nil		HT 0-16
Report [7]
Tries: 4
Joanna Will 2
Kirsty Robinson
Jill Adams
Goals: 2
Karen Burrows 2
Rugby League Park, Christchurch
Referee: Kevin Kirner
Player of the Match: Joanna Will (GB), Mary Brennan (Cant)

The Canterbury team included a mother & daughter pairing, second rower Mary Brennan, aged 41, and centre Mereana Brennan, aged 17. Other players to feature for Canterbury included loose forward Vicki Blair, Kylie O'Loughlin, Melany Taniora-Green and Vicki Logopati. They were coached Jack Tauwhare. [8] [7]

2nd Test

Saturday, August 29
2.30pm
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg44–0Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Tries: 8
Leah Witehira 2
Trish Hina 2
Rachel White
Germaine Wiki
Nadene Conlon
Tasha Davie
Goals: 6
Zavana Aranga 6		HT 14-0
Report [9]
Tries: nil
Goals: nil
Rugby League Park, Christchurch
Referee: Gary Baxter

The Kiwi Ferns encountered strong opposition for 30 minutes on Saturday. Their sole try had come from scrum-half Leah Witehira robbing a rival of the ball in a one-on-one tackle and scampering 25m to score, while only desperate cover defence had prevented Britain scoring on both wings.

— John Coffey, The Press, Christchurch (31 August 1998)

Leah Witehira collected her own grubber kick to score the second try, then gave the last pass to Trish Hina for the third and final first half try. The Kiwi Ferns added five tries in the second half.

3rd Test

Friday, September 4
7:30pm
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg38–2Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Tries: 7
Zavana Aranga 2
Sara White 2
Leah Witehira
Audrey Thompson
Michelle Driscoll
Goals: 5
Zavana Aranga 5		HT 30-0
Reports [10] [11]
Tries: nil
Goals: 1
Brenda Dobek
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Referee: Julia Lee
Player of the Match:
Player of the Series: Luisa Avaiki

New Zealand dominated the first half, obtaining a 30 to nil lead at the break.

I'm more than happy with the way the ladies have applied what they've learnt over the last two and a half weeks. They played very good football on Friday and put the Poms under a lot of pressure in the first half.

— Tony Lajpold (Coach), The Press, Christchurch (7 September 1998)

New Zealand Team

The New Zealand Rugby League Annual '98 included a three-page report, including four photos. The report lists 17 players in the New Zealand team. It is not clear whether each of the 17 played in all three Test Matches. [12] The 17 listed do match the teams named in preview articles for the series and 2nd Test. [13] [3]

Jumper
Number		Heritage
Number		PlayerPositionClubRegionDebutTriesGoalsPoints
12 Zavana Aranga Fullback Scotland colours.svg Te Aroha Wellington colours.svg Wellington 199521538
220Sara White Wing Skolscolours.svg Bay Roskill Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 19953012
325 Trish Hina Centre Scotland colours.svg Te Aroha Wellington colours.svg Wellington 19974016
48Michelle Driscoll Centre Adelaide colours.svg Richmond Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1995104
535Somma Te Kahu Wing Balmain colours.svg Papanui North Sydney colours.svg Centerbury 1998000
633Debbie Chase Five-eighth University colours.svg Woolston North Sydney colours.svg Centerbury 1998000
723Leah Witehira Halfback New South Wales colours.svg Otahuhu Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 19954016
84Luisa Avaiki Prop Adelaide colours.svg Richmond Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1995000
936Alarna Nicholas Hooker University colours.svg Woolston North Sydney colours.svg Centerbury 1998000
1032Rachel Bean Prop Faxcolours.svg Glenora Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1998000
1140Germaine Wiki Second-row Skolscolours.svg Bay Roskill Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1998208
126Nadene Conlon Second-row Australian colours.svg Marist Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1995104
1321Rachel White Lock Skolscolours.svg Bay Roskill Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1995104
1439Audrey Thompson interchange Faxcolours.svg Glenora Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1998104
1537Jackie Ryder interchange Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Miramar Wellington colours.svg Wellington 1998000
1638Serena Setu interchange Balmain colours.svg Papanui North Sydney colours.svg Centerbury 1998000
1734Tasha Davie interchange Balmain colours.svg Northcote Canterbury colours.svg Auckland 1998104

Sources

A physical copy of the New Zealand Rugby League Annual '98 is available at the National Library of New Zealand. British and New Zealand Newspapers available via eResources such as ProQuest and Newsbank.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand national rugby league team</span> Sports team representing New Zealand

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours are black and white, with the dominant colour being black, and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis are currently second in the IRL World Rankings. Since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas, in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that, players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues.

Women's rugby league is the female-only version of rugby league.

Aaron Whittaker is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative halfback, he played club football in Australia, England and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Turtill</span> New Zealand rugby union player and rugby league footballer

"Jum" Hubert Sydney Turtill was a New Zealand dual-code footballer, playing rugby union and then rugby league for New Zealand. After emigrating to Britain, he served in the British Army during the First World War, and was killed while serving in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wynyard (rugby)</span> NZ international rugby league footballer (1882-1932)

William Thomas Wynyard was a New Zealand rugby football player who was part of the professional rugby league 1907–08 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain.

Simon Alexander Angell is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played representative level for New Zealand and Canterbury, and at club level for Hornby, Christchurch City, Featherstone Rovers and Salford City Reds, as a prop or second-row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand</span>

The 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first international tour of the Great Britain national rugby league team, "The Lions". They played the second ever Ashes series against Australia, and their first as the visiting team, before travelling to Auckland to take on New Zealand. The tour was a huge promotional and financial success for what was then known as the "Northern Union" game and helped set the pattern for regular, alternating test match series between Britain and Australia. It is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of rugby league.

Ernest Buckland (1887–1945) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand between 1909 and 1911.

The New Zealand women's national rugby league team, also known as the Kiwi Ferns or New Zealand Kiwi Ferns, represents New Zealand in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the New Zealand Rugby League.

The Australia women's national rugby league team, also known as the Australian Jillaroos, or Harvey Norman Jillaroos for sponsorship reasons, represents Australia in women's rugby league. They are administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission and Australian Women's Rugby League.

The Great Britain women's national rugby league team, also known as the Great Britain Lionesses, represents Great Britain in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the Rugby Football League. The Great Britain Lionesses have placed third in every Women's Rugby League World Cup in which they have competed. In 2006, the RFL announced that after the 2007 All Golds Tour the Great Britain team would no longer compete on a regular basis, and that players would be able to represent England, Wales and Scotland at Test level. It is planned that the Great Britain team will come together in future only for occasional tours, same as the Great Britain Lions.

The England women's national Rugby League team represents England in Women's Rugby League. They are administered by the Rugby Football League. As Great Britain, they toured Australia in 1996, New Zealand in 1998, and reached the first-ever Women's Rugby League World Cup final in 2000, where they lost 26–4 to New Zealand.

The 2000 Women's Rugby League World Cup – or Women's World Series – was the first staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from early November, culminating in the final between Great Britain and New Zealand on 24 November at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington. Three teams took part, with Australia missing the final.

Trish Hina is a female rugby union player. She plays for New Zealand and Auckland. She has also represented New Zealand in rugby league, touch rugby and softball. She attended Naenae College

Women's rugby league is a popular women's sport in Australia. The sport has a high level of participation in the country both recreational and professional. Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) is the national governing body of the sport in Australia, organising the Australian Women's Rugby League, the Australian women's national team, and the nine state governing bodies of the game, among other duties. Women's participation of modern rugby league has been recorded since the early 1920s. It has since become one of Australia's most popular women's team sports.

Zavana Aranga is a New Zealand softball player. She competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where the New Zealand team placed sixth in the women's softball tournament. Aranga also played Rugby League for New Zealand, playing in international matches from 1995 to 1999, captaining the team in 1998.

The 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the second staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand from 28 September, culminating in the final between New Zealand and New Zealand Maori on 12 October. It was held at North Harbour Stadium and the nearby Marist Rugby ground. Nine teams took part Australia, Great Britain, Tokelau, Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, New Zealand Maori and New Zealand. The initial format was three pools of three, with the top six teams moving into two subsequent pools of three. The top four teams then contested elimination semi-finals.

The Great Britain Women’s Rugby League tour of Australia in 1996 was the first such tour by a female British or English Rugby League team. Seven matches were played during the three-week tour, including three Test Matches. These were the first Rugby League internationals played by Great Britain or England women. For the host nation, Australia, this tour followed on from a visit by the New Zealand women’s rugby league team during the previous year, 1995.

This article lists the squads for the 2000 Women's Rugby League World Cup.

References

  1. ↑ "Natalie Gilmour". Women in Rugby League. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ↑ "Brenda Dobek". Women in Rugby League. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Tony (29 August 1998). "Series win motivation for dual international". The Press. Christchurch. p. 30.
  4. ↑ "Lionesses band together". Daily Telegraph. 17 August 1998. p. 31.
  5. 1 2 "League win to Britain". The Press. Christchurch. 20 August 1998. p. 25.
  6. ↑ "Kiwis dent Lionesses' pride". The Press. Christchurch. 24 August 1998. p. 15.
  7. 1 2 Coffey, John (27 August 1998). "Lionesses defend turf against Canty assault". The Press. Christchurch. p. 22.
  8. ↑ Coffey, John (26 August 1998). "Mother, daughter in league". The Press. Christchurch. p. 1.
  9. ↑ Coffey, John (31 August 1998). "Chase cherishes Kiwi Ferns series triumph". The Press. Christchurch. p. 20.
  10. ↑ "Ferns complete whitewash". The Press. Christchurch. 7 September 1998. p. 30.
  11. ↑ "First Degree Ferns". Sunday News (NZ). 6 September 1998.
  12. ↑ "New Zealand Rugby League Annual '98". New Zealand Rugby League Annual. New Zealand Rugby Football League: 52–54. 1998. ISSN   1174-7501.
  13. ↑ Sanders, Andrew (16 August 1999). "British women are cruising for a big bruising from Kiwis". Sunday Star. p. 8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.