| 2023 Tonga rugby league tour of England | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 22 October – 4 November 2023 | ||||
| Coach(es) | Kristian Woolf | ||||
| Tour captain(s) | Addin Fonua-Blake | ||||
| Top point scorer(s) | Toluta'u Koula (8) | ||||
| Top try scorer(s) | Toluta'u Koula (2) | ||||
| Summary |
| ||||
| Total |
| ||||
| Opponent |
| ||||
 England |
| ||||
The 2023 Tonga rugby league tour of England was a three-match tour by the Tonga national rugby league team to England in October and November 2023. [1] [2]
| Official rankings ahead of the tour [3] | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 4 |  | England | 80.00 |
| 5 | |  Tonga | 56.00 |
The tour was the first by a Pacific island nation to England and the first test match series between the two countries. [4] England and Tonga had only played each other three times previously, twice during the 2006 Federation Shield and during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup Semi Final. All three games were won by England. Tonga however, beat Great Britain during the 2019 Lions tour of New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. [5]
| St Helens | Huddersfield | Leeds |
|---|---|---|
| Totally Wicked Stadium | Kirklees Stadium | Headingley |
| Capacity: 18,000 | Capacity: 24,121 | Capacity: 21,500 |
 |  |  |
The England squad was announced on 17 October 2023. [6] Morgan Smithies and Josh Thewlis were added on 31 October. [7]
Squad announced on 4 October 2023. [8]
| England | 22–18 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: King, Lewis, Johnstone (2) Goals: Lewis (1/1), Smith (2/3) | 1st: 12–12 2nd: 10–6 Report | Tries: To'a, Frizell, Koula Goals: Katoa (3/4) |
Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens Attendance: 12,898 [9] Referee: Liam Moore (England) Touch judges: Jonnie Roberts (England), Jack Smith (England) Player of the Match: Mikey Lewis (England) |
| England | Position | Tonga | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Jack Welsby | 1 | FB | 1 | Will Hopoate |
| Tommy Makinson | 2 | WG | 2 | Starford To'a |
| Harry Newman | 3 | CE | 3 | Will Penisini |
| Toby King | 4 | CE | 4 | Moses Suli |
| Tom Johnstone | 5 | WG | 5 | Toluta'u Koula |
| Mikey Lewis | 6 | SO/FE | 6 | Tui Lolohea |
| Harry Smith | 7 | SH/HB | 7 | Isaiya Katoa |
| Tom Burgess | 8 | PR | 8 | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| Daryl Clark | 9 | HK | 9 | Siliva Havili |
| Mike McMeeken | 10 | PF | 10 | Moeaki Fotuaika |
| John Bateman | 11 | SR | 11 | Tyson Frizell |
| Elliott Whitehead | 12 | SR | 12 | Keaon Koloamatangi |
| Victor Radley | 13 | LF/LK | 13 | Felise Kaufusi |
| Danny Walker | 14 | IN | 14 | Dion Teaupa |
| Morgan Knowles | 15 | IN | 15 | Tevita Tatola |
| Matty Lees | 16 | IN | 16 | Haumole Olakau'atu |
| Chris Hill | 17 | IN | 17 | Hame Sele |
| Liam Farrell | 18 | CS | 18 | Eliesa Katoa |
| Shaun Wane | Coach | Kristian Woolf | ||
| England | 14–4 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Ashton (2) Goals: Smith (3/4) | 1st: 12–0 2nd: 2–4 Report | Tries: Koula |
Kirklees Stadium, Huddersfield Attendance: 11,210 [10] Referee: Jack Smith (England) Touch judges: Chris Kendall (England), Rich Thompson (England) |
| England | Position | Tonga | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Jack Welsby | 1 | FB | 1 | Will Hopoate |
| Matty Ashton | 2 | WG | 2 | Junior Tupou |
| Harry Newman | 3 | CE | 3 | Will Penisini |
| Toby King | 4 | CE | 4 | Moses Suli |
| Tom Johnstone | 5 | WG | 5 | Toluta'u Koula |
| Mikey Lewis | 6 | SO/FE | 6 | Tui Lolohea |
| Harry Smith | 7 | SH/HB | 7 | Isaiya Katoa |
| Tom Burgess | 8 | PR | 8 | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| Daryl Clark | 9 | HK | 9 | Siliva Havili |
| Matty Lees | 10 | PF | 10 | Tevita Tatola |
| John Bateman | 11 | SR | 11 | Tyson Frizell |
| Elliott Whitehead | 12 | SR | 12 | Haumole Olakau'atu |
| Victor Radley | 13 | LF/LK | 13 | Felise Kaufusi |
| Danny Walker | 14 | IN | 14 | Dion Teaupa |
| Liam Farrell | 15 | IN | 15 | Moeaki Fotuaika |
| Chris Hill | 16 | IN | 16 | Keaon Koloamatangi |
| Mike McMeeken | 17 | IN | 17 | Eliesa Katoa |
| Ben Currie | 18 | CS | 18 | Hame Sele |
| Shaun Wane | Coach | Kristian Woolf | ||
The third test match of the series was played at Headingley Stadium as a double header with an England vs Wales women's international test match. [11]
| England | 26–4 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Currie, Ashton, Whitehead, Newman Goals: Smith (5/5) | 1st: 14–0 2nd: 12–4 Report | Tries: E. Katoa (68') |
Headingley Stadium, Leeds Attendance: 15,477 [12] Referee: Chris Kendall (England) Touch judges: Liam Rush (England), Warren Turley (England) |
| England | Position | Tonga | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Jack Welsby | 1 | FB | 1 | Will Hopoate |
| Tom Johnstone | 2 | WG | 2 | Will Penisini |
| Harry Newman | 3 | CE | 3 | Konrad Hurrell |
| Ben Currie | 4 | CE | 4 | Moses Suli |
| Matty Ashton | 5 | WG | 5 | Toluta'u Koula |
| George Williams | 6 | SO/FE | 6 | Tuimoala Lolohea |
| Harry Smith | 7 | SH/HB | 7 | Isaiya Katoa |
| Tom Burgess | 8 | PR | 8 | Hame Sele |
| Daryl Clark | 9 | HK | 9 | Siliva Havili |
| Matty Lees | 10 | PF | 10 | Felise Kaufusi |
| John Bateman | 11 | SR | 11 | Tyson Frizell |
| Elliot Whitehead | 12 | SR | 12 | Haumole Olakau’atu |
| Robbie Mulhern | 13 | LF/LK | 13 | Keaon Koloamatangi |
| Danny Walker | 14 | IN | 14 | Latu Fainu |
| Tyler Dupree | 15 | IN | 15 | Moeaki Fotuaika |
| Chris Hill | 16 | IN | 16 | Eliesa Katoa |
| Mike McMeeken | 17 | IN | 17 | Siua Wong |
| Shaun Wane | Coach | Kristian Woolf | ||
All three matches of the tour were broadcast live on BBC One, except in Wales where the first two matches of the test series were shown on BBC Two Wales. [13] [14]
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions.
The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the Kangaroos are ranked first in the IRL Men's World Rankings. The team is the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having won the competition 12 times, and contested 15 of the 16 finals, only failing to reach the final in the 1954 inaugural tournament. Only five nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia has an overall win percentage of 69%.
The France national rugby league team represents France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as les Chanticleers or less commonly as les Tricolores. The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII.
The England national rugby league team represents England in international rugby league.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.
The Cook Islands national rugby league team have represented the Cook Islands in international rugby league football since 1986. Administered by the Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), the team has competed at three Rugby League World Cups, in 2000, 2013 and 2021, and are coached by Karmichael Hunt.
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in rugby league football. With origins dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, the team has competed regularly in international competitions since 2008, when their current governing body, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League, was formed. They are currently ranked 13th in the IRL World Rankings.
Paul McShane is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker or scrum-half for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League. He is the captain of Castleford.
Samson Lee is a former Wales international rugby union player. Lee played for the Scarlets, as well as local teams Llanelli and Ammanford. His position is prop forward. Lee has represented Wales, making his debut against Argentina in November 2013.
Shaun David Wane is an English professional rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer, who is currently the head coach of the England national rugby league team. He is also Leadership and Management Director of Wigan Warriors, for whom he served as head coach from 2011 to 2018 winning three Super League Grand Finals and one Challenge Cup.
Christopher Andrew Hill is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League, and England and Great Britain at international level.
Jamie Edward George is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Premiership Rugby club Saracens and captains the England national team.
Luke Anthony Cowan-Dickie is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Premiership Rugby club Sale Sharks and the England national team.
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.
The 2019 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019.
Harry Smith is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half and stand-off for the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League and both England and the England Knights at international level.
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament currently played every four years. The first tournament was held in 1954, hosted by France who had pushed for such a tournament to be approved. Since the first edition, 14 others have been held at sporadic intervals.
The Wales women's national Rugby League team represents Wales in Women's Rugby League. They are administered by the Wales Rugby League. The first match played by the team was a 'friendly' against Great Britain Teachers in 2019. Another friendly match, against England Lions was played in November 2019. The first full international played by the team was in June 2021.
The 2024 Samoa rugby league tour of England will be a two-match tour by the Samoa national rugby league team to England in October and November 2024.
