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 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.
Ruben James Wiki is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative centre-turned-prop forward, he retired with the record for most international appearances of any rugby league player in history. As of 2023, he is still the highest capped Kiwi player ever. At club level Wiki played for the Canberra Raiders, winning the 1994 NSWRL Premiership with them before finishing his career with the New Zealand Warriors. He currently works as the NZRL's High Performance Manager and a High Performance Assistant with the New Zealand Warriors.
The Anzac Test was an annual rugby league football test match played between Australia and New Zealand for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy.
Gary Ross Freeman is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s, who both captained and coached the New Zealand national team. He was arguably one of New Zealand's greatest Test halfbacks and at the time of his retirement he was the most-capped New Zealand test player and also held the record for most consecutive tests for New Zealand with 37.
Jason Nightingale is a former New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played as a winger and fullback for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the NRL.
The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name.
The first clash in Rugby Union between Australia and New Zealand took place in a test match on 15 August 1903 in Sydney, New South Wales. On that occasion, New Zealand won 22–3.
The 2011 ANZAC Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand on 6 May 2011 at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast. Australia won their tenth straight Anzac test with a score of 20–10.
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 2012 ANZAC test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park on 20 April 2012. It was the 13th Anzac test played between the two nations.
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 played their first formal international in 1995 under the administration of the Australian Women's Rugby League. The AWRL affiliated with the Australian Rugby League in the late 1990s, with AWRL reports included in ARL annual reports. Since the advent of the Australian Rugby League Commission in February 2012, the team has been administered by that body and the National Rugby League.
The 1997 ANZAC test was the first annual Anzac test played between Australia and New Zealand. Conceived by the rebel Super League competition, any players aligned with the Australian Rugby League were not available for selection. The game was played on ANZAC Day, 25 April 1997 at the Sydney Football Stadium in front of 23,829 and was won by Australia 34–22.
The 2014 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on 2 May 2014. It was the 15th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. It was also the first Test match played in Sydney since the 2010 Four Nations tournament. A Women's All Stars Match which is the Women's rugby league version of the game was played as the main curtain raiser for the Test, which was won 24-0 by the Women's All Stars.
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 2015 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. It was the 16th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. Both sides were announced on 26 April. The game was originally scheduled to take place on 1 May, but it was postponed due to bad weather. The Test instead took place on May 3, along with a Women's rugby league match between the Australian Jillaroos and New Zealand Kiwi Ferns which served as the curtain-raiser for the main game, won 22-14 by the Jillaroos.
The 2008 ANZAC test, also known as the Centenary Test as it commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first test match between the two countries, was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground on 9 May 2008. Commemorating the first trans-Tasman Test match, which was also played at Sydney on the same day in 1908, it was the 9th Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. This was the first test played at the SCG since Australia had defeated New Zealand 29-12 in 1986 and the first ever rugby league test played under lights at the ground.
The 1998 Anzac test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at the North Harbour Stadium 24 April 1998. It was the 2nd Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997 and the first to be played in New Zealand.
The 2016 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle. It was the 17th Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997.
The 2017 Anzac Test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and New Zealand at Canberra Stadium. It was the 18th and last Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in 1997. The match was played on 5 May 2017.
