History
The Other Nationalities rugby league team regularly played international, and also county, rugby league football teams in Europe from 1904 to 1975. The team, created in 1904 to play England in the first ever rugby league international match, was at first made up of Welsh and Scottish players. However, as rugby league in England grew, and more players from other countries were brought over to England to play in the domestic competitions, Other Nationalities were later represented by players from Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Due to the success of the All Stars match in Australia between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars, new England head coach Steve McNamara proposed a plan to revive the concept of the Other Nationalities team in 2011 in a hope of providing England with a more challenging opposition in preparation of playing and staying competitive against nations like Australia and New Zealand after the 2010 thrashing of France 60–6 followed by England's poor results in the 2010 Four Nations Tournament.
The match – branded by the Rugby Football League as the International Origin Match – took place on 10 June 2011, replacing the Gillet Fusion mid-season test against France, who in turn will meet England at the end of the Super League season as part of England's build-up to the Four Nations. All Super League clubs agreed to the concept with a maximum of two players per club to be selected for the squad by public vote from rugby league fans and coach Brian McLennan. The 'Exiles' banner defeated England 16–12 with a try in the dying stages of the match at Headingley, Leeds.
The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete in the Super League as well as the Australasian National Rugby League. Ireland is also represented by an Ireland A side, which is made up of players from the Irish domestic competition.
The Australia national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition 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 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.
Rugby league is played across England but is most popular in Northern England, especially Yorkshire and Lancashire where the game originated. These areas are the heartland of rugby league. The sport is also popular in Cumbria where the amateur game is particularly powerful.
Francis Meli is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Samoa and New Zealand international representative centre or winger, he played in the National Rugby League for New Zealand club, Auckland Warriors before playing in the Super League for English clubs, St Helens and Salford.
David Fa'alogo is a former professional rugby league footballer played as a prop, second-row and lock in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights in the NRL, the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League and the Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup. He represented both New Zealand and Samoa at international level.
Shontayne Edward Hape is a New Zealand former professional rugby footballer, a dual-code rugby international. He played rugby union at centre for Montpellier, London Irish, Bath and England. He played rugby league for the Bradford Bulls in the Super League and the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League. Hape represented New Zealand at international level rugby league by being selected for both the junior and senior squads, including the 2006 Tri-Nations New Zealand squad. His usual position is centre. He was forced to retire in 2013 after suffering several serious concussions, which left him with decreased brain function.
Thomas James Leuluai is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Super League and a former professional rugby league footballer who played for New Zealand at international level.
Bradley Carnegie Thorn is a New Zealand Australian rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union footballer. Born in New Zealand, he represented Australia in rugby league and New Zealand in rugby union in a twenty-two year career as a player, starting at age nineteen and finishing at age forty-one. He was the head coach of the Australian Super Rugby Pacific team, the Queensland Reds. Thorn is their second longest-serving coach in history and their longest serving coach in the professional era.
Kurt Geoffrey Gidley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative and captain, he previously played in the National Rugby League for the Newcastle Knights, captaining them for 123 games. He played as a fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker, although due to his versatility, he was able to slip into the positions of centre and lock when needed throughout his career.
Iosia Soliola is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL). He played for New Zealand and Samoa at international level.
Petero Civoniceva, is a Fijian-Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative prop forward, in 2009 he broke the record for most international matches for Australia of any forward in history. Civoniceva played his club football for the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 1998, 2000 and 2006 NRL Premierships, as well as for the Penrith Panthers, whom he captained. Late in his career whilst playing for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup, Civoniceva captained the Fiji national team in their 2013 Rugby League World Cup campaign. The Petero Civoniceva Medal is awarded to the Australian Fijian rugby league footballer of the year, while the Civoniceva Medal is awarded to the Queensland Cup player voted as the best and fairest.
Luke Lewis is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
Moutoa Lance "Rangi" Chase is a rugby league footballer who last played for the Rochdale Hornets in RFL League 1.
Michael Shenton is an English rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who is currently the assistant coach for Wakefield Trinity in the RFL Championship.
Kevin Proctor is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for AS Carcassonne in the Elite One Championship, and the New Zealand Māori and New Zealand at international level.
The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ever rugby league international in 1904, against England, fielding players from Wales and Scotland. The team was later represented by players from Australia, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Other Nationalities team wore green shirts.
International Origin was an annual series of rugby league football matches between England RL and the Exiles. The International Origin was created by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to ensure that the English national side had a good strong mid-season international very much like Australia has with their State of Origin series. The RFL intended this to be an annual one-off game and it was in 2011, however this progressed to a two-game series in 2012. Plans were in the works to make this into a three-game series for the future, however it was scaled back to a standalone fixture in 2013 due to a lack of interest from both players and spectators.
