Rugby league tours are a series of matches in the sport of rugby league against multiple opponents from one geographic area.
Numerous tours have occurred throughout history and have been mostly carried out by the top three rugby league nations Australia (Kangaroos), Great Britain (Lions), and New Zealand (All Blacks/Kiwis).
Tours historically consisted of a number of non-test matches against club or composite teams and single-match tests against national sides, before a three-game test series against the national side of the tour's primary destination. These three-game test series were the primary event of the tours and would often be their own competition, the most famous being The Ashes. More modern tours have often skipped non-test matches to play only the "primary event".
While the phrase "traditional era" and "modern era" have no set definition in rugby league and can vary massively depending on the context. No tours of any kind occurred between 2007 (coincidentally 100 years after the first tour) and 2015, the largest time without a tour in peace time. As a result 2015 can be considered the start of the modern era for tours. It was at this time when the majority of tours only saw a three-game test series with a single nation.
Prior to 1954 and the first Rugby League World Cup, tours were the main form of international competition in the sport.
Women's tours have operated very similar to men's tours, however many women's tours have seen a two-test series instead of the three-test series common with men's tours.
The 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby League World Cup. Unlike previous World Cups that were held over a couple of months, this World Cup was held over the course of three years with teams playing each other on a home and away basis.
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 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.
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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.
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 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team plays a number of tour matches against British and French teams, in addition to the Test matches. The next Kangaroo tour was staged in 1990.
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The 1986 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. Test matches were played in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The tour began on 6 July in Auckland and finished on 17 August in Port Moresby, consisted of five test matches, with two of them counting towards the 1985-88 World Cup.
This is a list of international rugby league matches played throughout 2016. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the IRL World Rankings.
The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team, also known as the PNG Orchids represents Papua New Guinea in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League.
Justin Olam is a Papua New Guinean professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wests Tigers in the NRL and Papua New Guinea at international level.
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