2011 Rugby League Four Nations

The 2011 Rugby League Four Nations tournament, was the third staging of the Rugby [League Four Nations] tournament, and was played in England and Wales during October and November 2011. It was contested by regular contestants Australia national [rugby league team|Australia], England and New Zealand, in addition to Wales, who had qualified for their first Four Nations by winning the 2010 European Cup. The tournament saw the return of international rugby league to London's Wembley Stadium for the first time since 1997, with a double-header played on 5 November 2011. Australia won the tournament, defeating England in the final at Elland Road, Leeds, on 19 November 2011. The match was the last of the 17-year professional career of Australia's captain Darren Lockyer.

History

The 2011 tournament was the third of three Four Nations series planned before the 2013 [Rugby League World Cup], with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific. There was no Four Nations in 2012 due to teams preparing for the World Cup.
In addition to automatic inclusions Australia, England and New Zealand, Wales qualified for the tournament by defeating France in the final of the 2010 European Cup.

Squads

Australia

Australian coach Tim Sheens' touring squad was announced on 3 October: Of the twenty four players, twenty three were Australian born while one was Fijian born.

No.	Name	State	Club
661	Darren Lockyer	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
715	Luke Lewis	NSW	Penrith Panthers
724	Willie Tonga¹	QLD	North Queensland Cowboys
731	Johnathan Thurston	QLD	North Queensland Cowboys
737	Greg Inglis	QLD	South Sydney Rabbitohs
738	Cameron Smith	QLD	Melbourne Storm
739	Sam Thaiday	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
744	Cooper Cronk	QLD	Melbourne Storm
750	Paul Gallen	NSW	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
751	Billy Slater	QLD	Melbourne Storm
758	Anthony Watmough	NSW	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
761	Darius Boyd	QLD	St. George Illawarra Dragons
764	Robbie Farah	NSW	Wests Tigers
765	David Shillington	QLD	Canberra Raiders
767	Josh Morris²	NSW	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
?	Jharal Yow Yeh	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
?	Corey Parker	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
?	Daly Cherry-Evans	QLD	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
?	Tony Williams	NSW	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
?	Akuila Uate	NSW	Newcastle Knights
?	Matthew Scott	QLD	North Queensland Cowboys
?	Beau Scott³	NSW	St. George Illawarra Dragons
?	Chris Lawrence	NSW	Wests Tigers
?	Keith Galloway	NSW	Wests Tigers

¹ Replaced originally selected Brett Stewart who withdrew due to injury.
² Replaced originally selected David Taylor who withdrew due to injury.
³ Replaced originally selected Glenn Stewart who withdrew for compassionate reasons.

England

The England squad for the 2011 Four Nations: Of the twenty four players, twenty two were English born while one was New Zealand born and one Australian born.
Coach: Steve McNamara

Club Team

Players

Australia

New Zealand

The Kiwis announced their 23-man touring squad on 4 October. Of the twenty three players, eighteen were New Zealand born while four were Australian born and one Tongan born.
Coach: Stephen Kearney

Club Team

Players

Australia

Wales

The Welsh training squad was named on 14 September. Of the twenty three players, nine were English born while eight were Welsh born and five Australian borns and one South African born.
Coach: Iestyn Harris

Club Team

Players

England

Venues

The games were played at venues in England and Wales. The tournament final was played in Leeds.

Warrington	Leigh	London
Halliwell Jones Stadium	Leigh Sports Village	Wembley
Capacity: 13,200	Capacity: 11,000	Capacity: 90,000

Hull	Wrexham	Leeds
KC Stadium	Racecourse Ground	Elland Road
Capacity: 25,400	Capacity: 15,771	Capacity: 37,890
	200px

Officiating

Referees

Touch judges

Video Referees

Pre-tournament matches

Before the series, England played a Test match against France, New Zealand and Australia played a test in Newcastle before heading to Great Britain, and Wales played Ireland in Neath.
New Zealand were originally scheduled to play a Test match against the Cook Islands on 7 October, however this was called off due to the unavailability of 29 frontline players.

Statistics

Top pointscorers

Johnathan Thurston broke the record for most points in a single tournament with his 56-point haul. The previous record of 42 was set in 2005 by New Zealand's Stacey Jones.