2010 Rugby League Four Nations


The 2010 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was played in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010. The tournament was the second time the Four Nations had been held, following on from the 2009 edition held in England and France.
The series was contested between Australia, England, New Zealand and the winners of the 2009 Pacific Cup, Papua New Guinea.

Teams

Australia

Coach: Tim Sheens
Of the twenty five players, twenty three were Australian born while two were Fijian born.
Club TeamPlayers
Australia

England

Coach: Steve McNamara
All twenty four players were English born.
Club TeamPlayers
England

New Zealand

Coach: Stephen Kearney
Of the twenty two players, seventeen were New Zealand born while five were Australian born.
Club TeamPlayers
Australia

Papua New Guinea

Coach: Stanley Gene
Of the twenty four players, fourteen were Papua New Guinea born while one was Australian born.
Club TeamPlayers
Papua New Guinea

Venues

The games were played at venues in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament final was played in Brisbane.

BrisbaneWellingtonSydney
Suncorp StadiumWestpac StadiumParramatta Stadium
Capacity: 52,500Capacity: 34,500Capacity: 21,500
RotoruaMelbourneAuckland
International StadiumAAMI ParkEden Park
Capacity: 26,000Capacity: 30,050Capacity: 50,000

Officiating

Three referees were initially appointed to control matches in the Four Nations:
Richard Silverwood suffered a leg injury and missed round two. He was replaced for this round by Australian referee Ben Cummins.

Pre-tournament matches

Before the series, New Zealand played an additional Test against Samoa. It was the first time the two nations have clashed. England played Cumbria on 3 October as a memorial match for Gary Purdham.
England also faced the New Zealand Māori rugby league team in a curtain raiser to the New Zealand-Samoa test.

Results

Round one

New Zealand vs England

In the curtain raiser match the Junior Kangaroos defeated the Junior Kiwis 24–16.

Australia vs Papua New Guinea

In the curtain raiser match Samoa defeated Tonga 22–6.

Round two

New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea

In the curtain raiser match the Junior Kiwis defeated the Junior Kangaroos 32–20 to square the series 1-all. The Junior Kangaroos were ahead 20–0 at half time.
With the victory, New Zealand retained the Peter Leitch QSM Challenge Trophy.

Broadcasting details

The Four Nations was broadcast to over 60 countries worldwide.