England To Play NZ Maori In Historic Clash

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England To Play NZ Maori In Historic Clash

Auckland, New Zealand – 6 August 2010 – In an exciting addition to the International Rugby League calendar, the English have confirmed that they will play NZ Maori in a test at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland on 16 October. This game will be the curtain raiser for the Kiwis v Samoa test.

A NZ Maori Rugby League team first toured overseas in 1908, and played against England in 1910 - the first ever International match in NZ by any team, and they have been very competitive ever since. For many years, the Maori have competed in the Pacific Cup and in 2008 played an Australian Indigenous side ahead of the official opening ceremony World Cup match.

Howie Tamati, New Zealand Maori Rugby League Chairman said “The NZ Maori Rugby League is excited by the opportunity for the Maori team to take the field against the visiting English team on 16th October. It will be our first international since the centenary year 2008 where many of the young players we introduced to our Maori side have gone on to be full internationals and regular first graders in the NRL and English Super League.”

“This team will be made up from players out of those competitions and will be a team that showcases the depth and quality of the Maori players we have available to New Zealand. We will be working closely with the NZ selectors to ensure that the best possible players are selected to play for the NZ Maori team against the English team.”

Mr Jon Roberts, Rugby Football Leagues Director of Performance and Coaching said “We really appreciate NZ Maori agreeing to this game. It is a very positive addition to our tour and will help us greatly with our preparations for the Four Nations. It will give our players a chance to get some game time in front of a good crowd. We know it will be a tough game against a worthy opposition which will test our players and enable them to press for selection for the first Four Nations game the following week.”

Full tournament details are available on the NZRL website Four Nations page.

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