Four Nations Teams to Mark Remembrance Day

Four Nations Teams to Mark Remembrance Day

Hull, England, November 11, 2011 – In a week when controversy has raged over the England footballers wearing Remembrance Day poppies on their shirts there has been no such drama for the Gillette Four Nations rugby league teams.

The Kiwis and England will have poppies on their jerseys for tomorrow night’s tournament-defining clash at Hull’s KC Stadium as will Wales and Australia when they meet in Wrexham on Sunday.

The matter of sports teams observing Remembrance Day by having poppies on their jerseys came to a head this week after FIFA ordered they could not be worn on the England team’s shirts in their friendly against world champion Spain this weekend. After Prince William intervened, a compromise was reached allowing the England players to wear armbands displaying the poppy in acknowledgement of the cause.

The Kiwis have previously had poppies on their jerseys for matches falling on the same weekend as Remembrance Day (as they did when playing England in Huddersfield during the 2009 Four Nations tournament). For tomorrow night’s match, poppies have been placed just above the V on the front of the Kiwis’ jerseys.

At their final field session on Armistice Day in Leeds today, the Kiwis broke away from training at 11.00am, gathering in a huddle to observe two minutes’ silence.
There will also be a minute’s silence before tomorrow’s match.

"It means a lot to me and to all of us,” said seasoned Kiwi international Thomas Leuluai.

“We're proud to be wearing poppies on our jerseys. It’s a sign of respect.
"It's important for us to acknowledge those who suffered for us in the past whenever we can. This is our way of doing what we can to show how much it means to us."

The Kiwis moved to Hull after training today, checking into the Forest Pines Hotel on the outskirts of the city about 20 minutes from KC Stadium.

Earlier prop Fuifui Moimoi, who has been recovering from an ankle injury, trained fully with the Kiwis and remains in contention to line up against England. The final make-up of the side won’t be revealed until close to kick-off.

After having All Whites captain Ryan Nelsen and British rugby league legend Ellery Hanley as guest speakers at their last two Test dinners, the Kiwis had no special guests for their traditional pre-Test occasion tonight. Instead the players were addressed by coach Stephen Kearney and senior internationals in the squad. Kiwi great Ruben Wiki, who played a world record 55 Tests between 1994 and 2006, also spoke to the team and handed out the Test jerseys.

Kearney has stressed the magnitude of the challenge his defending champions are facing in their bid to make their second straight Four Nations final. When the two teams met in identical circumstances the last time the tournament was held in the northern hemisphere, England prevailed 20-12 in Huddersfield.

That loss extended a sequence which has shown how much the Kiwis struggle to beat England (or Great Britain) at home. They have won only one of their last 11 Tests against the Lions/England since the drawn second Test in the 2002 series, the one win coming during the 2005 Tri Nations when the Kiwis went on to win the title. Since then they’ve had six straight losses including a 0-3 series whitewash by Great Britain in 2007.

The results in England since the 2002 series against Great Britain have been:

2002 – Test series v Great Britain:
Won 30-16 (Blackburn)
Drew 14-14 (Huddersfield)
Lost 10-16 (Wigan)

2004 – Tri Nations v Great Britain:
Lost 12-22 (Huddersfield)
Lost 24-26 (Hull)

2005 – Tri Nations v Great Britain:
Won 42-26 (London)
Lost 12-38 (Huddersfield)

2006 – One-off Test v Great Britain:
Lost 14-46 (St Helens)

2007 – Test Series v Great Britain:
Lost 14-20 (Huddersfield)
Lost 0-44 (Hull)
Lost 22-28 (Wigan)

2009 – Four Nations v England:
Lost 12-20 (Huddersfield)

ENDS

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