The 2019 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team to the New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in 2019.
Background Official Men's Rankings as of July 2019RankChange*TeamPts%23410
This tour was the first matches played by the Lions since 2007 when they defeated New Zealand 3–0 during the New Zealand tour that year. The last time the Lions travelled to Australasia was for the 2006 Tri-Nations tournament and the last full Lions tour was in 1996.
After the 2007 New Zealand tour to Great Britain the Great Britain Lions were disbanded and more emphasis was placed on the four home nations; England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In 2017 the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) announced a four-year cycle of tours and tournaments to include the resurrection of the Great Britain Lions and a tour by the team to the Southern Hemisphere. At the RLIF's 2018 meeting a proposal by the Australian Rugby League Commission for the Lions tour to be postponed in favour of a tour to Europe by the Australian Kangaroos was rejected and the 2017 announced cycle was confirmed.
Squad The 24-man Great Britain squad was named on 14 October 2019. Ages are as of 26 October 2019.
Following injuries to Gildart and Hall, Ash Handley was called into the squad on 7 November.
Nat. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club Warrington Wolves Canberra Raiders South Sydney Rabbitohs Warrington Wolves Hull F.C. St Helens Wigan Warriors (captain) St. George Illawarra Dragons Sydney Roosters Leeds Rhinos Wigan Warriors Salford Red Devils Warrington Wolves Canberra Raiders Warrington Wolves Salford Red Devils St Helens Huddersfield Giants Warrington Wolves St Helens Castleford Tigers St Helens Canberra Raiders St. George Illawarra Dragons Wigan Warriors
Itinerary At the RLIF congress in November 2018 a provisional tour was arranged with Great Britain to play tests against , , , and with the exact locations and dates being subject to ratification by the various national league and player organisations. In March 2019 it was confirmed that test matches would only be played against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
In September 2019 the Tongan National Rugby League's membership of the RLIF was suspended and in order to fulfil the fixture against the Lions a Tongan Invitational XIII was selected to play against Great Britain. The members of the suspended Tonga board labelled the invitational side as a 'rebel' squad and insisted that the game against Great Britain could not be classed as a test match. The International Rugby League (the RLIF was rebranded earlier in October 2019) disagreed and gave the match test status.
Test Venues
Hamilton Auckland Christchurch Port Moresby Waikato Stadium Eden Park Rugby League Park PNG Football Stadium Capacity: 25,800 Capacity: 50,000 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 14,800
Fixtures
New Zealand leg
Team details FB 1William HopoateWG 2David Fusitu'aCE 3Michael JenningsCE 19Konrad HurrellWG 5Daniel TupouFE 6Tuimoala LoloheaHB 20Tesi NiuPR 15Addin Fonua-BlakeHK 9Siliva HaviliPR 10Sio Siua Taukeiaho (c)SR 11Ben Murdoch-MasilaSR 12Manu Ma'uLK 13Jason Taumalolo (c)Interchange:BE 8Andrew FifitaBE 14Sione KatoaBE 16John AsiataBE 17Sitili TupouniuaCoach: Kristian Woolf FB 1Lachlan CooteWG 2Jermaine McGillvaryCE 3Zak HardakerCE 4Oliver GildartWG 5Ryan HallSO 6Gareth WiddopSH 7Jackson HastingsPR 8Chris HillHK 9Josh HodgsonPR 10Luke ThompsonSR 11John BatemanSR 12Elliott WhiteheadLF 13James Graham (c)Interchange:BE 14Josh JonesBE 15Tom BurgessBE 16Jonny LomaxBE 17Alex WalmsleyCoach: Wayne Bennett Touch judges: Chris Butler (Australia) Chris McMillan (New Zealand) Video referee: Jared Maxwell (Australia) Notes: Tesi Niu (Tonga), Jackson Hastings, and Josh Jones (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts. Hastings and Jones were the only Great Britain players to have not previously represented their home nation. James Graham (Great Britain) made his 50th Test appearance – his 6th for Great Britain, with 44 for England. He became the 4th Briton and 8th person overall to do so. James Graham (Great Britain) is the only player to have previously played for the Lions, who were last active in 2007.
Team details FB 1Roger Tuivasa-SheckWG 2Ken MaumaloCE 3Charnze Nicoll-KlokstadCE 4Joseph ManuWG 5Jamayne IsaakoFE 6Kieran ForanHB 7Benji Marshall (c)PR 8Zane TetevanoHK 21Kodi NikorimaPR 10Jared Waerea-HargreavesSR 11Briton NikoraSR 12Kenny BromwichLK 13Joseph TapineInterchange:BE 14Jahrome HughesBE 15Corey Harawira-NaeraBE 16Leeson Ah MauBE 17Adam BlairCoach: Michael Maguire FB 1Jonny LomaxWG 2Jermaine McGillvaryCE 3Zak HardakerCE 4Jake ConnorWG 5Ryan HallSO 6Gareth WiddopSH 7Jackson HastingsPR 8Chris HillHK 9Josh HodgsonPR 10Tom BurgessSR 11John BatemanSR 12Elliott WhiteheadLF 13James Graham (c)Interchange:BE 14Josh JonesBE 15Joe PhilbinBE 16Daryl ClarkBE 17Alex WalmsleyCoach: Wayne Bennett Touch judges: Chris Butler (Australia) Chris McMillan (New Zealand) Video referee: Henry Perenara (New Zealand) Notes: Adam Blair (New Zealand) made his 50th Test appearance for New Zealand becoming the 2nd New Zealander and 9th person overall to do so.
Team details FB 1Roger Tuivasa-SheckWG 2Ken MaumaloCE 3Charnze Nicoll-KlokstadCE 4Joseph ManuWG 5Jamayne IsaakoFE 6Shaun JohnsonHB 7Benji Marshall (c)PR 8Zane TetevanoHK 9Brandon SmithPR 10Jared Waerea-HargreavesSR 11Briton NikoraSR 15Kevin ProctorLK 13Joseph TapineInterchange:BE 12Corey Harawira-NaeraBE 14Kodi NikorimaBE 16Leeson Ah MauBE 17Adam BlairCoach: Michael Maguire FB 1Jonny LomaxWG 2Jermaine McGillvaryCE 3Jack HughesCE 4Jake ConnorWG 18Blake AustinSO 6Gareth WiddopSH 7Jackson HastingsPR 8Chris HillHK 9Josh HodgsonPR 10Tom BurgessSR 11John BatemanSR 12Elliott WhiteheadLF 13James Graham (c)Interchange:BE 14Josh JonesBE 16Daryl ClarkBE 17Alex WalmsleyBE 20Luke ThompsonCoach: Wayne Bennett Touch judges: Chris McMillan (New Zealand) Dave Munro (Australia) Video referee: Henry Perenara (New Zealand) Notes: Blake Austin and Jack Hughes (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts, having not previously represented their home nation.
Papua New Guinea leg
Team details FB 1Alex JohnstonWG 2Edene GebbieCE 3David MeadCE 4Justin OlamWG 5Stargroth AmeanFE 6Kyle LaybuttHB 7Watson BoasPR 8Wellington AlbertHK 9Wartovo Puara JrPR 10Luke PageSR 11Nixon PuttSR 12Daniel RussellLK 13Rhyse Martin (c)Interchange:BE 14Edwin IpapeBE 15Garry LoBE 16Stanton AlbertBE 17Moses MeningaCoach: Michael Marum FB 1Jonny LomaxWG 2Jermaine McGillvaryCE 3Jack HughesCE 4Jake ConnorWG 5Blake AustinSO 6Gareth WiddopSH 7Jackson HastingsPR 8Chris HillHK 9Josh HodgsonPR 10Tom BurgessSR 11John BatemanSR 12Elliott WhiteheadLF 13James Graham (c)Interchange:BE 15Luke ThompsonBE 17Alex WalmsleyBE 18Joe PhilbinBE 19George WilliamsCoach: Wayne Bennett Touch judges: Hanua Rupa (Papua New Guinea) Mexi Topani (Papua New Guinea) Video referee: Shayne Hayne (Australia)
Aftermath The tour failed to live up to expectations, with Great Britain failing to win a single match on the tour. Coach Wayne Bennett, whose contract with the RFL expired at the end of the tour, was heavily criticised for his team selections. Six half-backs were chosen in the initial 24-man squad, but injuries during the tour resulted in stand-off Blake Austin being deployed as an emergency winger due a shortage of other players at the position. Bennett was also criticised for placing too much focus on England players – Lachlan Coote was the only player selected outside of the England setup, while Welsh-born Regan Grace, who had recently won the 2019 Super League Grand Final with St Helens, reportedly wasn't even considered for selection.
RFL rugby director Kevin Sinfield defended the squad selection, but conceded that there had been less interest than expected in the revival of the Lions tour, with attendances on the New Zealand leg of the tour being lower than expected. Bennett's contract was ultimately not renewed, and he was replaced as England coach by Shaun Wane.
In November 2020, a documentary covering the tour, titled "Once Were Lions", was released on BBC iPlayer.
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