2019 Great Britain Lions tour

The 2019 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019.

2019 Great Britain Lions tour
Date26 October 2019 – 16 November 2019
Coach(es) Wayne Bennett
Tour captain(s) James Graham
Top point scorer(s) Gareth Widdop (12)
Top try scorer(s) Josh Hodgson (2)
Summary
P W D L
Total
04 00 00 04
Opponent
P W D L
 Tonga
1 0 0 1
 New Zealand
2 0 0 2
 Papua New Guinea
1 0 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tourPacific 1996

Background

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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

Squad

The 24-man Great Britain squad was named on 14 October 2019.[4] Ages are as of 26 October 2019.

Following injuries to Gildart and Hall, Ash Handley was called into the squad on 7 November.[5]

Nat.Pos.PlayerDate of birth (age)Club
Stand-offBlake Austin (1991-02-01)1 February 1991 (aged 28) Warrington Wolves
Second-rowJohn Bateman (1993-09-30)30 September 1993 (aged 26) Canberra Raiders
PropTom Burgess (1992-04-21)21 April 1992 (aged 27) South Sydney Rabbitohs
HookerDaryl Clark (1993-02-10)10 February 1993 (aged 26) Warrington Wolves
CentreJake Connor (1994-10-18)18 October 1994 (aged 25) Hull F.C.
FullbackLachlan Coote (1990-04-06)6 April 1990 (aged 29) St Helens
CentreOliver Gildart (1996-08-06)6 August 1996 (aged 23) Wigan Warriors
PropJames Graham (captain) (1985-09-10)10 September 1985 (aged 34) St. George Illawarra Dragons
WingRyan Hall (1987-11-27)27 November 1987 (aged 31) Sydney Roosters
WingAsh Handley (1996-02-16)16 February 1996 (aged 23) Leeds Rhinos
FullbackZak Hardaker (1991-10-17)17 October 1991 (aged 28) Wigan Warriors
Stand-offJackson Hastings (1996-01-04)4 January 1996 (aged 23) Salford Red Devils
PropChris Hill (1987-11-03)3 November 1987 (aged 31) Warrington Wolves
HookerJosh Hodgson (1989-10-31)31 October 1989 (aged 29) Canberra Raiders
Second-rowJack Hughes (1992-01-04)4 January 1992 (aged 27) Warrington Wolves
Second-rowJosh Jones (1993-05-12)12 May 1993 (aged 26) Salford Red Devils
Stand-offJonny Lomax (1990-09-04)4 September 1990 (aged 29) St Helens
WingJermaine McGillvary (1988-05-16)16 May 1988 (aged 31) Huddersfield Giants
Second-rowJoe Philbin (1994-11-16)16 November 1994 (aged 24) Warrington Wolves
PropLuke Thompson (1995-04-27)27 April 1995 (aged 24) St Helens
Stand-offJacob Trueman (1999-02-16)16 February 1999 (aged 20) Castleford Tigers
PropAlex Walmsley (1990-04-10)10 April 1990 (aged 29) St Helens
Second-rowElliott Whitehead (1989-09-04)4 September 1989 (aged 30) Canberra Raiders
Scrum-halfGareth Widdop (1989-03-12)12 March 1989 (aged 30) St. George Illawarra Dragons
Scrum-halfGeorge Williams (1994-10-31)31 October 1994 (aged 24) Wigan Warriors

Itinerary

At the RLIF congress in November 2018 a provisional tour was arranged with Great Britain to play tests against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa with the exact locations and dates being subject to ratification by the various national league and player organisations.[6] In March 2019 it was confirmed that test matches would only be played against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9] The International Rugby League (the RLIF was rebranded earlier in October 2019) disagreed and gave the match test status.[10]

New Zealand leg
26 October 2019
20:10 NZDT (UTC+13)
Tonga  14–6  Great Britain
Tries: Jennings, Katoa
Goals: Taukeiaho (3/3)
 Report
 Tries: Bateman
Goals: Widdop (1/1)

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.[12][13]
  • James Graham (Great Britain) is the only player to have previously played for the Lions, who were last active in 2007.[13]
2 November 2019
17:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
New Zealand  12–8  Great Britain
Tries: Isaako, Harawira-Naera
Goals: Isaako (2/3)
 Report
 Tries: Clark
Goals: Widdop (2/3)
Eden Park, Auckland[11]
Attendance: 25,575
Referee: Chris Kendall (England)[14]

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.[15]
9 November 2019
20:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
New Zealand  23–8  Great Britain
Tries: Manu, Johnson, Maumalo
Goals: Isaako (5/7)
Drop goals: Isaako
 Tries: Hodgson
Goals: Widdop (2/2)

Notes:

  • Blake Austin and Jack Hughes (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts, having not previously represented their home nation.

Papua New Guinea leg
16 November 2019
17:30 (UTC+10)
Papua New Guinea  28–10  Great Britain
Tries: Boas, Ipape, Johnston, Olam, Putt
Goals: Martin (3/4), Laybutt (1/1)
 Report
 Tries: Austin, Hodgson
Goals: Widdop (1/2)

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.[16] Bennett was also criticised for placing too much focus on England players – Lachlan Coote and Joe Philbin were the only players 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.[17][18]

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.[19] 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.[20]

References
  1. "Great Britain's rugby league Lions edge closer to a southern hemisphere tour". The Guardian. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. "Great Britain and Irish Lions to tour New Zealand in 2019". BBC Sport. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  3. "Great Britain and Irish Lions to tour in 2019 and 2024". BBC Sport. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  4. "Great Britain Lions: Jackson Hastings & Zak Hardaker in 24-man squad". BBC Sport. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  5. "Handley called up to Great Britain squad". rugby-league. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  6. "Great Britain to visit southern hemisphere next year in first Lions tour since 1996". BBC Sport. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  7. "Great Britain: 2019 tour to include Tests against New Zealand, Tonga and Papua New Guinea". BBC Sport. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  8. "Rugby League: Tonga test side named as 'Invitational XIII'". Newshub. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  9. "Rugby league: Banned Tonga board fires back at 'rebel' NRL stars". Newshub. 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. "Great Britain Rugby League Lions lose 14-6 to Tonga Invitational XIII on return". BBC Sport. 26 October 2019.
  11. "Great Britain tour fixtures confirmed". Wales Rugby League. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  12. "James Graham in line to win 50th cap". rugby-league.com. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  13. Laybourn, Ian (25 October 2019). "'Right up there with the best of them': Great Britain coach Wayne Bennett praises 50-cap man James Graham". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  14. "Former players a perfect match". RFL. 31 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  15. Long, David (31 October 2019). "Adam Blair to complete year of milestones with 50th test cap for Kiwis". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  16. "Papua New Guinea 28-10 Great Britain Rugby League Lions: Comeback tour ends in 4-0 whitewash". BBC Sport. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  17. "Wayne Bennett has failed as Great Britain Lions coach". The Guardian. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  18. "Lions tour 2019: Phil Clarke and Brian Carney review Great Britain's winter tour". Sky Sports. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  19. "Future of Great Britain Lions in grave doubt after disastrous tour". The Guardian. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  20. "Rugby League documentary Once Were Lions coming to BBC iPlayer". BBC Media Centre. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
External video
video icon New Zealand v Great Britain Game 1 on YouTube
video icon New Zealand v Great Britain Game 2 on YouTube
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