The 1998 Anzac test was a rugby league test match played between Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

at the

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are ...

24 April 1998. It was the 2nd Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under the Super League banner in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

and the first to be played in

. Australia led 12-6 at half time after two tries to

Terry Hill Terry Hill (born 22 January 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in the NRL for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs Magpies, Manly-Warri ...

while

Kevin Iro Kevin Leslie Iro (born 24 May 1968), also known by the nickname of '"The Beast", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached in the 2000s. He played at representative level for New Zeala ...

crossed for the home side, but the Kiwis came back thanks to two tries after half time by

Sean Hoppe Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

and

Terry Hermansson Terry Brian Hermansson, is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. An international representative , he played club football in England, Australia and New Zealand. Playing career Hermansson was a Schoolboy Kiwi in 1982 and ma ...

which saw NZ lead 18-12. After Steve Renouf scored with only his 3rd touch of the game midway through the second half, the game was in the balance with the score at 18-16.

then put the result beyond doubt with his second try with 2 minutes remaining to give the home side a 22-16 win in front of an almost full house of 24,620 fans. This was New Zealand's first win over Australia since the first test of the

1991 Trans-Tasman Test series The 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 3 July in Melbourne and finished on 31 July in Brisbane, consisted of three test mat ...

at the Olympic Park Stadium in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

.1998 Anzac Test highlights
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Squads

Although

Rodney Howe Rodney Howe (born 31 January 1973) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played in the forwards for the Newcastle Knights, Western Reds, Melbourne Storm, New South Wales and for the Australian na ...

, Brad Thorn and

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profes ...

had played Super League Tests for Australia in 1997, according to official

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

records (but not International Rugby League records) which do not recognise any test match played under the Super League banner, they along with

Mat Rogers Mathew Steve Rogers (born 1 February 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He also played rugby union at the highest level, becoming a dual-code international. The son of ...

made their test debuts for Australia in this game.

Match summary

References

{{1998 in rugby league Anzac Test International rugby league competitions hosted by New Zealand Rugby league in Auckland Anzac Test Anzac Test