Dual-code Rugby Internationals
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A dual-code rugby international is a
rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...
er who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
and 15-a-side
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
. Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
in 1895 and in New Zealand and Australia in 1908, and consequently a number of early top-class rugby league players had been star players in the rugby union code. Accordingly, a high proportion of Australia and New Zealand's dual-code rugby internationals played in rugby league's formative years in those countries. From 1910 to 1995, dual-code internationals were infrequent and with the single exception of
Karl Ifwersen Karl Donald Ifwersen (1893–1967) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union. Early years Karl Donald Ifwersen was born on January 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. His parents were Char ...
, the player had always first appeared as a union international before shifting to league, due to strict bans applied by administrators in rugby union, which remained amateur, to those players who crossed to the professional code. In 1995 rugby union itself turned professional and the tide of switches began to reverse. Since then the vast majority of cross-code representatives have debuted internationally in league before moving to union where there is now a larger audience and more money available. Backs have more often been successful at the highest level of both games than forwards – approximately 65% of the players here listed are backs, although pre-1995 many notable forwards moved from union to league. Since 1995 nearly 90% of the league to union converts who went on to play internationally have been backs. The following is an incomplete list of dual-code internationals, listed by country.


Australia

Image:Dally Messenger - 1930 - rugby league player.jpg,
Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...
Image:Bob Graves 07.jpg, Bob Graves Image:Pat Walsh AustRL.jpg, Pat Walsh Image:Charles Boxer Russell 1920.jpg, Boxer Russell Image:McKivat 1908.jpg,
Chris McKivat Christopher Hobart McKivat (alternatively spelled McKivatt, pronounced ; 27 November 1880 − 4 May 1941) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests ...
Image:Jack Barnett 1908.jpg, Jumbo Barnett Image:Bob Craig 1908.jpg, Bob Craig Image:Paddy McCue.jpg,
Patrick McCue Patrick Aloysius McCue (24 June 1883 – 10 September 1962) was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league footballer. He was a dual-code rugby international and an Olympic gold medallist. Rugby union career A for ...
Image:HerbGilbert.jpg,
Herb Gilbert Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 19 ...
Image:Peter Burge 1908.jpg, Peter Burge Image:Queensland Rugby League Founders 1907.jpg, Watson (back mid), Dore (front 2nd from left) Image:Arthur Summons.jpg,
Arthur Summons Arthur James Summons (13 December 1935 – 16 May 2020) was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league player, a dual-code rugby international fly-half or five-eighth. He captained the Australian national rugby league team in fi ...


England


Fiji


France


Hong Kong

Qualifying on residency, New Zealand-born Jack Nielsen became Hong Kong's first dual-code international when the Hong Kong rugby league team played their first ever international match in November 2017.


Ireland


Italy


Germany


Malta


New Zealand

There have been 36 New Zealand dual-code internationals. Only four people became dual-code internationals after first representing New Zealand in rugby league:
Karl Ifwersen Karl Donald Ifwersen (1893–1967) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union. Early years Karl Donald Ifwersen was born on January 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. His parents were Char ...
,
Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the List of dual-code rugby internationals#New ...
,
Matt Duffie Matthew David Duffie (born 16 August 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby footballer who plays rugby union for the Blues in Super Rugby. He previously played rugby league with the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League and was a ...
and
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former rugby league footballer. He plays for the Auckland Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific, and for the New Zealand national team. He made his debut against Irel ...
.


All Golds

The 1907 Professional All Blacks (derisively referred to by the New Zealand press as the All Golds) left New Zealand in August 1907 for their ground-breaking tour of Britain via Sydney. The squad contained eight former
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
in George Smith, Thomas Cross, William Mackrell, Herbert Turtill, Duncan McGregor,
Eric Watkins Eric L. Watkins (born 18 March 1880 - 14 August 1949) was a New Zealand rugby footballer who represented New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league. Early years Watkins attended Wellington College and was a surveyor by profession. This j ...
,
Massa Johnston William "Massa" Johnston (13 September 1881 – 9 January 1951) was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league international. He was part of the 1905 Original All Blacks tour and the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britai ...
and
Edgar Wrigley Edgar Wrigley was a New Zealand rugby footballer who represented New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league. Early years Wrigley was born in Masterton, New Zealand to Edmund & Betsy Hannah Wrigley and was a plumber by trade.John Haynes ' ...
. These men became New Zealand's first dual-code internationals at the point they first played on the ten-month tour. The three matches in Sydney between 17 and 24 August against professional New South Wales rugby rebels were played under
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
rules so do not qualify as international rugby league appearances. But full internationals under "Northern Union" (rugby league) rules were played against
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
in
Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...
on 1 Januard 1908 and three Tests against
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
in Leeds on 25 January 1907, Chelsea on 8 February 1907 and Cheltenham on 15 February 1908. Three Test matches were played in Australia on the homeward leg before the All Golds arrived home in June 1908 having played 48 games (tour matches and Tests) as internationals. Image:Duncan McGregor rugby player.jpeg, Duncan McGregor Image:Sonny bill Williams.JPG,
Sonny Bill Williams Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the List of dual-code rugby internationals#New ...


Samoa


Scotland


South Africa


Tonga


United States


Wales

With 99, Wales have more than twice the number of dual-code rugby internationals than any other country. Image:Dai Tarw Jones.jpg,
Dai Jones David John Jones (18 October 1943 – 4 March 2022), known as Dai Jones Llanilar, was a Welsh language television presenter, singer and radio broadcaster. Early life David John Jones was born in Holloway, London, Middlesex, to a family of W ...
Image:William Dowell.jpg, William Dowell Image:Benjamin Gronow.jpg,
Ben Gronow Benjamin Gronow (10 March 1887 – 24 November 1967) was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. At club level Gronow played under the union code for Bridg ...
Image:Ernie Jenkins.jpg, Ernie Jenkins Image:Percy Coldrick.jpeg,
Percy Coldrick Albert Percival "Percy" Coldrick (born 1 November 1888 – 26 December 1953) was a Welsh dual code rugby player who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Wigan. He represented Wales under the union code and Wales and Great Brita ...


More than one country

Dally Messenger Messenger played for Australia in rugby union, and for both New Zealand and Australia in rugby league. One week after his final Test appearance as a
Wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...
, Messenger, who was born in Australia, toured Great Britain at the invitation of the New Zealand All Golds in 1907. He made his international rugby league debut on that tour representing New Zealand. His Australian international Test debut was made in Sydney in Australia's inaugural rugby league Test v
the Kiwis The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, ...
on 9 May 1908. He made six further international rugby league appearances for Australia. Emosi Koloto Koloto grew up in New Zealand playing rugby union and represented Tonga in the code before switching to league and moving to England. He was called up into the Kiwis in 1991 from the
Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...
club and played five tests that year. John Schuster Schuster first played rugby union, representing both Samoa and New Zealand. Later he switched to rugby league and captained Western Samoa in two pool games at the 1995 World Cup. Henry Paul Paul was born in New Zealand. His senior club rugby league career was played in England but between 1995 and 2001 he regularly returned to New Zealand to make international appearances for the Kiwis. When he switched to union in 2002 he became eligible to represent England by ancestry of his grandfather and he did so in 2002. Brad Thorn Thorn was born in
Mosgiel, New Zealand Mosgiel (Māori: ''Te Konika o te Matamata'') is an urban satellite of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, fifteen kilometres west of the city's centre. Since the re-organisation of New Zealand local government in 1989 it has been inside the Dunedin ...
. From age eight he played rugby league in
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
and aged twenty-two he played for Australia during the
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
split year. When the code reunited in 1998 he also played for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. In 2001 he moved to New Zealand and switched to rugby union. He appeared in twelve Tests for
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 ...
(the All Blacks) from 2003. For 2005–06 he returned to the
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
in Australia, winning a premiership with the
Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
and playing at state level again. In 2008 he switched to rugby union for a second time and was again selected for the All Blacks. Michael Horak Horak was born in South Africa and represented
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in rugby league. He switched to rugby union in 1998 moving to England to play with the
Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
. He qualifies to represent
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
via his English mother and did so in 2002. Lesley Vainikolo Vainikolo was born in
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
but raised in New Zealand playing rugby league at school. His league club career was played with the
Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...
in Australia and the
Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...
in England. During that period he made twelve national representative appearances for
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 ...
(the Kiwis). He took up rugby union with
Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed i ...
in 2007. He was eligible to play for Tonga by birth, New Zealand by parentage or England by residence. He had previously declined to play for Tonga in the
2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...
so that he could play for his adopted nation. He made his international rugby union debut for England v Wales in February 2008 and played in five tests that season. Craig Gower After a successful eleven year Australian rugby league career from 1996 to 2007 with the
Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...
, during which he made five
State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
appearances for New South Wales and twenty-three Test appearances for Australia (5 for the
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
team and 18 for the
ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives comp ...
team), Gower moved to Europe, switched codes and signed with French rugby union side
Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
from 2008. He is eligible to play for Italy through his Italian grandfather. He was selected for Italy on their mid-season tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2009. Shontayne Hape Hape, a New Zealand Mãori, had a very successful rugby league career in both hemispheres, first with the
New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
in the
NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
(1999–2002) and then with the
Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...
in the
Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
(2003–2008). He made his Test debut for
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 ...
in the
2004 Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between 16 October and 27 November of 2004. The format of the competition differed from the previous event in that the teams pl ...
, and eventually appeared in 14 Tests for New Zealand. Hape switched codes in 2008, signing with Bath, for whom he still plays. Under IRB rules, he was already eligible to represent England on residency grounds, having lived there for well over the three years required to qualify. Hape made his union Test debut for England in
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
against
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Maurie Fa'asavalu Maurie Fa'asavalu is a Samoan rugby union player who formerly played rugby league for St Helens. He was picked in the Great Britain rugby league squad after living in England for 4 years. He also played for England in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Bill Hardcastle A New Zealander and an 1897
All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
, Hardcastle journeyed to Sydney in 1899 on hearing that the visiting British rugby union team would be not be travelling to New Zealand. Australian rugby in those days had no residential rules and once he joined Sydney's Glebe RU club he qualified for Australian national selection. He was chosen for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the fourth test of 1899 against Great Britain. In rugby league he made two Test appearances for Australia and six minor appearances on the 1908
Kangaroo tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...
. Va'aiga Tuigamala Tuigamala was nicknamed 'Inga the Winger' and initially represented
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 ...
in rugby union. He then switched codes, joining
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
in 1993. While playing league he represented
Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
at the 1995 World Cup. When rugby union turned professional he returned to his original code. Between 1996 and 2000 he represented
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
in rugby union. Lote Tuqiri Born in Fiji, Tuqiri was a junior Australian rugby league international at age 19 in 1998. When he missed selection for Australia's 2000 Rugby League World Cup squad he opted to play for
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
and captained the side in their three pool match appearances. He later played four rugby league Tests for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 2001 before his 2003 switch to union and a long international representative career in that code. Fred Jackson Jackson toured Australasia with the 1908 Anglo-Welsh Lions. However, during the tour he was accused of professionalism and recalled to England by the
Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
. Jackson left the touring party but failed to return to England to face the accusations. In 1910 Jackson played
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
in New Zealand and represented both
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
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 ...
against the touring
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
side.


First dual-code rugby international

England's Anthony Starks and Wales'
Jack Rhapps John "Jack" Rhapps (15 July 1876 – 23 January 1950) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Penygraig, and international rugby for Wales. Rhapps later "Went North", when he turned professional, joining rugby l ...
took the field in the inaugural rugby league international of 5 April 1904 between
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...
Starks had made two rugby union Test appearances for England in 1896, and Rhapps had made a single rugby union Test appearance for Wales in 1897, and thus in April 1904 they became the world's first dual rugby code internationals. The first tour matches played by the New Zealand All Golds in Britain in Nov & Dec 1907 would have seen international cross-code debuts by some of the seven touring former
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
. At this stage of the tour the New Zealanders were still familiarising themselves with the new Northern Union rules which they had not seen until they arrived in Leeds in October.http://www.newzealandatoz.com/index.php?pageid=826&All+Golds+Rugby+League+Team&PHPSESSID=864 All Golds Tour on New Zealand AtoZ.com The first full international of the tour against
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on New Year's Day 1908 saw confirmed appearances by Mackrell, Turtill, Wrigley, Johnston & Cross for New Zealand and David Jones for Wales. Thus New Zealand's first five dual-code rugby internationals all achieved that feat in the same match.


Other firsts and lasts

* First man to debut in rugby league before debuting in union -
Karl Ifwersen Karl Donald Ifwersen (1893–1967) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union. Early years Karl Donald Ifwersen was born on January 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. His parents were Char ...
Sep 1921. * Last man to debut in rugby league before debuting in rugby union -
Marika Koroibete Marika Koroibete (born 26 July 1992) is a dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer. He has been capped for Australia's national rugby union team, and plays as a winger for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby. Koroibet ...
, October 2013. * Last man to debut in rugby union before debuting in rugby league - Mirco Bergamasco, October 2016. * Most recent dual rugby code international -
Marika Koroibete Marika Koroibete (born 26 July 1992) is a dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer. He has been capped for Australia's national rugby union team, and plays as a winger for the Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby. Koroibet ...
, September 2017.


Dual-code internationals who also represented in a third sport

Michael Cleary represented Australia in track & field at the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
making him an international at the senior level in three sports.
Dick Thornett Richard Norman Thornett (23 September 1940 – 12 October 2011) was one of five Australians to have represented their country in three sports. He was an Olympic water polo player before becoming a rugby league and rugby union player – a dual ...
achieved the same distinction having also represented for Australia in
water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Dai Bishop represented Wales in
British Baseball Welsh baseball ( cy, Pêl Fas Gymreig), is a bat-and-ball game played in Wales. It is closely related to the game of rounders. In the tradition of bat-and-ball games, baseball has roots going back centuries, and there are references to "ba ...
.


See also

*
Comparison of rugby league and rugby union The team sports rugby union and rugby league have shared origins and thus many similarities. Initially, following the 1895 split in rugby football, rugby union and rugby league differed in administration only. Soon, however, the rules of rugby ...
*
Players who have converted from one football code to another There are many footballers who have converted from one football code to another at a professional or representative level. In some cases, the player may also return to the original code, so the traffic is not merely one way. In some countries, su ...


Footnotes


References

* Alan Whiticker, Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney * Alan Whiticker, Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * Pollard, Jack (1984) ''Australian Rugby Union: The Game and the Players'' Angus and Robertson Publishing * Fagan, Sean (2000–2006) http://www.rl1908.com


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dual-Code Rugby Internationals Lists of rugby league players dual-code