The Exiles rugby league team is an international
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 ...
team that plays in the
International Origin
International Origin was an annual series of rugby league football matches between England national rugby league team, England RL and the Exiles rugby league team, Exiles. The International Origin was created by the Rugby Football League (RFL) to ...
series against
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 ...
. The Exiles team is made up of Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island players contracted to
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 ...
clubs.
The Exiles team wear a black jersey with green and gold vee. Each player also has a small flag of their origin nation on their shirts.
Team selection
The Exiles rugby league team is selected from the overseas players in the Super League competition. These players are chosen to form a 23-man squad by a foreign coach (usually an Australian or New Zealand coach).
History
The
Other Nationalities rugby league team
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 ...
regularly played international, and also county, rugby league football teams in Europe from 1904 to 1975. The team, created in 1904 to play England in the first ever rugby league international match, was at first made up of Welsh and Scottish players. However, as rugby league in England grew, and more players from other countries were brought over to England to play in the domestic competitions, Other Nationalities were later represented by players from Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Due to the success of the All Stars match in Australia between the
Indigenous All Stars and the
NRL All Stars, new England head coach Steve McNamara proposed a plan to revive the concept of the Other Nationalities team in 2011 in a hope of providing England with a more challenging opposition in preparation of playing and staying competitive against nations like Australia and New Zealand after the 2010 thrashing of France 60–6 followed by England's poor results in the 2010 Four Nations Tournament.
The match – branded by the Rugby Football League as the
International Origin Match – took place on 10 June 2011, replacing the Gillet Fusion mid-season test against France, who in turn will meet England at the end of the Super League season as part of England's build-up to the Four Nations. All Super League clubs agreed to the concept with a maximum of two players per club to be selected for the squad by public vote from rugby league fans and coach Brian McLennan. The 'Exiles' banner defeated England 16–12 with a try in the dying stages of the match at Headingley, Leeds.
2013 squad
2013 Exiles squad to date.
Results
See also
*
Other Nationalities rugby league team
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 ...
External links
England Rugby League Team official website
{{International Rugby League
National rugby league teams
Rugby league in England
2011 establishments in England
Rugby clubs established in 2011