The 1993 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France was a tour by the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird o ...

. The

lost a series 0-3 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 ...

but defeated

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in one-off test matches. They also won games against Wigan, St Helens, Widnes, Leeds and the Great Britain under 23's.

Background

New Zealand last toured Great Britain in 1989. Earlier in 1993, New Zealand had drawn 14-all with the Kangaroos at

Mt Smart Stadium Mount Smart Stadium (formerly known as Ericsson Stadium) is a multipurpose stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the main home ground of the New Zealand Warriors of the National Rugby League, and occasionally hosts rugby union and internatio ...

. This was the first ever draw between the two countries. They then lost 8-16 at the

Palmerston North Showgrounds Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It has three linked indoor stad ...

before finishing the

1993 Trans-Tasman Test series The 1993 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 20 June in Auckland and finished on 30 June in Brisbane, consisted of three test m ...

by going down 4-16 in Brisbane. The New Zealand squad for those matches was: Morvin Edwards,

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; anglici ...

Jarrod McCracken Jarrod McCracken (born 27 March 1970) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is a former captain of the New Zealand national rugby league team and is the son of New Zealand rugby league internation ...

, Dave Watson,

Daryl Halligan Daryl John Halligan (born 25 July 1966) is a rugby league commentator and former professional player. A New Zealand international winger, he was the pre-eminent goal-kicker of his era, retiring as the highest point scorer in Australian premiers ...

Tea Ropati Tea Faa'tea Ropati (born 7 September 1964) is a former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand and Samoa national rugby league team, Western Samoa. Background Ropati was born in ...

, Gary Freeman (C), Se'e Solomona,

Duane Mann Duane Darrin Mann (born 28 June 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. A Tonga and New Zealand international representative , he captained both sides. Mann played hi ...

Brent Todd Brent Trevor Todd (born 5 December 1964) is a New Zealand former professional sportsman who has represented New Zealand at both rugby league football and water polo. His rugby league position was prop forward. Early years Todd played in the New ...

Gary Mercer Gary Ivan Mercer (born 22 June 1966) is a New Zealand rugby league and rugby union coach and former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative player, he has spent most of his career in Britain both playing ...

Quentin Pongia Quentin Lee Pongia (9 July 1970 – 18 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1990s and 2000s. Background He was the grandson of fellow Kiwi international Jim Calder. His sister Megan Tahapeehi ...

Tawera Nikau Tawera Nuieia Nikau (born 1 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different clu ...

, Tony Kemp,

Brendon Tuuta Brendon Ephia Tuuta (born 29 April 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer of Māori ( Ngāti Mutunga) and Moriori descent. Tuuta played a variety of positions including and . He was known as "the baby-faced assassin" and had ...

, Jason Donnelly,

Stephen Kearney Stephen Peter Kearney (born 11 June 1972) is a New Zealand professional rugby league football coach who until 2020 was the head coach of the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and a former player. A New Zealand national captain and second-row fo ...

Gavin Hill Gavin Lyle Hill (born 11 December 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached rugby union the 2000s. He resided in Wellington for 10-years before moving back t ...

and

John Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess Lo ...

while

Howie Tamati Howard Kevin Tamati (born 3 January 1953), generally known as Howie Tamati, is a New Zealand politician and former professional rugby league footballer and coach who played for New Zealand. He is the cousin of fellow international Kevin Tamati ...

was the coach and Richard Bolton was the manager. All of this squad, with the exception of Gavin Hill and Tony Kemp, were also selected for the tour of Great Britain and France. However, before the tour, they lost McCracken (surgery) and Brent Todd (injury). The Kiwis would also be without goal kicking fullback

Matthew Ridge Matthew John Ridge (born 27 August 1968) is a New Zealand television presenter, and a former rugby union and rugby league footballer. A fullback in both codes, Ridge played rugby union for Auckland and became an All Black, but never won an in ...

(knee). The

Frank Endacott Frank Morris Endacott , also known by the nickname of "Happy Frank", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. Background His son, Shane, also played rugby league. Playing career Endacott played for Addington an ...

-coached

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

toured Great Britain at the same time as the senior Kiwis, winning 11 of there 12 matches. Their captain, Henry Paul, was called up from the Junior Kiwis to join the main squad mid-tour.

Squad

This was the first time that no Auckland-based players were in the squad.

was the coach and Richard Bolton was the manager.

Fixtures

The New Zealand side played a total of five test matches while on their European tour and one test in New Zealand before leaving.

Great Britain

Test Venues

The three Great Britain vs New Zealand tests took place at the following venues.

Wales Test

The Kiwis opened their tour with what was their first test against Wales since the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series) was the seventh tournament for the Rugby League World Cup. The format differed from that employed in previous competitions; no single country hosted the matches, whi ...

. That game, won 25-24 by the Welsh, was also played in Swansea but at the

St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground, commonly known simply as St.Helens, is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the home ground of Sw ...

. A disallowed try in the dying minutes was all that came between Wales pulling off the result of the decade in an exciting clash at Swansea. Wales led for much of the first half. Two kicked penalties from Jonathan Davies and a drop goal from John Griffiths gave the impetus and on 27 minutes Davies put in a fantastic 40 yard kick to set up the flying Gareth Cordle to score Wales' first try. However New Zealand were kept in the game by a succession of goals from the classy kicker Daryl Harrigan, and when Quentin Pongia punished a rare weak kick from Davies to set up Mackie just before half-time, the Kiwis took a narrow lead. Ropati extended the lead to 7 points after the restart before Jiffy's magic took hold on the game again. He kicked a penalty and then repeated the trick of the first half, sending another long kick over the defence to give Cordle his second. Wales smelt victory at 17-16 but almost immediately a lost ball from Devereux allowed Mackie to set up the strong running Sean Hoppe. Both sides exchanged penalties and with a few minutes to go John Devereux took advantage of a hoisted bomb to send Wales into rapture with what they thought was the winning try. Agonisingly for the home side, reserve back Adrian Hadley was correctly ruled offside and Wales' last chance to steal the match was gone. A famous victory had eluded Wales; nevertheless they had sent a clear message that they were building up to the World Cup and would be willing to take on anybody. ---- New Zealand: Peter Edwards,

Whetu Taewa Whetu Taewa (born 19 October 1970) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand six times between 1989 and 1996. Playing career New Zealand Whetu was born on the West Coast, New Zealand and started p ...

, Jason Williams,

Blair Harding Blair Edward Harding was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1993. Playing career Harding played for Papanui in the Canterbury Rugby League competition. He played for Canterbury in 1993, being part of the side that ...

, Jason Donnelly, Mark Nixon (c),

Aaron Whittaker Aaron Whittaker (born 9 July 1968) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative halfback, he played club football in Australia, England and New Zealand. Early years Whittaker grew up ...

, Robert Piva,

Denvour Johnston Denvour Francis Johnston is a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in 1993. Playing career Johnston played for the Randwick Kingfishers club in the Wellington Rugby League competition. He represented the Cook Island ...

, Jason Lowrie, Simon Angell,

David Lomax David Walter Lomax (born 21 September 1970) is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player who represented New Zealand. He is the brother of another international, John Lomax. Early years Lomax grew up playing rugby league for the Wainu ...

Logan Edwards Samuel Logan Edwards (born 18 November 1968) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. Domestic career Edwards played for the dominating Canterbury provincial side of the early 1990s alongside such talent as Quentin Pongia, Mike Dorreen ...

. Res - Gary Freeman,

, Paul Johnson Kiwi forward Quentin Pongia was suspended for one game after being sent off for a high tackle. ---- Wigan: Joe Lydon, Jason Robinson,

Dean Bell Dean Bell, also known by the nicknames of "Mean Dean", and "Deano", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in England, Australia ...

(c),

Gary Connolly Gary John Connolly (born 22 June 1971) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s as a and for St Helens, Canterbury Bulldogs, Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos and for the Great Britain national si ...

Sam Panapa Samuel Lameko Panapa is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He represented three countries in his career: Tokelau, New Zealand and Western Samoa. Panapa played his club football in Aucklan ...

, Frano Botica,

Shaun Edwards Shaun Edwards, OBE (born 17 October 1966) is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player, who is the defence coach for the France national team. A or , Edwards is the most decorated player in rugby league history, with 37 wi ...

Neil Cowie Neil Fraser Cowie (born 16 January 1967) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for Rochdale Hornets and W ...

, Martin Hall,

Ian Gildart Ian Frederick Gildart (born 14 October 1969) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who in the 1980s and 1990s played for Wigan, Wakefield Trinity and Oldham as a , before assisting at Wigan St Patricks ARLFC. Background Gil ...

Denis Betts Denis Charles Betts (born 14 September 1969) is an English rugby league coach and former player. He was assistant coach of the England national team. A , Betts played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s for the Wigan Warriors, with whom he won numer ...

, Andy Farrell, Phil Clarke. Res - Paul Stevens,

Barrie-Jon Mather Barrie-Jon Mather (born 15 January 1973) is an English former rugby league and rugby union player. A dual-code international player, he was the first Great Britain rugby league player to be capped by England at rugby union. He was the NSW ...

Mick Cassidy Michael Darren Cassidy (born 3 July 1973) is the Head of youth development of the Wigan Warriors and a former professional rugby league footballer. Cassidy had a wealth of experience with the dominant Wigan side of the early to mid-1990s. Cas ...

Martin Dermott RL Record Keepers' Club Martin Dermott (born 25 September 1967) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s and 1990s, and was capped 11 times for Great Britain. He played for Wigan and the Warringt ...

. Coach -

John Dorahy John Kevin Dorahy (born 28 August 1954), also known by the nickname of "Joe Cool", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played in the Australian New South Wales Rugby League premiership and also represented ...

New Zealand:

Iva Ropati Iva Lewis Ropati is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and high school principal. He played at representative level for New Zealand, Auckland and Taranaki, and at club level for the Ota ...

, Jason Williams,

Gene Ngamu Gene Robert Ngamu (born 27 January 1974) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. He played mainly as a or , and is probably best known for his combination with Stacey Jones at the Auckland Warriors and the Kiwis. Early years Ngamu s ...

, Gary Freeman (c),

Brent Stuart Brent Clifford Stuart is a rugby league coach and former player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Stuart was originally from the West Coast. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth. A West Coast and Canterbury re ...

, Robert Piva,

Jason Mackie Jason James Mackie (born 25 December 1968) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer. Playing career He represented Northland 18 times between 1990 and 1993 scoring 14 tries. During the 1991 season he was based in Devonport with the Navy ...

. Res -

, Jason Donnelly, Jason Lowrie Surprisingly, Kiwi coach Howie Tamati elected to have Gene Ngamu kicking the goals despite the presence of 'superboot' Daryl Halligan at fullback in place of Morvin Edwards who was suffering from the flu. The ploy almost backfired as Ngamu only kicked one goal from five attempts. The match was highlighted by Sean Hoppe's 90 metre intercept try in the second half in which he left both Gary Connolly and Sam Panapa in his wake. Frano Botica, who would represent the Kiwis later in the test series, played against his national squad for Wigan. ----

1st Test

----

2nd Test

Martin Offiah's standing as the fastest player in rugby league took a beating during the second half when after making a break, he was unceremoniously bundled into touch after a 40-metre run by Kevin Iro. Offiah, recalled to the Lions test side after missing the first test at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

through injury, had a 3-metre head start on the Kiwi centre. ----

3rd Test

Great Britain wrapped up the series 3-0 with a commanding 29-10 win at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

. After New Zealand lost the second test, and the series, coach Howie Tamati selected Aaron Whittaker at halfback over the incumbent captain, Gary Freeman. After the match Tamati stated "I didn't believe I could win with Gary, it didn't come off but I believe the decision I made gave us a chance, whereas before we had no chance." The match was highlighted by an 80-metre try to Lions fullback Jonathan Davies.Jonathan Davies Best Tries
/ref> ----

France

French Test

The Kiwis restored some pride by defeating France 36-11 in the test in

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...

. ----

Aftermath

was appointed the new New Zealand coach from 1994. The Kiwis were next in Great Britain for the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact ...

References

{{Kiwis tours New Zealand national rugby league team tours Rugby league tours of Great Britain Rugby league tours of France Tour of Great Britain and France New Zealand tour of Great Britain and France New Zealand tour of Great Britain and France New Zealand tour of Great Britain and France