The 2008 ANZAC test, also known as the Centenary Test as it commemorated the 100th anniversary of the first test match between the two countries, was a rugby league test match played between

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 ...

and New Zealand at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

on 9 May 2008. Commemorating the first trans-Tasman Test match, which was also played at Sydney on the same day in 1908, it was the 9th Anzac test played between the two nations since the first was played under 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 ...

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 t ...

. This was the first test played at the SCG since Australia had defeated New Zealand 29-12 in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

and the first ever rugby league test played under lights at the ground. For the game, the Kangaroos played in replica jumpers that were used until the first Green and Gold jumpers appeared in 1928. On this night the Kangaroos jumpers were Sky Blue and Maroon hoops depicting the states of New South Wales and Queensland. It was the first time the Kangaroos had worn their alternate test jumpers in a test match since their two test series against South Africa in 1963.1963 Australia vs South Africa series at Rugby League Project
/ref> This was the 112th test between Australia and New Zealand since 1908.

Teams

Match summary

Prior to the match, a minutes silence was observed in memory of the Australian Rugby League's Team of the Century coach Jack Gibson who had died only an hour before the game. Gibson's death was announced during the television broadcast by Channel 9's Peter Sterling who had won three NSWRL premierships for Parramatta under Gibson in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

. The living members of the ARL's Team of the Century –

Reg Gasnier Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...

(CE), Mal Meninga (CE), Wally Lewis (FE), Andrew Johns (HB),

Arthur Beetson Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson OAM (21 January 1945 – 1 December 2011

(PR), Noel Kelly (HK), Duncan Hall (PR), Norm Provan (SR), Ron Coote (SR), Johnny Raper (LK), Graeme Langlands (Res) and

Bob Fulton Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian international rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great succe ...

(Res) – were paraded to the crowd before the game as part of the Centenary celebrations. Members of the team who had died ( Clive Churchill (FB), Brian Bevan (WG), Ken Irvine (WG), Dally Messenger (Res) and Frank Burge (Res)) were represented by family members.

References

External links

Memorable moments: Australia v New Zealand rugby league Tests
{{2008 in rugby league Anzac Test Rugby league in Sydney International rugby league competitions hosted by Australia Sydney Cricket Ground Anzac Test Anzac Test Anzac Test