The 2011
ANZAC Test 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 on 6 May 2011 at
Skilled Park on the
Gold Coast. Australia won their tenth straight Anzac test with a score of 20–10.
Pre-game
The game was originally scheduled to be played in
AMI Stadium in
Christchurch but was moved because of the damages from the
2011 Canterbury earthquake
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
. However, 250 earthquake victims and volunteer workers were flown in for the match. to be commemorated.
New Zealand were given a chance by some pundits considering that they had beaten Australia in the
2008 Rugby League World Cup Final
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup final was the championship-deciding game of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament. Played between New Zealand and Australia on 22 November 2008 at Brisbane's Lang Park, the match was a re-play of the 2000 Rug ...
and in the
2010 Four Nations
The 2010 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was played in Australia and New Zealand in October and November 2010. The tournament was the second time the Four Nations had been held, following on from the 2009 edition held in England and France.
...
. Winning the Anzac test was seen as the one achievement that alluded the New Zealand team. However, Australia went into the match as favorites, having won the last nine Anzac Tests and having never lost to New Zealand in an Anzac Test in Australia. The odds for an Australian win opened at $1.35 but dropped to $1.22 while New Zealand was paying $4.25.
The
New Zealand national anthem was performed by
J.Williams.
Squads
*Replaced originally selected
David Shillington who withdrew due to injury.
Match summary
New Zealand were criticized after the game for their unforgiving error rate, most notably for a period in the second half where five consecutive New Zealand errors allowed Australia to score two tries to secure their win.
New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney said after the game "It seems a bit same old, same old – but I know we're taking steps in the right direction. The effort of the guys to keep hanging in there was a real positive.'
New Zealand had at least proved that they could be competitive with Australia again.
See also
References
External links
{{coord, 28, 4, 1, S, 153, 22, 44, E, type:landmark_region:AU-QLD, name=Skilled Park, display=title
Anzac Test
Anzac Test
Anzac Test
Rugby league on the Gold Coast, Queensland
International rugby league competitions hosted by Australia
May 2011 sports events in Australia