The 2011 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (also known as the 2011 Gillette Rugby League Four Nations due to sponsorship by

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The ...

) was the third staging of the

Rugby League Four Nations The Rugby League Four Nations (known as the Ladbrokes Four Nations in 2016, for sponsorship purposes) was a biennial rugby league football tournament run in partnership between the Australian Rugby League Commission, Rugby Football League and ...

tournament and was played in

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 ...

and

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 ...

during October and November 2011, which was contested by regular contestants Australia,

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, in addition to

, who had qualified for their first Four Nations by winning the

2010 European Cup The 2010 European Cup, known as the Alitalia European Cup for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league football tournament. Three of the competing teams participated in the 2009 European Cup, with France also being included in the tournament after ...

. The tournament saw the return of international rugby league to London's

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

for the first time since 1997, with a double-header played on 5 November 2011. Australia won the tournament, defeating England in the final at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Premier League club Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the ...

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, 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 thi ...

, on 19 November 2011. The match was the last of the 17-year professional career of Australia's captain

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profes ...

History

The 2011 tournament was the third of three Four Nations series planned before the

2013 Rugby League World Cup The 2013 Rugby League World Cup was the fourteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and took place in England, Wales, France and Ireland. between 26 October and 30 November 2013. It was the main event of the year's Festival of World Cup ...

, with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific. There was no Four Nations in 2012 due to teams preparing for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. In addition to automatic inclusions Australia, England and New Zealand, Wales qualified for the tournament by defeating

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

in the final of the

Referees

* Phil Bentham * Matt Cecchin *

Henry Perenara Henry Edward Perenara (born 16 June 1980) is a New Zealand rugby league referee and former professional footballer who represented New Zealand. He played as a , though he could also play in the . He is also the first NRL referee in history to s ...

Touch judges/Video Referees

* Paul Holland (TJ) * Shane Rehm (TJ) * James Child (TJ) *

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

(VR) *

Ben Thaler Ben Thaler (born 30 August 1981) is a professional rugby league referee and one of the Rugby Football League's Full Time Match Officials. He officiates in the Super League. Background Thaler was born in Normanton, West Yorkshire, England. C ...

(VR)

Qualifying nations

Squads

Australia

Australian coach

Tim Sheens Tim Sheens (born 30 October 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. Head Coach of the Australia national team between 2009 and 2015, he has also been the head coach of National Rugby League (NRL) club ...

' touring squad was announced on 3 October: Of the twenty four players, twenty three were Australian born while one was Fijian born. ¹ Replaced originally selected Brett Stewart who withdrew due to injury. ² Replaced originally selected David Taylor who withdrew due to injury. ³ Replaced originally selected Glenn Stewart who withdrew for compassionate reasons.

England

The England squad for the 2011 Four Nations: Of the twenty four players, twenty two were English born while one was New Zealand born and one Australian born. Coach:

Steve McNamara Steve McNamara (born 18 September 1971) is an English professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League and a former professional player. He is a former coach of England, and a Gr ...

New Zealand

The Kiwis announced their 23-man touring squad on 4 October. Of the twenty three players, eighteen were New Zealand born while four were Australian born and one Tongan born. Coach:

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 ...

¹ Replaced original replacement

Krisnan Inu Krisnan Nevada Inu (born 17 March 1987) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or er for the Leigh Centurions in the RFL Championship. He has played for both New Zealand and Samoa at international level. On 24 February 20 ...

who withdrew for family reasons. He replaced originally selected

Steve Matai Stephen Matai (born 5 August 1984) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL )from 2005 to 2016. A New Zealand national representative centre, he played for Australian club the Man ...

who withdrew due to injury. ² Replaced originally selected

Manu Vatuvei Manu Mapuhola Mafi-Vatuvei (born 4 March 1986), also known by the nickname "The Beast", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer and convicted methamphetamine importer who was both a Tonga and New Zealand international repres ...

who withdrew due to injury. ³ Replaced originally selected

Shaun Johnson Shaun Johnson (born 9 September 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the New Zealand Warriors in the National Rugby League (NRL) and the New Zealand Kiwis at international level. He has played p ...

who withdrew due to injury.

Wales

The Welsh training squad was named on 14 September. Of the twenty three players, nine were English born while eight were Welsh born and five Australian borns and one South African born. Coach:

Iestyn Harris Iestyn Rhys Harris (born 25 June 1976), also known by the nickname of "Welsh Wizard", is a former dual-code international professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s, and coach in rugby league in the ...

Gareth Thomas was originally selected in the squad, but retired with immediate effect in the week leading up to the tournament.

Venues

The games were played at venues in England and Wales. The tournament final was played in Leeds.

Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Standings

Final

Statistics

Top pointscorers

Johnathan Thurston broke the record for most points in a single tournament with his 56-point haul. The previous record of 42 was set in

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by New Zealand's

Stacey Jones Stacey William Jones (born 7 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, who has been named amongst the greatest New Zealand has ever produced. He played as a , but he has also briefly played at during his disting ...

Pre-tournament matches

Before the series, England played a Test match against

, New Zealand and Australia played a test in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

before heading to Great Britain, and

played

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in Neath. New Zealand were originally scheduled to play a Test match against the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

on 7 October, however this was called off due to the unavailability of 29 frontline players.Kiwis' league test against Cook Islands called off
''The Press'', 28 September 2011