The 2014 Anzac Test was a
rugby league test match played between
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
at
Allianz Stadium in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
on 2 May 2014. It was the 15th
Anzac Test played between the two nations since the first was played under the
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
banner in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
. It was also the first Test match played in Sydney since the
2010 Four Nations tournament. A
Women's All Stars Match which is the
Women's rugby league
Women's rugby league is the female-only version of rugby league.
The sport has growing more popular in Australia, France, Great Britain, and New Zealand. These countries regularly compete in the Women's Rugby League World Cup which has been i ...
version of the game was played as the main curtain raiser for the Test, which was won 24-0 by the Women's All Stars.
Pre-game
In the lead up to the test, Australia named an expected team, though
Jarryd Hayne, a revelation in the unfamiliar position of centre during the
2013 World Cup, was unavailable through injury and was replaced by
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
's
Josh Morris who was playing along his twin brother,
St George Illawarra winger
Brett. The twins were playing their fourth test alongside each other, and their first in Australia.
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
's incumbent Kangaroo halfback
Cooper Cronk won a well publicised battle with
Manly's
Daly Cherry-Evans for the halfback role, though Cherry-Evans was chosen as a reserve being able to cover the halves, hooker or lock. Melbourne hooker
Cameron Smith was playing in his 38th test for Australia and his 14th as captain. Coach
Tim Sheens named experienced
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
back
Brent Tate as the squads 18th man.
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...
utility player and fresh reserve
Matt Gillett was the only player on debut for the Kangaroos, replacing injured Broncos team mate
Sam Thaiday.
New Zealand however were in trouble with a number of players missing from the
2013 World Cup final loss to Australia in November. Not selected were the likes of
Kevin Locke (languishing in the
New Zealand Warriors
The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...
NSW Cup
The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...
side thanks to the presence of
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
fullback
Sam Tomkins at the club),
Manu Vatuvei,
Kieran Foran,
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves,
Isaac Luke and
Sonny Bill Williams
Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...
. While Foran and Luke were injured and Williams had made himself unavailable, the biggest shock were the omissions of powerhouse winger Vatuvei and
Sydney Roosters
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...
premiership winning front rower Waerea-Hargreaves. The Kiwis featured five players on debut as Kearney publicly stated they were looking to the future. Playing their first test match for the Kiwis were Manly's
Peta Hiku (fullback),
Warriors
A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
Ben Henry and
Siliva Havili (hooker and reserve),
West Tigers'
Martin Taupau, and
Penrith's
Isaac John who was playing for the Panthers NSW Cup affiliate the
Windsor Wolves when selected. Although it was his debut for NZ, John had previous international experience having represented the
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
at the 2013 World Cup. Another debutante
Kenny Bromwich was named as NZ's 18th man.
Due to the relative inexperience of the New Zealanders, and that the Kangaroos were aiming for their 16th straight test win to equal the record of the teams that won 16 straight from 1979-1983, the Australians were short priced odds to win their 14th Anzac Test since the first was held under the
Super League
Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
banner in
1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
(though as a SL game, the
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League Commission Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...
(ARL) did not count it as an official Australian test). Many critics felt the game would be an easy win for Australia and the Kiwis were given little chance of pulling off what would have been an upset win.
National Anthems
* Geoff Sewell - New Zealand National Anthem
* Juila Messenger - Australia National Anthem
Squads
1 Replaced originally selected
Sam Thaiday who withdrew due to injury.
Match Summary
See also
References
External links
{{2014 in rugby league
Anzac Test
Rugby league in Sydney
International rugby league competitions hosted by Australia
Anzac Test
Anzac Test