The 2014 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament played in Australia and New Zealand over three weeks from Saturday, 25 October to Saturday, 15 November 2014. The series was contested by regular participants Australia, England and New Zealand, joined by Samoa, having won their Pacific qualifier against Fiji. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating Australia in the final at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on Saturday 15 November.[1]
| 2014 Four Nations | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Host countries |  New Zealand Australia |
| Winner | New Zealand (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Attendance | 144,722 (20,675 per match) |
| Points scored | 286 (40.86 per match) |
| Tries scored | 52 (7.43 per match) |
| Top scorer | Shaun Johnson (30) |
| Top try scorer | Jason Nightingale (5) |
< 2011 2016 > | |
Background
editThe 2014 tournament is the first Four Nations series to be scheduled following the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific.
In addition to automatic inclusions Australia, England and New Zealand, Pacific nations Fiji and Samoa met in a mid-season test match at the Penrith Stadium in western Sydney to determine the fourth entrant in the tournament. Samoa won an entertaining match 32-16 in front of 9,063 fans.
The 34,500 capacity Westpac Stadium in Wellington will play host to the first Four Nations Final played in New Zealand. The last time the final of the tournament was held in New Zealand was at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland when the tournament was known as the Tri-Nations in its inaugural year, 1999.
Teams
edit| Team | Coach | Captain | RLIF Rank | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia
|
Tim Sheens | Cameron Smith | 1st | Oceania |
 England
|
Steve McNamara | Sean O'Loughlin | 3rd | Europe |
| New Zealand
|
Stephen Kearney | Simon Mannering | 2nd | Oceania |
 Samoa
|
Matt Parish | David Fa'alogo | 7th | Oceania |
Squads
editVenues
editThe games were played at the following venues in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament final was played in Wellington.
| Wellington | Brisbane | Whangārei |
|---|---|---|
| Westpac Stadium | Suncorp Stadium | Toll Stadium |
| Capacity: 34,500 | Capacity: 52,500 | Capacity: 30,000 |
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| Melbourne | Dunedin | Wollongong |
| AAMI Park | Forsyth Barr Stadium | WIN Stadium |
| Capacity: 30,050 | Capacity: 30,748 | Capacity: 23,750 |
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Referees
edit- Henry Perenara (Referee and Video Referee - New Zealand)[2]
- Phil Bentham (Referee - England)[3]
- Gerard Sutton (Referee - Australia)[3]
- Ben Cummins (Replacement Referee - Australia)[3]
Touch judges/video referees
editQualifier
editSamoa v. Fiji
edit3 May 2014
|
| Samoa
|
32 – 16 |  Fiji
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Penani Manumalealii (3) 13' c, 38' c, 44' c Carlos Tuimavave 54'c Daniel Vidot 64'c Sam Tagataese 78'  Goals: Krisnan Inu (6/6) 13', 38', 44', 50', 54', 64' |
Video |
Tries: Kevin Naiqama 16' c James Storer 27' c Lote Tuqiri 30' m Goals: Lote Tuqiri (2/3) 17', 28' |
Penrith Stadium, Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 9,063 Referee: Ashley KleinPlayer of the Match:  Penani Manumalealii |
Samoa won the test match by 32–16 after being behind 16–12 at half-time. Samoa's Penani Manumalealii won the man of the match award, scoring 3 tries in the match.
Samoa picked 7 debutantes for the test match, while Fiji featured three. All of the Samoan team were National Rugby League based players, while the Fijian side had 10 players from the NRL. Samoa's most capped player was Daniel Vidot who made his 6th appearance for his country, while Fiji's most experienced players were Alipate Noilea, Aaron Groom, and captain Ashton Sims who all made their 10th appearance for their nation.
Results
editRound 1
editSaturday, 25 October 2014
5:00pm (AEDT) |
| England
|
32 – 26 | Samoa
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Michael Shenton 21' c Kallum Watkins 34' c Liam Farrell 46' c Joel Tomkins 65' c Sam Tomkins 68' c Goals: Gareth Widdop (6/6) 22', 34', 40', 46', 65', 68' |
Report |
Tries: Isaac Liu 26' c Daniel Vidot 30' m Pita Godinet (2) 55' c, 61' c Antonio Winterstein 72' c Goals: Kyle Stanley (3/4) 26', 55', 61' Ben Roberts (1/1) 72' |
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia[4]
Attendance: 47,813 Referee: Gerard SuttonPlayer of the Match:  Sam Tomkins |
- Ben Roberts made his 10th appearance for Samoa, only the second player to hit double-digit appearances for his country with George Carmont being the first.
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Saturday, 25 October 2014
7:30pm (AEDT) |
| Australia
|
12 – 30 | New Zealand
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Beau Scott 3' c Greg Inglis 21' c Goal: Cameron Smith (2/2) 3', 21' |
Report |
Tries: Proctor 17' c Lewis Brown 29' c Shaun Johnson 47' c Dean Whare 51' c Jason Nightingale 68' c Goals: Shaun Johnson (5/5) 17', 29', 47', 51', 68' |
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia[4]
Attendance: 47,813 Referee: Phil BenthamPlayer of the Match:  Shaun Johnson |
- Dallin Watene-Zelezniak could have made his international test debut in the starting XIII for New Zealand on the right-wing, but was ruled out for the game and for the rest of the tournament with an ankle injury and Gerard Beale replaced him.
- Jason Taumalolo made his international test debut for New Zealand.
- Daniel Tupou, Josh Mansour, Dylan Walker, Aaron Woods and Aidan Guerra made their international test debut for Australia
- With the victory, this was New Zealand's first Test win over Australia since the 2010 Four Nations Final.
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Round 2
editSaturday, 1 November 2014
4:00pm (NZT) |
| New Zealand
|
14 – 12 | Samoa
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Kieran Foran 10' c Jason Nightingale 64' Shaun Kenny-Dowall 76' Goals: Shaun Johnson (1/3) 11' |
Report |
Tries: Tautau Moga 6' Daniel Vidot 18' Joseph Leilua 44' Goals: Tim Lafai (0/3) |
Toll Stadium, Whangārei, New Zealand[4]
Attendance: 16,912 Referee: Henry PerenaraPlayer of the Match: Kieran Foran |
- Suaia Matagi made his international test debut for New Zealand
- Tautau Moga and Dominique Peyroux made their international test debut for Samoa
- With the victory, New Zealand retained the Peter Leitch QSM Challenge Trophy.
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Sunday, 2 November 2014
4:00pm (AEST) |
| Australia
|
16 – 12 | England
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Michael Jennings 16' Ben Hunt 56' c Greg Inglis 62' c Goals: Cameron Smith (2/3) 57', 64' |
Report |
Tries: Kallum Watkins 28' c Ryan Hall 33' c Goals: Gareth Widdop (2/2) 29', 35' |
AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia[4]
Attendance: 20,585 Referee: Gerard SuttonPlayer of the Match:  Cameron Smith |
- Perth born Dan Sarginson made his international test début for England.
- Ben Hunt and David Klemmer made their international test debuts for Australia.
- Sione Mata'utia also made his international test début for Australia and becoming the youngest ever player to play for Australia at aged 18 years and 129 days, eclipsing Israel Folau's seven-year-old record by 65 days.
- Cameron Smith becomes the 6th Kangaroo-Test player, to play 40-Test games for Australia.
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Round 3
editSaturday, 8 November 2014
7:00pm (NZT) |
| New Zealand
|
16 – 14 | England
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Jason Nightingale (2) 2' c, 29' c Manu Vatuvei 45' Goals: Shaun Johnson (2/3) 3', 31' |
Report |
Tries: Ryan Hall (2) 7', 56' c Josh Charnley 24' Goals: Gareth Widdop (1/3) 58' |
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand[4]
Attendance: 15,863 Referee: Phil BenthamPlayer of the Match: Jason Taumalolo |
- With the victory, New Zealand secured a place in the final.
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Sunday, 9 November 2014
4:00pm (AEST) |
| Australia
|
44 – 18 | Samoa
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Cooper Cronk (2) 2', 62' Greg Inglis (2) 11', 26' Daly Cherry-Evans 30' David Klemmer 34' Josh Papalii 76' Josh Mansour 79' Goals: Cameron Smith (4/6) Daly Cherry-Evans (2/2) |
Report |
Tries: Tim Simona 20' Ben Roberts 47' David Fa'alogo 69' Goals: Tim Lafai (3/3) |
WIN Stadium, Wollongong, Australia[4]
Attendance: 18,456 Referee: Gerard SuttonPlayer of the Match: Greg Inglis |
- Josh Jackson made his international test debut for Australia.
- With the victory, Australia secured a place in the final.
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Standings
edit| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand W
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 38 | +22 | 6 |
| 2 | Australia
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 4 |
| 3 | England
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Samoa
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 90 | –34 | 0 |
Final
editSaturday, 15 November
8:30pm (NZT) |
| New Zealand
|
22 – 18 | Australia
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries Manu Vatuvei (35', 63') 2 Jason Nightingale (23') 1 Shaun Johnson (58') 1 Goals Shaun Johnson 3/5 (25', 29' pen, 36') |
Report |
Tries 1 (11') Michael Jennings 1 (42') Sione Mata'utia 1 (76') Ben Hunt Goals 3/3 Cameron Smith (12', 43', 77') |
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand[4]
Attendance: 25,093 Referee: Phil BenthamPlayer of the Match: Shaun Johnson[5] |
| New Zealand | Position | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Peta Hiku | FB | Greg Inglis |
| Jason Nightingale | WG | Josh Mansour |
| Dean Whare | CE | Michael Jennings |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | CE | Dylan Walker |
| Manu Vatuvei | WG | Sione Mata'utia |
| Kieran Foran | FE | Johnathan Thurston |
| Shaun Johnson | HB | Cooper Cronk |
| Jesse Bromwich | PR | Aaron Woods |
| Isaac Luke | HK | Cameron Smith (c) |
| Adam Blair | PR | Josh Papalii |
| Simon Mannering (c) | SR | Sam Thaiday |
| Kevin Proctor | SR | Greg Bird |
| Jason Taumalolo | LK | Corey Parker |
| Lewis Brown | Int | Boyd Cordner |
| Greg Eastwood | Int | Ben Hunt |
| Martin Taupau | Int | Josh Jackson |
| Tohu Harris | Int | David Klemmer |
Score Progression:
11th: Australia 6 - 0 (Jennings Try, Smith Goal) 23rd: Even 6 - 6 (Nightingale Try, Johnson Goal) 29th: New Zealand 8 - 6 (Johnson Penalty Goal) 35th: New Zealand 14 - 6 (Vatuvei Try, Johnson Goal) 42nd: New Zealand 14 - 12 (Mata'utia Try, Smith Goal) 58th: New Zealand 18 - 12 (Johnson Try) 63rd: New Zealand 22 - 12 (Vatuvei Try) 76th: New Zealand 22 - 18 (Hunt Try, Smith Goal)
Match records:
- This was Australia's first game at Wellington's Westpac Stadium since 2007, when they beat New Zealand 58-0.
- This was New Zealand's first home game at Wellington's Westpac Stadium since the 2010 Four Nations Round 1 clash with England, when they won 24-10.
- With the victory, New Zealand won this year's Four Nations Title, as well as their second Tournament Title.
- New Zealand became the second team since Australia (in the 2011 Four Nations series), to go through the tournament undefeated.
- New Zealand won 2 consecutive matches against Australia, for the first time since 1998.[6]
- New Zealand earned their first victory over Australia at a home venue since 2003, when they won 30-16 over Australia at Auckland's North Harbour Stadium.
- Manu Vatuvei becomes New Zealand's all-time leading try-scorer, passing Nigel Vagana's record (of 19 tries) after scoring his second try in the game for a total of 20 test tries.
- Simon Mannering became the fifth Kiwi-Test player to play 40 tests for New Zealand.
Player statistics
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Broadcasting rights
editIn the United Kingdom, Premier Sports televised all the matches live while BBC Two televised England's round robin matches and the final live. BBC One televised highlights of matchday one while BBC Two televised highlights of matchday two while BBC One televised highlights of England's final round robin match against New Zealand while highlights of matchday three was televised on BBC Two in England and England HD at 10:00pm and in Northern Ireland at 10:30pm and in Scotland 11:00pm and in Wales at 11:30pm. BBC One televised highlights of the final.
References
edit- ^ Brisbane double-header launches Four Nations
- ^ a b Officials named for key fixtures nzrl.co.nz, 14 October 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h Four Nations referees announced nrl.com, 17 October 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g "2014 Four Nations Schedule". NRL.com. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
- ^ "Kiwis claim second Four Nations title". NRL.com. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 2016-05-28.
- ^ Putting the record straight warriors.co.nz, 18 November 2014