Other Nationalities rugby league team
| First game | |
|---|---|
 England 3–9 Other Nationalities(Wigan, England; 5 April 1904) | |
| Biggest win | |
|
Other Nationalities 30–5 Wales | |
| Biggest defeat | |
 Lancashire 36–7 Other Nationalities(St Helens, England; 25 November 1975) |
The Other Nationalities rugby league team regularly played international, and also county, rugby league football teams in Europe from 1904 to 1975. The team, created in 1904 to play England in the first ever rugby league international match,[1] was at first made up of Welsh and Scottish players. However as rugby league in England grew, and more players from other countries were brought over to England to play in the domestic competitions, Other Nationalities were later represented by players from Ireland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Other Nationalities wore green shirts.
Two Scottish players featured in the first ever Rugby League test match, played in 1907 between a Northern Union representative XIII and a team of Other Nationalities, George Frater captaining the victorious Other Nationalities.[2] England were the most regular opponents for the Other Nationalities team, having played them 15 times. But in the 1950s, on entry to the European Nations Cup, they also played Wales and France. In 1964 Other Nationalities played their only match in the Southern Hemisphere in a one-off match vs Sydney Colts at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match was played as a curtain-raiser to the Australia vs France 3rd Test and was arranged in order to boost the attendance due to France's poor form on tour. The team was made up of foreign players from the NSWRL competition that year plus two Frenchmen that missed selection in France's 3rd Test team. In 1965, Other Nationalities also played New Zealand in a Kiwi tour match at Crystal Palace, London. In 1974 and 1975 the team competed in the County Championship, facing Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cumbria, twice each over both years.
Since 1975 the team became redundant, with Wales, Scotland and Ireland now having their own separate national teams and European-based New Zealanders now able to play for their country too. However due to the success of the Australia's All Stars match between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars, new England head coach Steve McNamara proposed a plan to revive the concept, under the name Exiles, in 2011 in a hope of providing England with a more challenging opposition in preparation of playing and staying competitive against nations like Australia and New Zealand after the 2010 thrashing of France 60-6 followed by England's poor results in the 2010 Four Nations Tournament.
Results (Incomplete)
| Date | Result | Competition | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 April 1904 | England 3-9 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Wigan | 6,000 |
| 2 January 1905 | England 26-11 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Bradford | 6,000 |
| 1 January 1906 | England 3-3 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Wigan | 8,000 |
| 5 February 1921 | England 33-16 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Workington | |
| 15 October 1924 | England 17-23 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Leeds | 3,000 |
| 4 February 1926 | England 37-11 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Whitehaven | 7,000 |
| 20 March 1929 | England 27-20 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Leeds | 5,000 |
| 7 April 1930 | England 19-35 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Halifax | 2,000 |
| 1 October 1930 | England 31-18 Other Nationalities | Friendly | St Helens | 10,000 |
| 30 March 1933 | England 34-27 Other Nationalities | Friendly | Workington | 11,000 |
| 19 September 1949 | England 7-13 Other Nationalities | 1949–50 European Rugby League Championship | Workington | 17,500 |
| 22 October 1949 |  Wales 5-6 Other Nationalities | 1949–50 European Rugby League Championship | Abertillery | 2,000 |
| 15 January 1950 |  France 8-3 Other Nationalities | 1949–50 European Rugby League Championship | Marseille | 25,000 |
| 10 December 1950 | France 16-3 Other Nationalities | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship | Bordeaux | 28,000 |
| 31 March 1951 | Wales 21-27 Other Nationalities | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship | Swansea | 5,000 |
| 11 April 1951 | England 10-35 Other Nationalities | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship | Wigan | 17,000 |
| 3 November 1951 | Other Nationalities 17-14 France | 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship | Hull | 18,000 |
| 1 December 1951 | Wales 11-22 Other Nationalities | 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship | Abertillery | 3,386 |
| 23 April 1952 | England 31-18 Other Nationalities | 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship | Wigan | 20,000 |
| 18 October 1952 | England 12-31 Other Nationalities | 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship | Huddersfield | 20,000 |
| 23 November 1952 | France 10-29 Other Nationalities | 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship | Marseille | 18,000 |
| 15 April 1953 | Other Nationalities 16-18 Wales | 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship | Warrington | 8,449 |
| 7 October 1953 | Other Nationalities 30-5 Wales | 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship | Bradford | 14,646 |
| 18 October 1953 | France 15-10 Other Nationalities | 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship | Bordeaux | 12,000 |
| 28 November 1953 | England 30-22 Other Nationalities | 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship | Wigan | 19,000 |
| 12 September 1955 | England 33-16 Other Nationalities | 1955–56 European Rugby League Championship | Wigan | 18,234 |
| 19 October 1955 | Other Nationalities 32-19 France | 1955–56 European Rugby League Championship | Leigh | |
| 18 July 1964 | Sydney Colts 25-16 Other Nationalities | Curtain-raiser to Australia vs France 3rd Test | Sydney Cricket Ground | 16,731 |
| 18 August 1965 | Other Nationalities 7-15  New Zealand | Kiwi Tour Match | Crystal Palace, London | |
| 11 September 1974 | Lancashire 14-13 Other Nationalities | County Championship | Salford | 2,000 |
| 18 September 1974 |  Yorkshire ?-? Other Nationalities | County Championship | Hull | |
| 25 September 1974 |  Cumbria rugby league team ?-? Other Nationalities | County Championship | Whitehaven | |
| 25 November 1975 | Lancashire 36-7 Other Nationalities | County Championship | St Helens | 2,000 |
| 6 December 1975 | Yorkshire ?-? Other Nationalities | County Championship | Bradford | |
| 20 December 1975 | Cumbria rugby league team ?-? Other Nationalities | County Championship | Barrow | |
Player Statistics (incomplete)
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† The 5th of April 1904 match, against England, was a 12-a-side game without a Loose forward/Lock.
†† Although originally from South Africa, David "Dave" Barends also represented Great Britain.
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See also
- Exiles rugby league team
- British Empire XIII
- Rugby League XIII
- Rest of the world
References
- ↑ "The History Of Rugby League". Rugby League Information. napit.co.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ↑ "Scotland". rlwc2013.com. Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
External links
- RL1895 - The First International
- France defeated (by Other Nationalities) in 'Battle of the Boulevard'