Other Nationalities rugby league team
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 Australia, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Other Nationalities team wore green shirts.
| Team results | |
|---|---|
| First game | |
 (Wigan, England; 5 April 1904) | |
| Biggest win | |
(Wigan, England; 11 April 1951) Other Nationalities 30–5 Wales .svg.png){kind=small} (Bradford, England; 7 October 1953) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
 (St. Helens, England; 25 November 1975) |
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 | | Friendly | Central Park, Wigan | 6,000 |
| 2 January 1905 | | Friendly | Park Avenue, Bradford | 6,000 |
| 1 January 1906 | | Friendly | Central Park, Wigan | 8,000 |
| 5 February 1921 | | Friendly | Lonsdale Park, Workington | |
| 15 October 1924 | | Friendly | Headingley, Leeds | 3,000 |
| 4 February 1926 | | Friendly | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 7,000 |
| 20 March 1929 | | Friendly | Headingley, Leeds | 5,000 |
| 7 April 1930 | | Friendly | Thrum Hall, Halifax | 2,000 |
| 1 October 1930 | | Friendly | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 10,000 |
| 30 March 1933 | | Friendly | Lonsdale Park, Workington | 11,000 |
| 19 September 1949 | | 1949–50 European Rugby League Championship | Derwent Park, Workington | 17,500 |
| 22 October 1949 | | 1949–50 European Rugby League Championship | The Park, Abertillery | 2,000 |
| 15 January 1950 |  | 1949–50 European Rugby League Championship | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille | 25,000 |
| 10 December 1950 | | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship | Stade du Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 28,000 |
| 31 March 1951 | | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship | St Helens Rugby Ground, Swansea | 5,000 |
| 11 April 1951 | | 1950–51 European Rugby League Championship | Central Park, Wigan | 17,000 |
| 3 November 1951 | Other Nationalities 17-14 | 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship | Craven Park, Hull | 18,000 |
| 1 December 1951 | | 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship | The Park, Abertillery | 3,386 |
| 23 April 1952 | | 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship | Central Park, Wigan | 20,000 |
| 18 October 1952 | | 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship | Fartown Ground, Huddersfield | 20,000 |
| 23 November 1952 | | 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille | 18,000 |
| 15 April 1953 | Other Nationalities 16-18 | 1952–53 European Rugby League Championship | Wilderspool, Warrington | 8,449 |
| 7 October 1953 | Other Nationalities 30-5 | 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 14,646 |
| 18 October 1953 | | 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship | Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux | 12,000 |
| 28 November 1953 | | 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship | Central Park, Wigan | 19,000 |
| 12 September 1955 | | 1955–56 European Rugby League Championship | Central Park, Wigan | 18,234 |
| 19 October 1955 | Other Nationalities 32-19 | 1955–56 European Rugby League Championship | Hilton Park, Leigh | 7,000 |
| 18 July 1964 |  | Curtain-raiser to Australia vs France 3rd Test | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | 16,731 |
| 27 January 1965 | Other Nationalities 2-19 St. Helens | Friendly (switching-on of new floodlights) | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 15,000 |
| 18 August 1965 | Other Nationalities 7-15  | Kiwi Tour Match | Crystal Palace, London | |
| 11 September 1974 | | County Championship | The Willows, Salford | 2,000 |
| 18 September 1974 |  | County Championship | Craven Park, Hull | |
| 25 September 1974 |  | County Championship | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | |
| 25 November 1975 | | County Championship | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 29,000 |
| 6 December 1975 | | County Championship | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | |
| 20 December 1975 | | County Championship | Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness | |
Player statistics (incomplete)
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† 5 April 1904 match, against England, was a 12-a-side game.
†† 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.
- "Programme 'Yorkshire County Rugby League - Challenge Cup Final - 1957 - Huddersfield v. York'" (PDF). huddersfieldrlheritage.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.