ZCZC
BSP-10
RUGBYL-GBR-PNG-NZL-LIONS
Revived rugby league Lions to tour New Zealand, PNG
WELLINGTON, March 5, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Rugby league’s Great Britain and
Ireland Lions will tour for the first time in more than a decade when they
travel to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea later this year, officials said
Tuesday.
The composite team from England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland will play a
two-Test series against the Kiwis and one-off matches against Tonga and PNG,
the Rugby League International Federation said.
It will be the first Lions tour since 2006, reviving a tradition that began
in 1910.
Australian Wayne Bennett, the current England mentor, will coach the side.
“I’ve coached against them in the past with Australia, and wherever you’re
from in the world of rugby league, that Great Britain jersey is a famous
one,” he said.
The Lions — not to be confused with rugby union’s British and Irish Lions
— will face Tonga in Hamilton, New Zealand, on October 26, the Kiwis on
November 2 in Auckland and November 9 in Christchurch, then PNG in Port
Moresby on November 16.
BSS/AFP/MR/1153 hrs