The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They competed in the first ever rugby league international in 1904, against, fielding players from Wales and Scotland. The team was later represented by players from Australia, Fiji, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa. The Other Nationalities team wore green shirts.

History

The Other Nationalities rugby league team was initially formed to act as opposition to England in the early days of the sport when international competition was non-existent. Matches were annual and played mid season from the first game in 1904 until 1907, the year of the first ever rugby league tour and the beginning of the sport being played in a county outside of the UK. Games then became more irregular and were mostly played as warm-up games for England ahead of tours. The final England vs Other Nationalities match was played in 1933. Following the Second World War between 1949 and 1956, the team competed in the European Championship, at the time a double round robin competition between England, Wales, and France. The team won the 1952–53 and 1955–56 tournaments, in addition to three runners-up finishes. The team did not play again until 1964 when they played their only match in the Southern Hemisphere in a friendly vs Sydney Colts at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match was played as a curtain-raiser to France's third and final test against Australia on their 1964 tour of the country and was arranged in order to boost attendance aimed France's poor performances during the tour. The team was made up of foreign players playing in the NSWRL plus two Frenchmen that missed selection for France's match against Australia. A year later, the team played a friendly against St Helens celebrating the club's first floodlit match. That year, they also played New Zealand at Selhurst Park as part of the 1965 Kiwi tour of Great Britain and France. 1974 and 1975 marked the team's final appearances, competing in the British County Championship. The team faced Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Cumbria, played each team once in both editions of the tournament they competed. The team was made up of players from outside those three counties.

Results

Player statistics

† 5 April 1904 match, against England, was a 12-a-side game. †† Although originally from South Africa, David Barends also represented Great Britain. Source

Other teams

Throughout history there have been several other teams created using a similar concept.

Exiles

Combined Nationalities

The Combined Nationalities rugby league team a rugby league team created to play an international fixture against France in 1954. The team comprised European-based (or in the case of the United States players, European touring) non-French rugby league footballers. The team lost 15-19 during the match at Stade de Gerland, Lyon, on Sunday 3 January 1954.

Combined Nations All Stars

The Combined Nations All Stars were created following the COVID-19 pandemic as opposition to England using UK based players as international travel was still restricted. The team played twice with the following results:

2021 Team

1. Jake Connor
2. Ken Sio
3. Peter Mata'utia
4. Ricky Leutele
5. Jermaine McGillvary
6. Jackson Hastings
7. Aidan Sezer
8. Matt Prior
9. Nathan Peats
10. Tevita Satae
11. Kenny Edwards
12. Kelepi Tanginoa
13. Luke Yates Subs
14. Kruise Leeming
15. Pauli Pauli
16. Suaia Matagi
17. Andre Savelio

2022 Team

1. Peter Mata'utia
2. Ken Sio
3. Rhyse Martin
4. Kenny-Dowall
5. Mahe Fonua
6. Jacob Miller
7. Brodie Croft
8. Ligi Sao
9. Daryl Clark
10. Zane Tetevano
11. Kenny Edwards
12. Kelepi Tanginoa
13. Matt Prior Subs
14. Kruise Leeming
15. Joe Lovodua
16. Tevita Satae
17. David Fifita