# 2019 Great Britain Lions tour

The 2019 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019.

## Background

This tour was the first matches played by the Lions since 2007 when they defeated New Zealand 3–0 during the New Zealand tour that year. The last time the Lions travelled to Australasia was for the 2006 Tri-Nations tournament and the last full Lions tour was in 1996.
After the 2007 New Zealand tour to Great Britain the Great Britain Lions were disbanded and more emphasis was placed on the four home nations; England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In 2017 the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) announced a four-year cycle of tours and tournaments to include the resurrection of the Great Britain Lions and a tour by the team to the Southern Hemisphere. At the RLIF's 2018 meeting a proposal by the Australian Rugby League Commission for the Lions tour to be postponed in favour of a tour to Europe by the Australian Kangaroos was rejected and the 2017 announced cycle was confirmed.

## Squad

The 24-man Great Britain squad was named on 14 October 2019. Ages are as of 26 October 2019.
Following injuries to Gildart and Hall, Ash Handley was called into the squad on 7 November.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Club |
| Stand-off | Blake Austin | (1991-02-01)1 February 1991 (aged 28) | Warrington Wolves |
| Second-row | John Bateman | (1993-09-30)30 September 1993 (aged 26) | Canberra Raiders |
| Prop | Tom Burgess | (1992-04-21)21 April 1992 (aged 27) | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Hooker | Daryl Clark | (1993-02-10)10 February 1993 (aged 26) | Warrington Wolves |
| Centre | Jake Connor | (1994-10-18)18 October 1994 (aged 25) | Hull F.C. |
| Fullback | Lachlan Coote | (1990-04-06)6 April 1990 (aged 29) | St Helens |
| Centre | Oliver Gildart | (1996-08-06)6 August 1996 (aged 23) | Wigan Warriors |
| Prop | James Graham (captain) | (1985-09-10)10 September 1985 (aged 34) | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Wing | Ryan Hall | (1987-11-27)27 November 1987 (aged 31) | Sydney Roosters |
| Wing | Ash Handley | (1996-02-16)16 February 1996 (aged 23) | Leeds Rhinos |
| Fullback | Zak Hardaker | (1991-10-17)17 October 1991 (aged 28) | Wigan Warriors |
| Stand-off | Jackson Hastings | (1996-01-04)4 January 1996 (aged 23) | Salford Red Devils |
| Prop | Chris Hill | (1987-11-03)3 November 1987 (aged 31) | Warrington Wolves |
| Hooker | Josh Hodgson | (1989-10-31)31 October 1989 (aged 29) | Canberra Raiders |
| Second-row | Jack Hughes | (1992-01-04)4 January 1992 (aged 27) | Warrington Wolves |
| Second-row | Josh Jones | (1993-05-12)12 May 1993 (aged 26) | Salford Red Devils |
| Stand-off | Jonny Lomax | (1990-09-04)4 September 1990 (aged 29) | St Helens |
| Wing | Jermaine McGillvary | (1988-05-16)16 May 1988 (aged 31) | Huddersfield Giants |
| Second-row | Joe Philbin | (1994-11-16)16 November 1994 (aged 24) | Warrington Wolves |
| Prop | Luke Thompson | (1995-04-27)27 April 1995 (aged 24) | St Helens |
| Stand-off | Jacob Trueman | (1999-02-16)16 February 1999 (aged 20) | Castleford Tigers |
| Prop | Alex Walmsley | (1990-04-10)10 April 1990 (aged 29) | St Helens |
| Second-row | Elliott Whitehead | (1989-09-04)4 September 1989 (aged 30) | Canberra Raiders |
| Scrum-half | Gareth Widdop | (1989-03-12)12 March 1989 (aged 30) | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
| Scrum-half | George Williams | (1994-10-31)31 October 1994 (aged 24) | Wigan Warriors |

## Itinerary

At the RLIF congress in November 2018 a provisional tour was arranged with Great Britain to play tests against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa with the exact locations and dates being subject to ratification by the various national league and player organisations. In March 2019 it was confirmed that test matches would only be played against New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
In September 2019 the Tongan National Rugby League's membership of the RLIF was suspended and in order to fulfil the fixture against the Lions a Tongan Invitational XIII was selected to play against Great Britain. The members of the suspended Tonga board labelled the invitational side as a 'rebel' squad and insisted that the game against Great Britain could not be classed as a test match. The International Rugby League (the RLIF was rebranded earlier in October 2019) disagreed and gave the match test status.

## Test Venues

The tests played in New Zealand took place at the following venues.
| Hamilton | Auckland | Christchurch |
| Waikato Stadium | Eden Park | Rugby League Park |
| Capacity: 25,800 | Capacity: 50,000 | Capacity: 18,000 |

### New Zealand leg

* 26 October 2019 20:10 NZDT (UTC+13)
| Tonga | 14–6 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Jennings, Katoa Goals: Taukeiaho (3/3) | Report | Tries: Bateman Goals: Widdop (1/1) |
* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 9,420 Referee: Chris Kendall (England)
Team details :
| FB | 1 | William Hopoate |
| WG | 2 | David Fusitu'a |
| CE | 3 | Michael Jennings |
| CE | 19 | Konrad Hurrell |
| WG | 5 | Daniel Tupou |
| FE | 6 | Tuimoala Lolohea |
| HB | 20 | Tesi Niu |
| PR | 15 | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| HK | 9 | Siliva Havili |
| PR | 10 | Sio Siua Taukeiaho (c) |
| SR | 11 | Ben Murdoch-Masila |
| SR | 12 | Manu Ma'u |
| LK | 13 | Jason Taumalolo (c) |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 8 | Andrew Fifita |
| BE | 14 | Sione Katoa |
| BE | 16 | John Asiata |
| BE | 17 | Sitili Tupouniua |
| Coach: |||
| Kristian Woolf ||||
| FB | 1 | Lachlan Coote |
| WG | 2 | Jermaine McGillvary |
| CE | 3 | Zak Hardaker |
| CE | 4 | Oliver Gildart |
| WG | 5 | Ryan Hall |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Jackson Hastings |
| PR | 8 | Chris Hill |
| HK | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| PR | 10 | Luke Thompson |
| SR | 11 | John Bateman |
| SR | 12 | Elliott Whitehead |
| LF | 13 | James Graham (c) |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 14 | Josh Jones |
| BE | 15 | Tom Burgess |
| BE | 16 | Jonny Lomax |
| BE | 17 | Alex Walmsley |
| Coach: |||
| Wayne Bennett ||||
* Touch judges:
* Chris Butler (Australia)
* Chris McMillan (New Zealand)
* Video referee:
* Jared Maxwell (Australia)
Notes:
* Tesi Niu (Tonga), Jackson Hastings, and Josh Jones (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts. Hastings and Jones were the only Great Britain players to have not previously represented their home nation.
* James Graham (Great Britain) made his 50th Test appearance – his 6th for Great Britain, with 44 for England. He became the 4th Briton and 8th person overall to do so.
* James Graham (Great Britain) is the only player to have previously played for the Lions, who were last active in 2007.
* 2 November 2019 17:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
| New Zealand | 12–8 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Isaako, Harawira-Naera Goals: Isaako (2/3) | Report | Tries: Clark Goals: Widdop (2/3) |
* Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 25,575 Referee: Chris Kendall (England)
Team details :
| FB | 1 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck |
| WG | 2 | Ken Maumalo |
| CE | 3 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad |
| CE | 4 | Joseph Manu |
| WG | 5 | Jamayne Isaako |
| FE | 6 | Kieran Foran |
| HB | 7 | Benji Marshall (c) |
| PR | 8 | Zane Tetevano |
| HK | 21 | Kodi Nikorima |
| PR | 10 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves |
| SR | 11 | Briton Nikora |
| SR | 12 | Kenny Bromwich |
| LK | 13 | Joseph Tapine |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 14 | Jahrome Hughes |
| BE | 15 | Corey Harawira-Naera |
| BE | 16 | Leeson Ah Mau |
| BE | 17 | Adam Blair |
| Coach: |||
| Michael Maguire ||||
| FB | 1 | Jonny Lomax |
| WG | 2 | Jermaine McGillvary |
| CE | 3 | Zak Hardaker |
| CE | 4 | Jake Connor |
| WG | 5 | Ryan Hall |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Jackson Hastings |
| PR | 8 | Chris Hill |
| HK | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| PR | 10 | Tom Burgess |
| SR | 11 | John Bateman |
| SR | 12 | Elliott Whitehead |
| LF | 13 | James Graham (c) |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 14 | Josh Jones |
| BE | 15 | Joe Philbin |
| BE | 16 | Daryl Clark |
| BE | 17 | Alex Walmsley |
| Coach: |||
| Wayne Bennett ||||
* Touch judges:
* Chris Butler (Australia)
* Chris McMillan (New Zealand)
* Video referee:
* Henry Perenara (New Zealand)
Notes:
* Adam Blair (New Zealand) made his 50th Test appearance for New Zealand becoming the 2nd New Zealander and 9th person overall to do so.
* 9 November 2019 20:00 NZDT (UTC+13)
| New Zealand | 23–8 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Manu, Johnson, Maumalo Goals: Isaako (5/7) Drop goals: Isaako | | Tries: Hodgson Goals: Widdop (2/2) |
* Rugby League Park, Christchurch Attendance: 8,875 Referee: Gerard Sutton (Australia)
Team details :
| FB | 1 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck |
| WG | 2 | Ken Maumalo |
| CE | 3 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad |
| CE | 4 | Joseph Manu |
| WG | 5 | Jamayne Isaako |
| FE | 6 | Shaun Johnson |
| HB | 7 | Benji Marshall (c) |
| PR | 8 | Zane Tetevano |
| HK | 9 | Brandon Smith |
| PR | 10 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves |
| SR | 11 | Briton Nikora |
| SR | 15 | Kevin Proctor |
| LK | 13 | Joseph Tapine |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 12 | Corey Harawira-Naera |
| BE | 14 | Kodi Nikorima |
| BE | 16 | Leeson Ah Mau |
| BE | 17 | Adam Blair |
| Coach: |||
| Michael Maguire ||||
| FB | 1 | Jonny Lomax |
| WG | 2 | Jermaine McGillvary |
| CE | 3 | Jack Hughes |
| CE | 4 | Jake Connor |
| WG | 18 | Blake Austin |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Jackson Hastings |
| PR | 8 | Chris Hill |
| HK | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| PR | 10 | Tom Burgess |
| SR | 11 | John Bateman |
| SR | 12 | Elliott Whitehead |
| LF | 13 | James Graham (c) |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 14 | Josh Jones |
| BE | 16 | Daryl Clark |
| BE | 17 | Alex Walmsley |
| BE | 20 | Luke Thompson |
| Coach: |||
| Wayne Bennett ||||
* Touch judges:
* Chris McMillan (New Zealand)
* Dave Munro (Australia)
* Video referee:
* Henry Perenara (New Zealand)
Notes:
* Blake Austin and Jack Hughes (both Great Britain) made their Test debuts, having not previously represented their home nation.

### Papua New Guinea leg

* 16 November 2019 17:30 (UTC+10)
| Papua New Guinea | 28–10 | Great Britain |
| Tries: Boas, Ipape, Johnston, Olam, Putt Goals: Martin (3/4), Laybutt (1/1) | Report | Tries: Austin, Hodgson Goals: Widdop (1/2) |
* PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby Referee: Grant Atkins (Australia)
Team details :
| FB | 1 | Alex Johnston |
| WG | 2 | Edene Gebbie |
| CE | 3 | David Mead |
| CE | 4 | Justin Olam |
| WG | 5 | Stargroth Amean |
| FE | 6 | Kyle Laybutt |
| HB | 7 | Watson Boas |
| PR | 8 | Wellington Albert |
| HK | 9 | Wartovo Puara Jr |
| PR | 10 | Luke Page |
| SR | 11 | Nixon Putt |
| SR | 12 | Daniel Russell |
| LK | 13 | Rhyse Martin (c) |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 14 | Edwin Ipape |
| BE | 15 | Garry Lo |
| BE | 16 | Stanton Albert |
| BE | 17 | Moses Meninga |
| Coach: |||
| Michael Marum ||||
| FB | 1 | Jonny Lomax |
| WG | 2 | Jermaine McGillvary |
| CE | 3 | Jack Hughes |
| CE | 4 | Jake Connor |
| WG | 5 | Blake Austin |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Jackson Hastings |
| PR | 8 | Chris Hill |
| HK | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| PR | 10 | Tom Burgess |
| SR | 11 | John Bateman |
| SR | 12 | Elliott Whitehead |
| LF | 13 | James Graham (c) |
| Interchange: |||
| BE | 15 | Luke Thompson |
| BE | 17 | Alex Walmsley |
| BE | 18 | Joe Philbin |
| BE | 19 | George Williams |
| Coach: |||
| Wayne Bennett ||||
* Touch judges:
* Hanua Rupa (Papua New Guinea)
* Mexi Topani (Papua New Guinea)
* Video referee:
* Shayne Hayne (Australia)

## Aftermath

The tour failed to live up to expectations, with Great Britain failing to win a single match on the tour. Coach Wayne Bennett, whose contract with the RFL expired at the end of the tour, was heavily criticised for his team selections. Six half-backs were chosen in the initial 24-man squad, but injuries during the tour resulted in stand-off Blake Austin being deployed as an emergency winger due a shortage of other players at the position. Bennett was also criticised for placing too much focus on England players – Lachlan Coote was the only player selected outside of the England setup, while Welsh-born Regan Grace, who had recently won the 2019 Super League Grand Final with St Helens, reportedly wasn't even considered for selection.
RFL rugby director Kevin Sinfield defended the squad selection, but conceded that there had been less interest than expected in the revival of the Lions tour, with attendances on the New Zealand leg of the tour being lower than expected. Bennett's contract was ultimately not renewed, and he was replaced as England coach by Shaun Wane.
In November 2020, a documentary covering the tour, titled "Once Were Lions", was released on BBC iPlayer.