# 2014 Rugby League Four Nations

The 2014 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the fourth staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament played in Australia and New Zealand over three weeks from Saturday, 25 October to Saturday, 15 November 2014. The series was contested by regular participants Australia, England and New Zealand, joined by Samoa, having won their Pacific qualifier against Fiji. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating Australia in the final at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on Saturday 15 November.

## Background

The 2014 tournament is the first Four Nations series to be scheduled following the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific.
In addition to automatic inclusions Australia, England and New Zealand, Pacific nations Fiji and Samoa met in a mid-season test match at the Penrith Stadium in western Sydney to determine the fourth entrant in the tournament. Samoa won an entertaining match 32-16 in front of 9,063 fans.
The 34,500 capacity Westpac Stadium in Wellington will play host to the first Four Nations Final played in New Zealand. The last time the final of the tournament was held in New Zealand was at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland when the tournament was known as the Tri-Nations in its inaugural year, 1999.

## Teams

| Team | Coach | Captain | RLIF Rank | Continent |
| Australia | Tim Sheens | Cameron Smith | 1st | Oceania |
| England | Steve McNamara | Sean O'Loughlin | 3rd | Europe |
| New Zealand | Stephen Kearney | Simon Mannering | 2nd | Oceania |
| Samoa | Matt Parish | David Fa'alogo | 7th | Oceania |

### Squads
## Venues

The games were played at the following venues in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament final was played in Wellington.
| Wellington | Brisbane | Whangārei |
| Westpac Stadium | Suncorp Stadium | Toll Stadium |
| Capacity: 34,500 | Capacity: 52,500 | Capacity: 30,000 |
| Melbourne | Dunedin | Wollongong |
| AAMI Park | Forsyth Barr Stadium | WIN Stadium |
| Capacity: 30,050 | Capacity: 30,748 | Capacity: 23,750 |

## Referees

* Henry Perenara (Referee and Video Referee - New Zealand)
* Phil Bentham (Referee - England)
* Gerard Sutton (Referee - Australia)
* Ben Cummins (Replacement Referee - Australia)

### Touch judges/video referees

* Anthony Eliott (Touch Judge - New Zealand)
* Grant Atkins (Touch Judge - Australia)
* Jason Walsh (Touch Judge - Australia)
* Robert Hicks (Touch Judge - England)
* Ian Smith (Video Referee - England)
* Bernard Sutton (Video Referee - Australia)

## Qualifier
### Samoa v. Fiji

* 3 May 2014
| Samoa | 32 – 16 | Fiji |
| Tries: Penani Manumalealii (3) 13' c, 38' c, 44' c Carlos Tuimavave 54'c Daniel Vidot 64'c Sam Tagataese 78' Goals: Krisnan Inu (6/6) 13', 38', 44', 50', 54', 64' | Video | Tries: Kevin Naiqama 16' c James Storer 27' c Lote Tuqiri 30' m Goals: Lote Tuqiri (2/3) 17', 28' |
* Penrith Stadium, Sydney, Australia Attendance: 9,063 Referee: Ashley Klein Player of the Match: Penani Manumalealii
Samoa won the test match by 32–16 after being behind 16–12 at half-time. Samoa's Penani Manumalealii won the man of the match award, scoring 3 tries in the match.
Samoa picked 7 debutantes for the test match, while Fiji featured three. All of the Samoan team were National Rugby League based players, while the Fijian side had 10 players from the NRL. Samoa's most capped player was Daniel Vidot who made his 6th appearance for his country, while Fiji's most experienced players were Alipate Noilea, Aaron Groom, and captain Ashton Sims who all made their 10th appearance for their nation.

## Results
### Round 1

* Saturday, 25 October 2014 5:00pm (AEDT)
| England | 32 – 26 | Samoa |
| Tries: Michael Shenton 21' c Kallum Watkins 34' c Liam Farrell 46' c Joel Tomkins 65' c Sam Tomkins 68' c Goals: Gareth Widdop (6/6) 22', 34', 40', 46', 65', 68' | Report | Tries: Isaac Liu 26' c Daniel Vidot 30' m Pita Godinet (2) 55' c, 61' c Antonio Winterstein 72' c Goals: Kyle Stanley (3/4) 26', 55', 61' Ben Roberts (1/1) 72' |
* Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Attendance: 47,813 Referee: Gerard Sutton Player of the Match: Sam Tomkins
* Ben Roberts made his 10th appearance for Samoa, only the second player to hit double-digit appearances for his country with George Carmont being the first.
| FB | 1 | Sam Tomkins |
| RW | 2 | Josh Charnley |
| RC | 3 | Kallum Watkins |
| LC | 4 | Michael Shenton |
| LW | 5 | Ryan Hall |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Matty Smith |
| PR | 8 | George Burgess |
| HK | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| PR | 10 | James Graham (c) |
| SR | 11 | Liam Farrell |
| SR | 12 | Joel Tomkins |
| LF | 13 | Joe Westerman |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Daryl Clark |
| BE | 15 | Brett Ferres |
| BE | 16 | Tom Burgess |
| BE | 17 | Chris Hill |
| Coach: ||
| Steve McNamara ||
| FB | 1 | Tim Simona |
| RW | 2 | Antonio Winterstein |
| RC | 3 | Ricky Leutele |
| LC | 4 | Joey Leilua |
| LW | 5 | Daniel Vidot |
| FE | 6 | Ben Roberts |
| HB | 7 | Kyle Stanley |
| PR | 8 | Sam Tagataese |
| HK | 9 | Michael Sio |
| PR | 10 | David Fa'alogo (c) |
| SR | 11 | Frank Pritchard |
| SR | 12 | Leeson Ah Mau |
| LK | 13 | Josh McGuire |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Pita Godinet |
| BE | 15 | Jesse Sene-Lefao |
| BE | 16 | Isaac Liu |
| BE | 17 | Mose Masoe |
| Coach: ||
| Matt Parish ||
* Saturday, 25 October 2014 7:30pm (AEDT)
| Australia | 12 – 30 | New Zealand |
| Tries: Beau Scott 3' c Greg Inglis 21' c Goal: Cameron Smith (2/2) 3', 21' | Report | Tries: Proctor 17' c Lewis Brown 29' c Shaun Johnson 47' c Dean Whare 51' c Jason Nightingale 68' c Goals: Shaun Johnson (5/5) 17', 29', 47', 51', 68' |
* Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia Attendance: 47,813 Referee: Phil Bentham Player of the Match: Shaun Johnson
* Dallin Watene-Zelezniak could have made his international test debut in the starting XIII for New Zealand on the right-wing, but was ruled out for the game and for the rest of the tournament with an ankle injury and Gerard Beale replaced him.
* Jason Taumalolo made his international test debut for New Zealand.
* Daniel Tupou, Josh Mansour, Dylan Walker, Aaron Woods and Aidan Guerra made their international test debut for Australia
* With the victory, this was New Zealand's first Test win over Australia since the 2010 Four Nations Final.
| FB | 1 | Greg Inglis |
| RW | 2 | Josh Mansour |
| RC | 3 | Michael Jennings |
| LC | 4 | Dylan Walker |
| LW | 5 | Daniel Tupou |
| SO | 6 | Johnathan Thurston |
| SH | 7 | Cooper Cronk |
| PR | 8 | Aaron Woods |
| HK | 9 | Cameron Smith (c) |
| PR | 10 | Sam Thaiday |
| SR | 11 | Beau Scott |
| SR | 12 | Ryan Hoffman |
| LF | 13 | Greg Bird |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Robbie Farah |
| BE | 15 | Aidan Guerra |
| BE | 16 | Josh Papalii |
| BE | 17 | Corey Parker |
| Coach: ||
| Tim Sheens ||
| FB | 1 | Peta Hiku |
| RW | 19 | Gerard Beale |
| RC | 3 | Shaun Kenny-Dowall |
| LC | 4 | Dean Whare |
| LW | 2 | Jason Nightingale |
| FE | 6 | Kieran Foran |
| HB | 7 | Shaun Johnson |
| PR | 8 | Jesse Bromwich |
| HK | 9 | Thomas Leuluai |
| PR | 10 | Adam Blair |
| SR | 11 | Simon Mannering (c) |
| SR | 12 | Kevin Proctor |
| LK | 13 | Jason Taumalolo |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Lewis Brown |
| BE | 15 | Greg Eastwood |
| BE | 16 | Martin Taupau |
| BE | 17 | Tohu Harris |
| Coach: ||
| Stephen Kearney ||

### Round 2

* Saturday, 1 November 2014 4:00pm (NZT)
| New Zealand | 14 – 12 | Samoa |
| Tries: Kieran Foran 10' c Jason Nightingale 64' Shaun Kenny-Dowall 76' Goals: Shaun Johnson (1/3) 11' | Report | Tries: Tautau Moga 6' Daniel Vidot 18' Joseph Leilua 44' Goals: Tim Lafai (0/3) |
* Toll Stadium, Whangārei, New Zealand Attendance: 16,912 Referee: Henry Perenara Player of the Match: Kieran Foran
* Suaia Matagi made his international test debut for New Zealand
* Tautau Moga and Dominique Peyroux made their international test debut for Samoa
* With the victory, New Zealand retained the Peter Leitch QSM Challenge Trophy.
| FB | 1 | Peta Hiku |
| RW | 2 | Jason Nightingale |
| RC | 3 | Shaun Kenny-Dowall |
| LC | 4 | Dean Whare |
| LW | 5 | Manu Vatuvei |
| FE | 6 | Kieran Foran |
| HB | 7 | Shaun Johnson |
| PR | 8 | Jesse Bromwich |
| HK | 9 | Issac Luke |
| PR | 10 | Adam Blair |
| SR | 11 | Simon Mannering (c) |
| SR | 12 | Kevin Proctor |
| LK | 13 | Jason Taumalolo |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Lewis Brown |
| BE | 15 | Suaia Matagi |
| BE | 16 | Martin Taupau |
| BE | 17 | Tohu Harris |
| Coach: ||
| Stephen Kearney ||
| FB | 1 | Tim Simona |
| RW | 20 | Tautau Moga |
| RC | 3 | Tim Lafai |
| LC | 4 | Joey Leilua |
| LW | 5 | Daniel Vidot |
| FE | 6 | Ben Roberts |
| HB | 7 | Kyle Stanley |
| PR | 8 | Isaac Liu |
| HK | 13 | Josh McGuire |
| PR | 10 | David Fa'alogo (c) |
| SR | 11 | Frank Pritchard |
| SR | 12 | Leeson Ah Mau |
| LK | 16 | Sauaso Sue |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 9 | Pita Godinet |
| BE | 14 | Dunamis Lui |
| BE | 17 | Mose Masoe |
| BE | 18 | Dominique Peyroux |
| Coach: ||
| Matt Parish ||
* Sunday, 2 November 2014 4:00pm (AEST)
| Australia | 16 – 12 | England |
| Tries: Michael Jennings 16' Ben Hunt 56' c Greg Inglis 62' c Goals: Cameron Smith (2/3) 57', 64' | Report | Tries: Kallum Watkins 28' c Ryan Hall 33' c Goals: Gareth Widdop (2/2) 29', 35' |
* AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia Attendance: 20,585 Referee: Gerard Sutton Player of the Match: Cameron Smith
* Perth born Dan Sarginson made his international test début for England.
* Ben Hunt and David Klemmer made their international test debuts for Australia.
* Sione Mata'utia also made his international test début for Australia and becoming the youngest ever player to play for Australia at aged 18 years and 129 days, eclipsing Israel Folau's seven-year-old record by 65 days.
* Cameron Smith becomes the 6th Kangaroo-Test player, to play 40-Test games for Australia.
| FB | 1 | Greg Inglis |
| RW | 2 | Josh Mansour |
| RC | 3 | Michael Jennings |
| LC | 4 | Dylan Walker |
| LW | 5 | Sione Mata'utia |
| SO | 6 | Johnathan Thurston |
| SH | 7 | Daly Cherry-Evans |
| PR | 8 | Aaron Woods |
| HK | 9 | Cameron Smith (c) |
| PR | 10 | Sam Thaiday |
| SR | 11 | Beau Scott |
| SR | 12 | Greg Bird |
| LF | 13 | Corey Parker |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Boyd Cordner |
| BE | 15 | Ben Hunt |
| BE | 16 | David Klemmer |
| BE | 17 | Josh Papalii |
| Coach: ||
| Tim Sheens ||
| FB | 1 | Sam Tomkins |
| RW | 2 | Josh Charnley |
| RC | 3 | Kallum Watkins |
| LC | 18 | Dan Sarginson |
| LW | 5 | Ryan Hall |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Matty Smith |
| PR | 8 | George Burgess |
| HK | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| PR | 10 | James Graham |
| SR | 11 | Liam Farrell |
| SR | 12 | Joel Tomkins |
| LF | 19 | Sean O'Loughlin (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Daryl Clark |
| BE | 15 | Brett Ferres |
| BE | 16 | Tom Burgess |
| BE | 17 | Chris Hill |
| Coach: ||
| Steve McNamara ||

### Round 3

* Saturday, 8 November 2014 7:00pm (NZT)
| New Zealand | 16 – 14 | England |
| Tries: Jason Nightingale (2) 2' c, 29' c Manu Vatuvei 45' Goals: Shaun Johnson (2/3) 3', 31' | Report | Tries: Ryan Hall (2) 7', 56' c Josh Charnley 24' Goals: Gareth Widdop (1/3) 58' |
* Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, New Zealand Attendance: 15,863 Referee: Phil Bentham Player of the Match: Jason Taumalolo
* With the victory, New Zealand secured a place in the final.
| FB | 1 | Peta Hiku |
| RW | 2 | Jason Nightingale |
| RC | 3 | Shaun Kenny-Dowall |
| LC | 4 | Dean Whare |
| LW | 5 | Manu Vatuvei |
| FE | 6 | Kieran Foran |
| HB | 7 | Shaun Johnson |
| PR | 8 | Jesse Bromwich |
| HK | 14 | Thomas Leuluai |
| PR | 10 | Adam Blair |
| SR | 11 | Simon Mannering (c) |
| SR | 12 | Kevin Proctor |
| LK | 13 | Jason Taumalolo |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 9 | Issac Luke |
| BE | 15 | Greg Eastwood |
| BE | 16 | Martin Taupau |
| BE | 17 | Tohu Harris |
| Coach: ||
| Stephen Kearney ||
| FB | 1 | Sam Tomkins |
| RW | 2 | Josh Charnley |
| RC | 3 | Kallum Watkins |
| LC | 4 | Dan Sarginson |
| LW | 5 | Ryan Hall |
| SO | 6 | Gareth Widdop |
| SH | 7 | Matty Smith |
| PR | 8 | George Burgess |
| HK | 14 | Daryl Clark |
| PR | 10 | James Graham |
| SR | 11 | Liam Farrell |
| SR | 12 | Joel Tomkins |
| LF | 13 | Sean O'Loughlin (c) |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 15 | Brett Ferres |
| BE | 16 | Tom Burgess |
| BE | 17 | Chris Hill |
| BE | 18 | Elliott Whitehead |
| Coach: ||
| Steve McNamara ||
* Sunday, 9 November 2014 4:00pm (AEST)
| Australia | 44 – 18 | Samoa |
| Tries: Cooper Cronk (2) 2', 62' Greg Inglis (2) 11', 26' Daly Cherry-Evans 30' David Klemmer 34' Josh Papalii 76' Josh Mansour 79' Goals: Cameron Smith (4/6) Daly Cherry-Evans (2/2) | Report | Tries: Tim Simona 20' Ben Roberts 47' David Fa'alogo 69' Goals: Tim Lafai (3/3) |
* WIN Stadium, Wollongong, Australia Attendance: 18,456 Referee: Gerard Sutton Player of the Match: Greg Inglis
* Josh Jackson made his international test debut for Australia.
* With the victory, Australia secured a place in the final.
| FB | 1 | Greg Inglis |
| RW | 2 | Josh Mansour |
| RC | 3 | Michael Jennings |
| LC | 4 | Dylan Walker |
| LW | 5 | Sione Mata'utia |
| SO | 6 | Daly Cherry-Evans |
| SH | 7 | Cooper Cronk |
| PR | 8 | Aaron Woods |
| HK | 9 | Cameron Smith (c) |
| PR | 10 | Josh Papalii |
| SR | 11 | Sam Thaiday |
| SR | 12 | Greg Bird |
| LF | 13 | Corey Parker |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 14 | Boyd Cordner |
| BE | 15 | Ben Hunt |
| BE | 19 | David Klemmer |
| BE | 21 | Josh Jackson |
| Coach: ||
| Tim Sheens ||
| FB | 1 | Tim Simona |
| RW | 2 | Antonio Winterstein |
| RC | 3 | Tim Lafai |
| LC | 4 | Joey Leilua |
| LW | 5 | Daniel Vidot |
| FE | 6 | Ben Roberts |
| HB | 7 | Kyle Stanley |
| PR | 8 | Isaac Liu |
| HK | 13 | Josh McGuire |
| PR | 10 | David Fa'alogo (c) |
| SR | 11 | Frank Pritchard |
| SR | 12 | Leeson Ah Mau |
| LK | 17 | Mose Masoe |
| Substitutions: ||
| BE | 9 | Pita Godinet |
| BE | 14 | Dunamis Lui |
| BE | 15 | Reni Maitua |
| BE | 16 | Sauaso Sue |
| Coach: ||
| Matt Parish ||

### Standings

2014 Four Nations :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 38 | +22 | 6 | Qualification for Final |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 4 | Qualification for Final |
| 3 | England | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 58 | 58 | 0 | 2 | |
| 4 | Samoa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 90 | −34 | 0 | |

### Final

* Saturday, 15 November 8:30pm (NZT)
| New Zealand | 22 – 18 | Australia |
| Tries Manu Vatuvei (35', 63') 2 Jason Nightingale (23') 1 Shaun Johnson (58') 1 Goals Shaun Johnson 3/5 (25', 29' pen, 36') | Report | Tries 1 (11') Michael Jennings 1 (42') Sione Mata'utia 1 (76') Ben Hunt Goals 3/3 Cameron Smith (12', 43', 77') |
* Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand Attendance: 25,093 Referee: Phil Bentham Player of the Match: Shaun Johnson
| New Zealand | Position | Australia |
| Peta Hiku | FB | Greg Inglis |
| Jason Nightingale | WG | Josh Mansour |
| Dean Whare | CE | Michael Jennings |
| Shaun Kenny-Dowall | CE | Dylan Walker |
| Manu Vatuvei | WG | Sione Mata'utia |
| Kieran Foran | FE | Johnathan Thurston |
| Shaun Johnson | HB | Cooper Cronk |
| Jesse Bromwich | PR | Aaron Woods |
| Isaac Luke | HK | Cameron Smith (c) |
| Adam Blair | PR | Josh Papalii |
| Simon Mannering (c) | SR | Sam Thaiday |
| Kevin Proctor | SR | Greg Bird |
| Jason Taumalolo | LK | Corey Parker |
| Lewis Brown | Int | Boyd Cordner |
| Greg Eastwood | Int | Ben Hunt |
| Martin Taupau | Int | Josh Jackson |
| Tohu Harris | Int | David Klemmer |
Score Progression: 11th: Australia 6 - 0 (Jennings Try, Smith Goal) 23rd: Even 6 - 6 (Nightingale Try, Johnson Goal) 29th: New Zealand 8 - 6 (Johnson Penalty Goal) 35th: New Zealand 14 - 6 (Vatuvei Try, Johnson Goal) 42nd: New Zealand 14 - 12 (Mata'utia Try, Smith Goal) 58th: New Zealand 18 - 12 (Johnson Try) 63rd: New Zealand 22 - 12 (Vatuvei Try) 76th: New Zealand 22 - 18 (Hunt Try, Smith Goal)
Match records:
* This was Australia's first game at Wellington's Westpac Stadium since 2007, when they beat New Zealand 58-0.
* This was New Zealand's first home game at Wellington's Westpac Stadium since the 2010 Four Nations Round 1 clash with England, when they won 24-10.
* With the victory, New Zealand won this year's Four Nations Title, as well as their second Tournament Title.
* New Zealand became the second team since Australia (in the 2011 Four Nations series), to go through the tournament undefeated.
* New Zealand won 2 consecutive matches against Australia, for the first time since 1998.
* New Zealand earned their first victory over Australia at a home venue since 2003, when they won 30-16 over Australia at Auckland's North Harbour Stadium.
* Manu Vatuvei becomes New Zealand's all-time leading try-scorer, passing Nigel Vagana's record (of 19 tries) after scoring his second try in the game for a total of 20 test tries.
* Simon Mannering became the fifth Kiwi-Test player to play 40 tests for New Zealand.

## Player statistics

Top point scorers :
| | Player | Team | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 1 | Shaun Johnson | New Zealand | 2 | 11 | 0 | 30 |
| 2 | Cameron Smith | Australia | 0 | 11 | 0 | 22 |
| 3 | Jason Nightingale | New Zealand | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 4 | Gareth Widdop | England | 0 | 9 | 0 | 18 |
| 5 | Greg Inglis | Australia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Top try scorers :
| | Player | Team | T |
| 1 | Jason Nightingale | New Zealand | 5 |
| 2 | Greg Inglis | Australia | 4 |
| 3 | Ryan Hall | England | 3 |
| 3 | Manu Vatuvei | New Zealand | 3 |

## Broadcasting rights

In the United Kingdom, Premier Sports televised all the matches live while BBC Two televised England's round robin matches and the final live. BBC One televised highlights of matchday one while BBC Two televised highlights of matchday two while BBC One televised highlights of England's final round robin match against New Zealand while highlights of matchday three was televised on BBC Two in England and England HD at 10:00pm and in Northern Ireland at 10:30pm and in Scotland 11:00pm and in Wales at 11:30pm. BBC One televised highlights of the final.