Original sentence: Aberdare Athletic Ground was the venue of the first ever rugby league international on 1 January 1908, played between Wales and New Zealand as part of the 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain, with Wales winning 9-8
Edited sentence: 12,000 supporters turned up despite the ground being frozen - necessitating a layer of straw to be placed over the top.Aberdare Athletic Ground was the venue of the first ever rugby league international on 1 January 1908, played between Wales and New Zealand.Aberdare had been chosen for the venue as it could hold a larger capacity than Merthyr, in the end 20,000 Welshmen turned up.After the match the New Zealanders were invited to visit the Duke of Portland's residence and they were pleased to be able to meet the famous New Zealand racing horse Carbine, all of the touring party being given a small lock of the horses hair as a parting gift.Dick Wynyard then dropped a pass in front of the try line and the Welsh won the first international rugby league match.Here they were defeated 21-9 after resting several key players for the international against England.In the end England ran out winners 18-16, meaning the New Zealanders had now lost two internationals.New Years day saw the touring party head to Wales for their first international match.Reaching the business end of the tour, the All Blacks next headed north to play the representative Cumberland side.The All Blacks led the match 8-3 at halftime but the Welsh came back and Dai Jones scored a try with only minutes to go that put the Welsh 9-8 in front.The All Blacks next played an England XIII at Central Park in Wigan.The All Blacks somewhat rebounded, winning 6-3 in a tightly fought contest.The Welsh side contained a former Welsh amateur international as well as several players who had been playing in the Northern Union for years.The conditions favoured an open game and by half time the score was 11-all.The next day the All Blacks left Wales, heading back to Kingston upon Hull for their second visit, this time to play the Hull Kingston Rovers