The 2016 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (known as the 2016 Ladbrokes Four Nations, for sponsorship purposes) was the fifth and final staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England in October and November. The series was contested by Australia, England, New Zealand and Scotland, who qualified for their first Four Nations by winning the 2014 European Cup. The final was played on 20 November, with Australia winning its third tournament, defeating New Zealand.
| 2016 Four Nations | |
|---|---|
Australia celebrating winning the 2016 Four Nations | |
| Host country | England |
| Winner | Australia (3rd title) |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Attendance | 132,655 (18,951 per match) |
| Points scored | 259 (37 per match) |
| Tries scored | 47 (6.71 per match) |
| Top scorer | Johnathan Thurston (32 points) |
| Top try scorer | Blake Ferguson (4 tries) Josh Dugan |
Tournaments < 2014 | |
Background
The 2016 tournament is the fifth Four Nations series to be planned before the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific.
In addition to automatic inclusions Australia, England and New Zealand, Scotland qualified for the tournament by defeating France in the final of the 2014 European Cup.
England have previously co-hosted tournaments with other European nations and the Rugby Football League (RFL) planned to take a game up into Scotland but backed down and decided to take games to other venues.
The redeveloped 54,074 capacity Anfield Stadium hosted the Four Nations Final. This was the first time in 19 years the venue had held a rugby league match. Three rugby league games have been played at Anfield before. The final was the first ever international rugby league match held at the venue.
Teams
| Country | Previous appearances in tournament | Continent |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 4 (2009*, 2010, 2011*, 2014) | Oceania |
| England | 4 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014) | Europe |
| New Zealand | 4 (2009, 2010*, 2011, 2014*) | Oceania |
| Scotland | 0 (Debut) | Europe |
* Denotes winner of tournament event.
Venues
The games were played at the following venues in England. The tournament final was played at Anfield.
| Liverpool | London | Coventry |
|---|---|---|
| Anfield | London Stadium | Ricoh Arena |
| Capacity: 54,074 | Capacity: 66,000 | Capacity: 32,609 |
| Huddersfield | Hull | Workington |
| John Smith's Stadium | KC Lightstream Stadium | Derwent Park |
| Capacity: 24,500 | Capacity: 12,225 | Capacity: 10,000 |
| London Huddersfield Hull Liverpool Workington Coventry | ||
Officiating
| Referees | Touch judges | Video Referees |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Cummins | James Child | Bernard Sutton |
| Robert Hicks | Joe Cobb | Ben Thaler |
| Gerard Sutton | Mick Craven | |
| Ben Thaler | Anthony Elliot | |
| Chris Kendall |
Pre-tournament matches
Before the series, Australia and New Zealand organised to play the first ever International rugby league test-match in Perth, Scotland took on a Cumbrian rugby league team and England took on France in Avignon.
Australia vs New Zealand
Saturday, 15 October 5:15pm (AWST) |
| Australia | 26–6 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Inglis (15', 68') 2 D Boyd (9') 1 Holmes (44') 1 Cordner (78') 1 Goals: Thurston 3/5 (45', 69', 79') | 1st: 8 – 6 2nd: 18 – 0 Report | Tries: 1 (21') Proctor Goals: 1/1 Luke (22') |
nib Stadium, Perth Attendance: 20,283 Referee: Matt Cecchin Player of the Match: Greg Inglis |
Australia | New Zealand |
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Cumbria Select XIII vs Scotland
The Cumbria Select XIII was a Cumbrian-based team selected by retiring Barrow Raiders player Liam Harrison. The Cumbrian side featured Scottish internationals Oliver Wilkes and Shane Toal.
Friday, 21 October |
| Cumbria Select XIII | 16–48 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Fleming (37', 45') 2 Fieldhouse (26') 1 Goals: Hankinson 2/3 (27', 38') | Report | Tries: 2 (3', 22') Scott 1 (16') C Phillips 1 (19') Mariano 1 (33') Brierley 1 (58') Walker 1 (69') Cassel 1 (78') Tierney Goals: 5/8 Brierley (4', 17', 34', 59', 80') |
Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness Attendance: 1,048 |
Cumbria XIII | Scotland |
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France vs England
Saturday, 22 October 6:30pm (CET) |
| France | 6–40 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Pélissier (19') 1 Goals: Gigot 1/1 (20') | Report | Tries: 2 (26', 40') Hall 1 (30') Clark 1 (35') T Burgess 1 (68') Brown 1 (71') McGillvary 1 (76') Widdop Goals: 6/7 Widdop (27', 31', 36', 69', 72', 77') |
Parc des Sports, Avignon Attendance: 14,276 Referee: Phil Bentham |
France | England |
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Results
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 38 | +66 | 6 | Qualification for Final |
| 2 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 3 | |
| 3 | England | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 72 | 65 | +7 | 2 | |
| 4 | Scotland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 110 | −68 | 1 |
Source: BBC Sport
- By holding New Zealand to an 18–18 draw in the third round, Scotland became the first 'fourth nation' to score a championship point in the history of the tournament.
Round 1
Friday, 28 October 8:00pm (UTC) |
| Australia | 54–12 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Cronk (10', 15') 2 Mansour (26', 35') 2 Ferguson (6') 1 Maloney (13') 1 Dugan (44') 1 Frizell (66') 1 Morgan (69') 1 Trbojevic (79') 1 Goals: Maloney 7/10 (11', 14', 16', 45', 67', 70', 80') | 1st: 30 – 6 2nd: 24 – 6 Report | Tries: 1 (39') Brierley 1 (59') Kavanagh Goals: 2/2 Brough (40', 60') |
KC Lightstream Stadium, Hull Attendance: 5,337 Referee: Ben Thaler Player of the Match: Matt Moylan |
Australia | Scotland |
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Touch Judges:
Jack Smith
Mick Craven
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Gerard Sutton
Saturday, 29 October 2:30pm (UTC) |
| England | 16–17 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: McGillvary (48') 1 Hall (61') 1 Goals: Widdop 4/4 (3' pen, 11' pen, 49', 62') | 1st: 4 – 6 2nd: 12 – 11 Report | Tries: 2 (35', 56') Rapana 1 (42') Johnson Goals: 2/4 Kahu (31' pen, 43') Field Goals: 1 (65') Johnson |
John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield Attendance: 24,070 Referee: Robert Hicks Player of the Match: Shaun Johnson |
England | New Zealand |
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Touch Judges:
James Child
Anthony Elliott
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Ben Cummins
Round 2
Saturday, 5 November 5:30pm (BST) |
| England | 38–12 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Whitehead (27', 36') 2 Percival (50') 1 Hall (54') 1 McGillvary (58') 1 Gale (64') 1 Farrell (80') 1 Goals: Gale 5/7 (28', 37', 55', 65', 80') | 1st: 12 – 8 2nd: 26 – 4 Report | Tries: 1 (6') Linnett 1 (24') Russell 1 (70') Ferguson Goals: 0/3 Brough Sin Bin: Brough 58' to 68' |
Ricoh Arena, Coventry Attendance: 21,009 Referee: Gerard Sutton Player of the Match: George Williams |
England | Scotland |
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Touch Judges:
Mick Craven
Chris Kendall
Video Referee:
Ben Thaler
Reserve Referee:
Robert Hicks
Saturday, 5 November 8:00pm (BST) |
| New Zealand | 8–14 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Kata (49') 1 Rapana (77') 1 Goals: Johnson 0/2 | 1st: 0 – 10 2nd: 8 – 4 Report | Tries: 1 (10') Ferguson 1 (15') Thurston Goals: 3/4 Thurston (16', 55' pen, 71' pen) |
Ricoh Arena, Coventry Attendance: 21,009 Referee: Ben Cummins Player of the Match: Blake Ferguson |
New Zealand | Australia |
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Touch Judges:
Anthony Elliott
Joe Cobb
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Robert Hicks
Round 3
Friday, 11 November 8:00pm (BST) |
| New Zealand | 18–18 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Fusitu'a (24', 55') 2 Beale (73', 76') 2 Goals: Luke 1/4 (25') | 1st: 6 – 4 2nd: 12 – 14 Report | Tries: 1 (27') Tierney 1 (67') Hellewelll 1 (79') Aitken Goals: 3/4 Brough (68', 70' pen, 80') |
Derwent Park, Workington Attendance: 6,628 Referee: Ben Cummins Player of the Match: Shaun Johnson |
New Zealand | Scotland |
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Touch Judges:
James Child
Chris Kendall
Video Referee:
Ben Thaler
Reserve Referee:
Gerard Sutton
Sunday, 13 November 2:00pm (BST) |
| England | 18–36 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: McGillvary (26') 1 Widdop (67') 1 Hall (76') 1 Goals: Widdop 3/4 (12' pen, 68', 77') | 1st: 6 – 10 2nd: 12 – 26 Report | Tries: 1 (36') Ferguson 1 (47') Inglis 1 (57') Scott 1 (59') Dugan 1 (72') Gillett 1 (79') Holmes Goals: 6/8 Thurston (18' pen, 37', 40' pen, 49', 58', 60') |
London Stadium, London Attendance: 35,569 Referee: Robert Hicks Player of the Match: Cooper Cronk |
England | Australia |
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The match was originally scheduled to kick-off at 3:30pm BST, however on 22 September the RFL changed the kick-off time to 2:00pm BST.
Touch Judges:
Anthony Elliott
Mick Craven
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Ben Cummins
Final
Sunday, 20 November 2:30pm (BST) |
| Australia | 34–8 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Dugan (10', 24') 2 Ferguson (3') 1 Merrin (21') 1 D Boyd (45') 1 Cordner (74') 1 Goals: 5/8 Thurston (4', 18' pen, 22', 29' pen, 75') | 1st: 24 – 0 2nd: 10 – 8 Report | Tries: 2 (56', 69') Kahu Goals: |
Anfield, Liverpool Attendance: 40,042 Referee: Ben Cummins Player of the Match: Darius Boyd |
Australia | New Zealand |
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Player statistics
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Player of the Tournament
- Cooper Cronk
Broadcasting
Premier Sports was the host broadcaster for every match of the tournament.
| Country | Broadcaster | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| England | Premier Sports | Every match live |
| BBC | Every England match, Australia v New Zealand, and the final live | |
| Australia | Nine Network | Every match live |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Every match live |
| France | beIN Sports | Every match live[citation needed] |
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