2016 Rugby League Four Nations

The 2016 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (known as the 2016 Ladbrokes Four Nations, for sponsorship purposes)^[1] was the fifth 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.^[2] The final was played on 20 November, with Australia winning its third tournament, defeating New Zealand.

2016 (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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Teams

Main article: 2016 Rugby League Four Nations squads

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.^[5][6][7]

Australia vs New Zealand

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')

Saturday, 15 October 5:15pm (AWST)

nib Stadium, Perth Attendance: 20,283 Referee: Matt Cecchin Player of the Match: Greg Inglis

Australia

New Zealand

FB 1 Darius Boyd RW 2 Blake Ferguson RC 3 Greg Inglis LC 4 Josh Dugan LW 5 Valentine Holmes FE 6 Johnathan Thurston HB 7 Cooper Cronk PR 8 Matt Scott HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 Shannon Boyd SR 11 Boyd Cordner SR 12 Matt Gillett LK 13 Trent Merrin Interchange: IC 14 David Klemmer IC 15 Michael Morgan IC 16 Tyson Frizell IC 17 Sam Thaiday Coach: Mal Meninga

FB 1 Jordan Kahu RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Solomone Kata LC 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall LW 5 Jordan Rapana FE 6 Thomas Leuluai HB 7 Shaun Johnson PR 8 Jesse Bromwich (c) HK 9 Issac Luke PR 10 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Jason Taumalolo Interchange: IC 14 Lewis Brown IC 15 Martin Taupau IC 16 Manu Ma'u IC 17 Adam Blair Coach: David Kidwell

Cumbria Select XIII vs Scotland

The Cumbria Select XIII was a Cumbrian-based team selected by retiring Barrow Raiders player Liam Harrison.^[8] The Cumbrian side featured Scottish internationals Oliver Wilkes and Shane Toal.

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')

Friday, 21 October

Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness Attendance: 1,048

Cumbria XIII

Scotland

FB 1 Ryan Fieldhouse RW 2 Eze Harper RC 3 Chris Hankinson LC 4 Chris Fleming LW 5 Shane Toal FE 6 Jamie Dallimore HB 7 Liam Finch PR 10 Oliver Wilkes HK 9 Karl Ashall PR 8 Joe Bullock SR 11 Liam Harrison (c) SR 12 Bradd Crellin LK 13 Daniel Toal Interchange: IC 14 Dan Abram IC 15 Brad Marwood IC 16 Matty Holmes IC 17 Andrew Dawson IC 18 Brad Brennan IC 19 Matty While IC 20 Luke Cresswell IC 21 Ethan Kelly Coach: Liam Harrison

FB 1 Matty Russell RW 2 Lewis Tierney RC 3 Ben Hellewell LC 4 Tyler Cassel LW 5 David Scott FE 6 Danny Addy HB 7 Ryan Brierley PR 8 Adam Walker HK 9 Liam Hood PR 10 Frankie Mariano SR 11 Brett Phillips SR 12 Dale Ferguson LK 13 Ben Kavanagh Interchange: IC 14 Callum Phillips IC 15 Sam Brooks IC 16 Sheldon Powe-Hobbs IC 17 Billy McConnachie IC 18 Kieran Moran IC 19 Ryan Maneely Coach: Steve McCormack

France vs England

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')

Saturday, 22 October 6:30pm (CET)

Parc des Sports, Avignon Attendance: 14,276 Referee: Phil Bentham

France

England

FB 1 Tony Gigot RW 2 Mathias Pala RC 3 Benjamin Garcia LC 4 Vincent Duport LW 5 Olivier Arnaud SO 6 Stanislas Robin SH 7 William Barthau PR 8 Romain Navarrete HK 9 Alrix Da Costa PR 10 Rémi Casty (c) SR 11 Mickaël Simon SR 12 Benjamin Jullien LF 13 Julian Bousquet Substitutions: BE 14 Éloi Pélissier BE 15 Mickaël Goudemand BE 16 Gadwin Springer BE 17 Kevin Larroyer Coach: Aurélien Cologni

FB 1 Jonny Lomax RW 2 Jermaine McGillvary RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 Mark Percival LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 Gareth Widdop SH 7 Luke Gale PR 8 James Graham (c) HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 Scott Taylor SR 11 Elliott Whitehead SR 12 Michael Cooper LF 13 Tom Burgess Substitutions: BE 14 George Burgess BE 15 Kevin Brown BE 16 Stefan Ratchford BE 17 Daryl Clark Coach: Wayne Bennett

Results

Standings

2016 Four Nations

Pos	Team v t e	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

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')

Friday, 28 October 8:00pm (UTC)

KC Lightstream Stadium, Hull[9] Attendance: 5,337 Referee: Ben Thaler Player of the Match: Matt Moylan

Australia

Scotland

FB 1 Matt Moylan RW 2 Josh Mansour RC 3 Justin O'Neill LC 4 Josh Dugan LW 5 Blake Ferguson FE 6 James Maloney HB 7 Cooper Cronk PR 8 Aaron Woods HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 David Klemmer SR 11 Sam Thaiday SR 12 Tyson Frizell LK 13 Jake Trbojevic Interchange: IC 14 Jake Friend IC 15 Shannon Boyd IC 16 Trent Merrin IC 17 Michael Morgan Coach: Mal Meninga

FB 1 Lachlan Coote RW 2 Lewis Tierney RC 3 Euan Aitken LC 4 Kane Linnett LW 5 Matty Russell FE 6 Danny Brough (c) HB 7 Ryan Brierley PR 8 Adam Walker HK 9 Liam Hood PR 10 Luke Douglas SR 11 Danny Addy SR 12 Dale Ferguson LK 13 Ben Kavanagh Interchange: IC 14 Ben Hellewell IC 15 Sheldon Powe-Hobbs IC 16 Sam Brooks IC 17 Billy McConnachie Coach: Steve McCormack

Touch Judges:
Jack Smith
Mick Craven
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Gerard Sutton

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

Saturday, 29 October 2:30pm (UTC)

John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield[9] Attendance: 24,070 Referee: Robert Hicks Player of the Match: Shaun Johnson

England

New Zealand

FB 1 Jonny Lomax RW 2 Jermaine McGillvary RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 Dan Sarginson LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 Gareth Widdop SH 7 Luke Gale PR 8 Chris Hill HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 James Graham SR 11 Elliott Whitehead SR 12 John Bateman LF 13 Sam Burgess (c) Substitutions: BE 14 Tom Burgess BE 15 George Burgess BE 16 Michael Cooper BE 17 Daryl Clark Coach: Wayne Bennett

FB 1 Jordan Kahu RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Solomone Kata LC 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall LW 5 Jordan Rapana FE 6 Thomas Leuluai HB 7 Shaun Johnson PR 8 Jesse Bromwich (c) HK 9 Issac Luke PR 10 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Jason Taumalolo Interchange: IC 14 Lewis Brown IC 15 Martin Taupau IC 16 Manu Ma'u IC 17 Adam Blair Coach: David Kidwell

Touch Judges:
James Child
Anthony Elliott
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Ben Cummins

Round 2

England vs Scotland in their first ever match against each other at the 2016 Four Nations

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'

Saturday, 5 November 5:30pm (BST)

Ricoh Arena, Coventry[9] Attendance: 21,009 Referee: Gerard Sutton Player of the Match: George Williams

England

Scotland

FB 1 Jonny Lomax RW 2 Jermaine McGillvary RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 Mark Percival LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 George Williams SH 7 Luke Gale PR 8 Chris Hill HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 Scott Taylor SR 11 Liam Farrell SR 12 Elliott Whitehead LF 13 Sam Burgess (c) Substitutions: BE 14 Tom Burgess BE 15 George Burgess BE 16 Michael Cooper BE 17 Daryl Clark Coach: Wayne Bennett

FB 1 Lachlan Coote RW 2 Lewis Tierney RC 3 Euan Aitken LC 4 Kane Linnett LW 5 Matty Russell FE 6 Danny Brough (c) HB 7 Danny Addy PR 8 Adam Walker HK 9 Liam Hood PR 10 Luke Douglas SR 11 Ben Hellewell SR 12 Dale Ferguson LK 13 Ben Kavanagh Interchange: IC 14 Tyler Cassel IC 15 Frankie Mariano IC 16 Callum Phillips IC 17 Sam Brooks Coach: Steve McCormack

Touch Judges:
Mick Craven
Chris Kendall
Video Referee:
Ben Thaler
Reserve Referee:
Robert Hicks

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)

Saturday, 5 November 8:00pm (BST)

Ricoh Arena, Coventry[9] Attendance: 21,009 Referee: Ben Cummins Player of the Match: Blake Ferguson

New Zealand

Australia

FB 1 Jordan Kahu RW 2 Gerard Beale RC 3 Solomone Kata LC 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall LW 5 Jordan Rapana FE 6 Thomas Leuluai HB 7 Shaun Johnson PR 8 Jesse Bromwich (c) HK 9 Issac Luke PR 17 Greg Eastwood SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Jason Taumalolo Interchange: IC 10 Adam Blair IC 14 Lewis Brown IC 15 Martin Taupau IC 16 Manu Ma'u Coach: David Kidwell

FB 1 Darius Boyd RW 2 Valentine Holmes RC 3 Greg Inglis LC 4 Justin O'Neill LW 5 Blake Ferguson FE 6 Michael Morgan HB 7 Johnathan Thurston PR 8 Matt Scott HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 Aaron Woods SR 11 Boyd Cordner SR 12 Matt Gillett LK 13 Trent Merrin Interchange: IC 14 Shannon Boyd IC 15 James Maloney IC 16 David Klemmer IC 17 Sam Thaiday Coach: Mal Meninga

Touch Judges:
Anthony Elliott
Joe Cobb
Video Referee:
Bernard Sutton
Reserve Referee:
Robert Hicks

Round 3

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')

Friday, 11 November 8:00pm (BST)

Derwent Park, Workington[9] Attendance: 6,628 Referee: Ben Cummins Player of the Match: Shaun Johnson

New Zealand

Scotland

FB 1 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak RW 2 Jason Nightingale RC 3 Solomone Kata LC 4 Gerard Beale LW 5 David Fusitu'a FE 6 Thomas Leuluai HB 7 Shaun Johnson PR 8 Jesse Bromwich (c) HK 9 Issac Luke PR 10 Adam Blair SR 11 Manu Ma'u SR 12 Tohu Harris LK 13 Greg Eastwood Interchange: IC 14 Te Maire Martin IC 15 Martin Taupau IC 16 James Fisher-Harris IC 17 Joseph Tapine Coach: David Kidwell

FB 1 Lachlan Coote RW 2 Lewis Tierney RC 3 Euan Aitken LC 4 Kane Linnett LW 5 Matty Russell FE 7 Danny Addy HB 18 Danny Brough (c) PR 8 Adam Walker HK 9 Liam Hood PR 10 Luke Douglas SR 11 Ben Hellewell SR 12 Dale Ferguson LK 13 Ben Kavanagh Interchange: IC 14 Ryan Brierley IC 15 Frankie Mariano IC 16 Callum Phillips IC 17 Billy McConnachie Coach: Steve McCormack

Touch Judges:
James Child
Chris Kendall
Video Referee:
Ben Thaler
Reserve Referee:
Gerard Sutton

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')

Sunday, 13 November 2:00pm (BST)

London Stadium, London[9] Attendance: 35,569 Referee: Robert Hicks Player of the Match: Cooper Cronk

England

Australia

FB 1 Jonny Lomax RW 2 Jermaine McGillvary RC 3 Kallum Watkins LC 4 Mark Percival LW 5 Ryan Hall SO 6 Kevin Brown SH 7 Gareth Widdop PR 8 Chris Hill HK 9 Josh Hodgson PR 10 James Graham SR 11 John Bateman SR 12 Elliott Whitehead LF 13 Sam Burgess (c) Substitutions: BE 14 Tom Burgess BE 15 George Burgess BE 16 Michael Cooper BE 17 George Williams Coach: Wayne Bennett

FB 1 Darius Boyd RW 2 Valentine Holmes RC 3 Greg Inglis LC 4 Josh Dugan LW 5 Blake Ferguson FE 6 Johnathan Thurston HB 7 Cooper Cronk PR 8 Matt Scott HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 Aaron Woods SR 11 Boyd Cordner SR 12 Matt Gillett LK 13 Trent Merrin Interchange: IC 14 David Klemmer IC 15 Michael Morgan IC 16 Tyson Frizell IC 17 Sam Thaiday Coach: Mal Meninga

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

Australia celebrate beating the New Zealand at Anfield in the final.

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:

Sunday, 20 November 2:30pm (BST)

Anfield, Liverpool[9] Attendance: 40,042 Referee: Ben Cummins Player of the Match: Darius Boyd

Australia

New Zealand

FB 1 Darius Boyd RW 2 Blake Ferguson RC 3 Greg Inglis LC 4 Josh Dugan LW 5 Valentine Holmes FE 6 Johnathan Thurston HB 7 Cooper Cronk PR 8 Matt Scott HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 Aaron Woods SR 11 Boyd Cordner SR 12 Matt Gillett LK 13 Trent Merrin Interchange: IC 14 Michael Morgan IC 15 David Klemmer IC 16 Tyson Frizell IC 17 Shannon Boyd Coach: Mal Meninga

FB 1 Jordan Kahu RW 2 David Fusitu'a RC 3 Solomone Kata LC 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall LW 5 Jordan Rapana FE 6 Tohu Harris HB 7 Shaun Johnson PR 8 Jesse Bromwich (c) HK 9 Issac Luke PR 10 Adam Blair SR 11 Kevin Proctor SR 12 Manu Ma'u LK 13 Jason Taumalolo Interchange: IC 14 Lewis Brown IC 15 Martin Taupau IC 16 Greg Eastwood IC 17 Joseph Tapine Coach: David Kidwell

Player statistics

Top point scorers Player Team T G FG Pts 1 Johnathan Thurston  Australia 1 14 0 32 2 James Maloney  Australia 1 7 0 18 Gareth Widdop  England 1 7 0 18 4 Josh Dugan  Australia 4 0 0 16 Blake Ferguson  Australia 4 0 0 16

Top try scorers Player Team T 1 Josh Dugan  Australia 4 Blake Ferguson  Australia 3 Jordan Rapana  New Zealand 3 Ryan Hall  England Jermaine McGillvary  England

Player of the Tournament

• Cooper Cronk

Broadcasting

Premier Sports was the host broadcaster for every match of the tournament.^[10]

Country	Broadcaster	Matches
England	Premier Sports	Every match live[10]
	BBC	Every England match, Australia v New Zealand, and the final live[11]
Australia	Nine Network	Every match live[12]
New Zealand	Sky Sport	Every match live[13]
France	beIN Sports	Every match live[citation needed]

References

1. "Ladbrokes announced as title sponsor of Four Nations". SportsPro. 19 September 2016.
2. "Rugby League – Scots close in on Four Nations spot". Yahoo Eurosport UK. 25 October 2014.
3. "Anfield being lined up to host 2016 Four Nations Series final". Eurosport. 22 March 2016.
4. "Four Nations 2016: Liverpool FC's Anfield to host final". BBC Sport. 23 April 2016.
5. "Perth to host October Test match". nrl.com. 23 April 2016.
6. "GRAND FINAL HERO AMONG NEW-LOOK BRAVEHEARTS". SCOTLAND RUGBY LEAGUE. 11 October 2016.
7. "Bennett to test England with clash against France ahead of Four Nations". RUGBY LEAGUE PLANET. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
8. "WATCH: NRL stars Coote and Linnett among Scotland's big names for Liam Harrison's testimonial". NORTH-WEST EVENING MAIL. 12 October 2016.
9. "2016 Four Nations Schedule". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
10. "RUGBY LEAGUE FOUR NATIONS ON TV". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
11. "BBC offers more rugby league coverage than ever before". BBC. 29 January 2016.
12. "Ultimate guide to the 2016 Rugby League Four Nations". Fox Sports. Fox Sports Pty Limited. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
13. "League: Your ultimate guide to November's 2016 Four Nations tournament". nzherald.co.nz. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.

External videos
Four Nations Final 2016: Australia v New Zealand on YouTube