List of rugby league tours

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The Baskerville Shield is usually competed for during Lions and Kiwi tours to New Zealand and Great Britain respectively

Rugby league tours are a series of matches in the sport of rugby league against multiple opponents from one geographic area.

Numerous tours have occurred throughout history and have been mostly carried out by the top three rugby league nations Australia (Kangaroos), Great Britain (Lions), and New Zealand (All Blacks/Kiwis).

Tours historically consisted of a number of non-test matches against club or composite teams and single-match tests against national sides, before a three-game test series against the national side of the tour's primary destination. These three-game test series were the primary event of the tours and would often be their own competition, the most famous being The Ashes. More modern tours have often skipped non-test matches to play only the "primary event".

While the phrase "traditional era" and "modern era" have no set definition in rugby league and can vary massively depending on the context. No tours of any kind occurred between 2007 (coincidentally 100 years after the first tour) and 2015, the largest time without a tour in peace time. As a result 2015 can be considered the start of the modern era for tours. It was at this time when the majority of tours only saw a three-game test series with a single nation.

Prior to 1954 and the first Rugby League World Cup, tours were the main form of international competition in the sport.

This article lists all elite level tours undertaken by national teams:

Lions tours

Great Britain playing Auckland during their first tour to New Zealand, with their touring squad above

Great Britain era

Kangaroo tours

The Kangaroo team during their first tour to Great Britain

Kiwi tours

The Kiwi team that toured Australia in 1925
New Zealand playing third test against Great Britain at the DW Stadium on their 2007 tour to the country which celebrated 100 years of rugby league in New Zealand
New Zealand vs Leeds Rhinos in Game 1 of their 2015 tour. The only "club vs country" game of the modern touring era.

Other tours

Canada

England Knights

Fiji

France

Italy

New South Wales

Papua New Guinea

Queensland

Russia

Samoa

Serbia

South Africa

Tonga

United States

Women's tours

Women's tours have operated very similar to men's tours, however many women's tours have seen a two-test series instead of the three-test series common with men's tours.

Australia

Great Britain

New Zealand

Wheelchair tours

See also

References

  1. "Australia to tour England for first time since 2003". BBC Sport. 26 March 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  2. "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. "England Knights to tour Papua New Guinea". Love Rugby League. 18 May 2018.
  4. "England to play Samoa in autumn Test Series". RFL. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  5. "England's men to host Samoa in two-Test autumn series". BBC Sport. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  6. "England to host Tonga in maiden Test series". BBC Sport. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. "England to host Tonga in three-match Test series". National Rugby League. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.