Contents

2016 Rugby League Four Nations

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

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.

Background[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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')

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[edit]

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')

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[edit]

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')

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[edit]

Standings[edit]

2016 Four Nations v t e
	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Australia W	3	3	0	0	104	38	+66	6
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

• 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[edit]

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')

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

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[edit]

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'

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)

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[edit]

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')

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')

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