The 2011 Rugby League Four Nations tournament (also known as the 2011 Gillette Rugby League Four Nations due to sponsorship by Gillette) was the third staging of the Rugby League Four Nations tournament and was played in England and Wales during October and November 2011, which was contested by regular contestants Australia, England and New Zealand, in addition to Wales, who had qualified for their first Four Nations by winning the 2010 European Cup.[1] The tournament saw the return of international rugby league to London's Wembley Stadium for the first time since 1997, with a double-header played on 5 November 2011. Australia won the tournament, defeating England in the final at Elland Road, Leeds, on 19 November 2011. The match was the last of the 17-year professional career of Australia's captain Darren Lockyer.
| 2011 Four Nations | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Host countries |  England Wales |
| Winner |  Australia |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Attendance | 128,065 (18,295 per match) |
| Points scored | 280 (40 per match) |
| Tries scored | 47 (6.71 per match) |
| Top scorer | Johnathan Thurston (56) |
| Top try scorer | Sam Tomkins (5) |
< 2010 2014 > | |
History
The 2011 tournament was the third of three Four Nations series planned before the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific. There was no Four Nations in 2012 due to teams preparing for the World Cup.[2][3]
In addition to automatic inclusions Australia, England and New Zealand, Wales qualified for the tournament by defeating France in the final of the 2010 European Cup.
Teams
| Team | Coach | Captain | RLIF Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Tim Sheens | Darren Lockyer | 1 |
| England | Steve McNamara | Jamie Peacock | 3 |
 New Zealand | Stephen Kearney | Benji Marshall | 2 |
| Wales | Iestyn Harris | Lee Briers | 5 |
Squads
Australia
Australian coach Tim Sheens' touring squad was announced on 3 October:[4] Of the twenty four players, twenty three were Australian born while one was Fijian born.
1 Replaced originally selected Brett Stewart who withdrew due to injury.
2 Replaced originally selected David Taylor who withdrew due to injury.
3 Replaced originally selected Glenn Stewart who withdrew for compassionate reasons.[5]
England
The England squad for the 2011 Four Nations:[6] Of the twenty four players, twenty two were English born while one was New Zealand born and one Australian born.
Coach: Steve McNamara
New Zealand
The Kiwis announced their 23-man touring squad on 4 October.[7] Of the twenty three players, eighteen were New Zealand born while four were Australian born and one Tongan born.
Coach: Stephen Kearney
1 Replaced original replacement Krisnan Inu who withdrew for family reasons.[8] He replaced originally selected Steve Matai who withdrew due to injury.[9]
2 Replaced originally selected Manu Vatuvei who withdrew due to injury.[9]
3 Replaced originally selected Shaun Johnson who withdrew due to injury.[9]
Wales
The Welsh training squad was named on 14 September.[10] Of the twenty three players, nine were English born while eight were Welsh born and five Australian borns and one South African born.
Coach: Iestyn Harris
Gareth Thomas was originally selected in the squad, but retired with immediate effect in the week leading up to the tournament.[11]
Venues
The games were played at venues in England and Wales. The tournament final was played in Leeds.
| Warrington | Leigh | London |
|---|---|---|
| Halliwell Jones Stadium | Leigh Sports Village | Wembley |
| Capacity: 13,200 | Capacity: 11,000 | Capacity: 90,000 |
.jpg) |  |  |
| Hull | Wrexham | Leeds |
| KC Stadium | Racecourse Ground | Elland Road |
| Capacity: 25,400 | Capacity: 15,771 | Capacity: 37,890 |
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Officiating
Referees
Touch judges
Paul Holland (TJ)
Shane Rehm (TJ)
James Child (TJ)
Video Referees
Pre-tournament matches
Before the series, England played a Test match against France, New Zealand and Australia played a test in Newcastle before heading to Great Britain, and Wales played Ireland in Neath.[13][14][15]
New Zealand were originally scheduled to play a Test match against the Cook Islands on 7 October, however this was called off due to the unavailability of 29 frontline players.[16][17][18][19]
Australia vs New Zealand
16 October 2011 4:00pm (AEDT) |
| Australia | 42–6 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Uate (3', 7') 2 Boyd (13', 70') 2 Lawrence (20', 34') 2 Galloway (63') 1 Tonga (68') 1 Goals Thurston 4/7 (9', 15', 21, 72') C Smith (64') 1/1 | Match details | Tries 1 (56') Locke Goals 1/1 (57') Luke |
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France vs England
21 October 2011 8:45pm (CET) |
France  | 18–32 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Elima (17') 1 Pélissier (71') 1 Duport (74') 1 Goals Bosc (17', 71', 74') 3/3 | Match details | Tries 2 (34', 50') Briscoe 1 (2') Hall 1 (30') Yeaman 1 (39') Roby 1 (68') Reed Goals 4/6 (30', 39', 50', 68') Sinfield |
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Wales vs Ireland
Results
Round 1
28 October 2011 8:00pm (BST) |
| Australia | 26–12 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Matthew Scott (3') 1 Tony Williams (29') 1 Johnathan Thurston (37') 1 Darius Boyd (65') 1 Akuila Uate (77') 1 Goals Johnathan Thurston 3/5 (4', 30', 66') | Tries 1 (48') Jason Nightingale 1 (56') Kalifa Faifai Loa Goals 2/2 (49', 52') Benji Marshall |
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, England[20] Attendance: 12,491 Referee: Phil Bentham Player of the Match: Sam Thaiday[21] |
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29 October 2011 2:30pm (BST) |
| England | 42–4 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Sam Tomkins 4 (1', 16', 50', 59') Kirk Yeaman (22') 1 Jack Reed (54') 1 Chris Heighington (76') 1 Gareth Widdop (80') 1 Goals 5/8 Kevin Sinfield (17', 51', 60', 77', 80') | Tries 1 Elliot Kear (66') Goals |
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England[20] Attendance: 10,377 Referee: Henry Perenara Player of the Match: Sam Tomkins[22] |
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Round 2
5 November 2011 1:00pm (GMT) |
| Wales | 0–36 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries 2 (20', 32') Sika Manu 2 (39', 62') Gerard Beale 1 (5') Jason Nightingale 1 (13') Kevin Locke 1 (75') Nathan Fien Goals 4/7 Benji Marshall (21', 33', 40', 77') |
Wembley Stadium, London, England[20] Attendance: 42,344 Referee: Matt Cecchin Player of the Match: Thomas Leuluai[23] |
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5 November 2011 3:30pm (GMT) |
| England | 20–36 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Ryan Hall (11', 40') 2 Jack Reed (60') 1 Chris Heighington (77') 1 Goals Kevin Sinfield 2/4 (62', 77') | Tries 1 (17') Luke Lewis 1 (30') Tony Williams 1 (44') Greg Inglis 1 (53') Paul Gallen 1 (73') Darius Boyd 1 (79') Chris Lawrence Goals 6/6 Johnathan Thurston (19', 32', 45', 55', 74', 80') |
Wembley Stadium, London, England[20] Attendance: 42,344 Referee: Henry Perenara Player of the Match: Johnathan Thurston[24] |
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Round 3
12 November 2011 06.00pm (GMT) |
| England | 28–6 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Tom Briscoe Ryan Hall James Graham Sam Tomkins Goals Kevin Sinfield 6/6 | Tries Jason Nightingale Goals Benji Marshall 1/1 |
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13 November 2011 5:45pm (GMT) |
| Wales | 14–56 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Rhys Williams (10') 1 Elliot Kear (14') 1 Jordan James (49') 1 Goals Lee Briers 1/3 (51') | Tries 3 (38', 40', 69') Cooper Cronk 1 (25') Cameron Smith 1 (41') Daly Cherry-Evans 1 (45') Darius Boyd 1 (59') Johnathan Thurston 1 (63') Greg Inglis 1 (66') Jharal Yow Yeh 1 (73') Josh Morris Goals 8/9 (26', 39', 40', 42', 47', 60', 64', 70') Johnathan Thurston |
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Standings
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia W | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 46 | +72 | 6 |
| 2 | England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 90 | 46 | +44 | 4 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Wales | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 134 | −116 | 0 |
Final
Saturday, 19 November 6:00pm (GMT) |
| England | 8–30 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries 1 (36') Ryan Hall Goals 2/2 (38', 52') Kevin Sinfield | Sam Thaiday (4') 1 Jharal Yow Yeh (57') 1 Johnathan Thurston (63') 1 Greg Inglis (69') 1 Darren Lockyer (80') 1 Goals Johnathan Thurston 5/5 (6', 40', 59', 64', 70') Darren Lockyer 0/1 |
Elland Road, Leeds, England[20] Attendance: 34,174 Referee: Matt CecchinPlayer of the Match:  Johnathan Thurston[28] |
Statistics
Top pointscorers
| 2011 Four Nations top pointscorers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | T | G | FG | Pts | ||||
| 1 | Johnathan Thurston | Australia | 3 | 22 | 0 | 56 | |||
| 2 | Kevin Sinfield | England | 0 | 15 | 0 | 30 | |||
| 3 | Sam Tomkins | England | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | |||
| 4 | Ryan Hall | England | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 5 | Benji Marshall | New Zealand | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | |||
Johnathan Thurston broke the record for most points in a single tournament with his 56-point haul. The previous record of 42 was set in 2005 by New Zealand's Stacey Jones.