Test match (rugby league) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Test match in rugby league football is a representative match between teams representing members of the Rugby League International Federation

Rugby League International Federation

The Rugby League International Federation is the world governing body of rugby league football. It was formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Its purpose is to, "foster, develop, extend, govern and administer the game of Rugby League throughout the world". Its headquarters are in Sydney, Australia,...

.

The definition of a Test match differs from that of an international match. An international match can be played "between senior/open age or restricted age-level teams from different countries".

As in test cricket

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

, a rugby league Test match is a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved, both fielding their strongest possible teams. A test cap

Cap (sport)

In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

may be awarded by a team's governing body to the players participating in the match.

Recognition

Members of the international governing body can make their own recognition of a match as having test status. It is possible for a match to be considered a test by one side but not the other. Matches may also be given test status retrospectively by their governing bodies.

A notable instance of a different in opinions of the status of past matches is a consequence of the Super League war

Super League war

The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...

. The Australian Rugby League

Australian Rugby League

The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...

does not recognise the games played in 1997 by the Australian Super League side against Great Britain

Great Britain national rugby league team

The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....

and New Zealand

New Zealand national rugby league team

The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...

. The three sides were representing members of the Super League International Board

Super League International Board

The Super League International Board was the international governing body for Super League-aligned rugby league football nations between 1995 and 1998....

, the ARL's rival. The five matches (two against New Zealand and three against Great Britain) are recognised by the Rugby League International Federation

Rugby League International Federation

, Rugby Football League

Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...

and New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

as tests. There have been calls for the Super League Tests to be included in the ARL's records but ARL Chief Executive Geoff Carr

Geoff Carr

Geoff Carr is the CEO of the Australian Rugby League as well as the New South Wales Rugby League. He is also a retired rugby league footballer, having played first grade in the NSWRL premiership with the St. George Dragons during the 1970s and reached the 1971 grand final with them.Carr was...

said in 2010, "All historians, and the NRL

National Rugby League

The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

, agree this is the way it should be treated". ARL historian David Middleton has stated that those players who joined Super League did so in the knowledge that they were forfeiting their chance of representing the established national team.

Recognition

See also