2009 Rugby League Four Nations

The2009 Rugby League Four Nationstournament (officially known as theGilletteFour Nationsdue to sponsorship[1]) was the firstRugby League Four Nationssince its expansion from theTri-Nationstournament. Played inEnglandandFranceover three weeks from Friday, 23 October until Saturday, 14 November,[2]FranceandEnglandcompeted for the first time, withGreat Britain's permanent split into the home nations' national teams following the2007 New Zealand All Golds Tour.The tournament culminated in a final between world number 1 side Australia and hosts England. After 60 minutes of highly competitive football, Australia ran away with the match, scoring a barrage of late tries to win 46–16.[3]

2009(2009)Four Nations()
2009 Four Nations logo
Number of teams4
Host countriesEngland
France
WinnerAustralia

Matches played7
Attendance116,089 (16,584 per match)
Points scored280 (40 per match)
Tries scored50 (7.14 per match)
Top scorerAustraliaJohnathan Thurston(38)
Top try scorerAustraliaBrett Morris(6)

The 2009 series was the first of threeFour Nations seriesplanned before the2013 Rugby League World Cup,with the venues rotating between Europe and the South Pacific.[4]TheRLIFalso stated that the nextFour Nationswould be held in 2010.

Background

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The Four Nations is run in partnership between theAustralian Rugby League,Rugby Football LeagueandNew Zealand Rugby Leaguerepresenting the top three nations in the sport:Australia,EnglandandNew Zealand.[5]A fourth partner,Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII,accepted an invitation to enterFrancein the inaugural 2009 tournament.[5]

Teams

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Each team was to play the other three once during the round robin tournament. The top two finishing teams would then contest the final.

Team Nickname Coach Captain RLIF Rank
Australia The Kangaroos Tim Sheens Darren Lockyer 1
New Zealand The Kiwis Stephen Kearney Benji Marshall 2
England The Lions Tony Smith Jamie Peacock 3
France Les Tricolores Bobbie Goulding Olivier Elima 5

Squads

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Each nation was to choose a 24-man squad in order to participate for the Four Nations.

Australia

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Australian coachTim Sheens' squad for the tournament was:

No. Name State Club
661 Darren Lockyer(c) QLD Brisbane Broncos
687 Nathan Hindmarsh NSW Parramatta Eels
691 Petero Civoniceva QLD Penrith Panthers
715 Luke Lewis NSW Penrith Panthers
716 Trent Waterhouse NSW Penrith Panthers
731 Johnathan Thurston QLD North Queensland Cowboys
734 Jarryd Hayne NSW Parramatta Eels
735 Justin Hodges QLD Brisbane Broncos
737 Greg Inglis QLD Melbourne Storm
738 Cameron Smith(vc) QLD Melbourne Storm
739 Sam Thaiday QLD Brisbane Broncos
744 Cooper Cronk QLD Melbourne Storm
747 Kurt Gidley NSW Newcastle Knights
748 Ryan Hoffman NSW Melbourne Storm
750 Paul Gallen NSW Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
751 Billy Slater QLD Melbourne Storm
758 Anthony Watmough NSW Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
761 Ben Hannant QLD Bulldogs
762 Brett Morris* NSW St George Illawarra Dragons
763 Brett White NSW Melbourne Storm
764 Robbie Farah NSW Wests Tigers
765 David Shillington QLD Canberra Raiders
766 Michael Jennings NSW Penrith Panthers
767 Josh Morris NSW Bulldogs

*Replaced originally selectedIsrael Folauwho withdrew due to injury.[6]

Of the twenty four players, twenty three were Australian born while one was Fijian born.

New Zealand

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Coach:Stephen Kearney

Of the twenty four players, nineteen were New Zealand born while four were Australian born and one was Tongan born.

Club Team Players
Canberra Raiders Bronson Harrison
Canterbury Bulldogs Greg Eastwood1andBryson Goodwin
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Kieran Foran,Steve MataiandJared Waerea-Hargreaves
Melbourne Storm Adam Blair(vc) andJeff Lima
Newcastle Knights Junior Sa'u
New Zealand Warriors Lance Hohaia,Kevin LockeandBen Matulino
Parramatta Eels Krisnan InuandFuifui Moimoi
Penrith Panthers Frank Pritchard
South Sydney Rabbitohs Issac LukeandEddy Pettybourne2[7]
St George Illawarra Dragons Nathan FienandJason Nightingale
Sydney Roosters Frank-Paul Nuuausala,Sam PerrettandIosia Soliola
Wests Tigers Benji Marshall(c)
Wigan Warriors Thomas Leuluai3

1Ruled out of the rest of the series on 5 November after breaking his hand in the Round two victory over France.[8]

2Registered as a member of the squad before the tournament started but this was not revealed to the media until he was called to Europe from Australia by the Kiwis on 25 October.

3The only nonNational Rugby Leagueplayer in the squad.

England

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Coach:Tony Smith

All twenty four players were English born.

Club Team Players
Bradford Bulls Sam BurgessandPaul Sykes
Castleford Tigers Michael Shenton
Huddersfield Giants Eorl CrabtreeandScott Moore
Hull F.C. Tom Briscoe1
Hull Kingston Rovers Shaun BriscoeandPeter Fox
Leeds Rhinos Jamie Peacock(c),Ryan Hall,Danny McGuire,Kevin SinfieldandLee Smith
Salford City Reds Richard Myler
St. Helens Kyle Eastmond,James Graham,James RobyandJon Wilkin
Warrington Wolves Chris Bridge,Garreth Carvell,Adrian MorleyandBen Westwood
Wests Tigers Gareth Ellis2
Wigan Warriors Sam Tomkins

1Replaced originally selectedSean O'Loughlinwho withdrew due to injury.
2The only nonSuper Leagueplayer in the squad.

France

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Coach:Bobbie Goulding

Of the twenty seven players, eighteen were French born while three were Australian born, three New Zealand born, one Moroccan born and one New Caledonia born.

Club Team Players
AS Carcassonne Romain Gagliazzo,Christophe MolyandTeddy Saddaoui
Catalans Dragons Olivier Elima(c),Nicholas Piquemol,Andrew Bentley,Kane Bentley,Jean-Philippe Baile,Thomas Bosc,Rémi Casty,Vincent Duport,Jamal Fakir,David Ferriol,Cyril Gossard,Dimitri Pelo,Sébastien Martins,Sebastien Raguin,Cyril Stacul,Clint Greenshields,Julien Touxagas,Frédéric VaccariandCasey McGuire
Pia Donkeys Maxime Grésèque
Toulouse Olympique Mathieu GriffiandConstant Villegas
Lézignan Sangliers James Wynne
Villeneuve Leopards Artie Shead

Venues

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There were several venues used during the tournament throughoutEnglandandFrance.

Doncaster London Wigan
Keepmoat Stadium Twickenham Stoop DW Stadium
Capacity:15,231 Capacity:14,816 Capacity:25,138
Toulouse Paris Huddersfield
Stade Ernest-Wallon Stade Sébastien Charléty Galpharm Stadium
Capacity:19,500 Capacity:20,000 Capacity:24,500

Final

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The Four Nations Final was played at theElland Roadstadium inLeeds,England.

Leeds
Elland Road
Capacity:40,242

Referees

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Four referees were nominated for the tournament by the governing bodies of the participating teams.[11]One from each of the participating nations. The nominated referees were:

Pre-tournament matches

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Before the series, New Zealand and England played additional Tests againstTongaandWalesrespectively.

New Zealand vs Tonga

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New Zealand led 24–8 at half-time before Tonga fought back to level the scores at 24-24. New Zealand went on to score 16 unanswered points to win the match 40–24.

Wales vs England

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England lead Wales 20-12 approaching the hour, before racking up 28 points in the last quarter.

Results

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Standings

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 AustraliaW 3 2 1 0 88 40 48 5
2 England 3 2 0 1 70 50 20 4
3 New Zealand 3 1 1 1 94 52 42 3
4 France 3 0 0 3 28 138 −110 0

Round one

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England vs France

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After trailing 12–4 at half-time, England scored 30 consecutive points to defeat France 34–12, who were coached by former Great Britain half,Bobbie Goulding.

FB 1 Shaun Briscoe
RW 2 Tom Briscoe
RC 3 Lee Smith
LC 4 Michael Shenton
LW 5 Ryan Hall
SO 6 Danny McGuire
SH 7 Richard Myler
PR 8 Jamie Peacock(c)
HK 9 Scott Moore
PR 10 Adrian Morley
SR 11 Gareth Ellis
SR 12 Sam Burgess
LF 13 Kevin Sinfield
Substitutions:
BE 14 James Graham
BE 15 James Roby
BE 16 Ben Westwood
BE 17 Kyle Eastmond
Coach:
Tony Smith
FB 1 Clint Greenshields
RW 2 Vincent Duport
RC 3 Jean-Philippe Baile
LC 4 Sebastien Raguin
LW 5 Dimitri Pelo
SO 6 Thomas Bosc
SH 7 James Wynne
PR 8 David Ferriol
HK 9 Kane Bentley
PR 10 Rémi Casty
SR 11 Olivier Elima(c)
SR 12 Julien Touxagas
LF 13 Jamal Fakir
Substitutions:
BE 14 Constant Villegas
BE 15 Romain Gagliazzo
BE 16 Sébastien Martins
BE 17 Teddy Saddaoui
Coach:
Bobbie Goulding

New Zealand vs Australia

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For AustraliaBen Hannant,Brett MorrisandBrett Whitewere selected to make their debuts.Petero Civonicevawas selected despite not having played any football since he injured his leg in game 2 of the2009 State of Origin seriesin June.[12]

When Australian captain Darren Lockyer took the field for this match, he surpassedMal Meninga's record for most international caps for the Kangaroos. After 6–6 at half-time, Australia quickly went to a 14–6 lead before New Zealand scored fourteen points in a row to make it 14–20. Australia'sCameron Smithscored a try andJohnathan Thurstonmade the conversion to level the scores with less than five minutes left to play. The score finished at 20-20. The crowd of 12,360 at Twickenham Stoop stadium set a new attendance ground record for a rugby league match.

Saturday, 24 October
2000BST
New Zealand 20 – 20 Australia
Tries:
Frank-Paul Nuuausala
Junior Sa'u
Lance Hohaia
Frank Pritchard
Goals:
Bryson Goodwin(2)
Report
Team lists
Tries:
Brett Morris
Johnathan Thurston
Cameron Smith

Goals:
Johnathan Thurston (4)
Twickenham Stoop,London,England
Attendance: 12,360
Referee:Steve Ganson
Player of the Match:Lance Hohaia
FB 1 Lance Hohaia
RW 2 Sam Perrett
RC 3 Steve Matai
LC 4 Junior Sa'u
LW 5 Bryson Goodwin
SO 6 Benji Marshall(c)
SH 7 Nathan Fien
PR 8 Jeff Lima
HK 9 Issac Luke
PR 10 Fuifui Moimoi
SR 11 Bronson Harrison
SR 12 Frank Pritchard
LF 13 Adam Blair
Substitutions:
BE 14 Thomas Leuluai
BE 15 Frank-Paul Nu'uausala
BE 16 Iosia Soliola
BE 17 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Coach:
Stephen Kearney
FB 1 Billy Slater
RW 2 Brett Morris
RC 3 Greg Inglis
LC 4 Justin Hodges
LW 5 Jarryd Hayne
SO 6 Darren Lockyer(c)
SH 7 Johnathan Thurston
PR 8 Ben Hannant
HK 9 Cameron Smith
PR 10 Petero Civoniceva
SR 11 Trent Waterhouse
SR 12 Ryan Hoffman
LF 13 Anthony Watmough
Substitutions:
BE 14 Brett White
BE 15 Sam Thaiday
BE 16 Paul Gallen
BE 17 Kurt Gidley
Coach:
Tim Sheens
The national anthems at the first game betweenAustraliaandNew Zealand

Round two

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England vs Australia

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Changes made to the Australian side included the removal ofSam Thaiday,Ryan Hoffman,Trent WaterhouseandKurt Gidley.Taking their places were débutantsLuke LewisandDavid Shillingtonas well asRobbie Farahand alsoNathan Hindmarsh,making his test football comeback. Australian captain Darren Lockyer equalledKen Irvine's record of 33 test tries for Australia by scoring in this match. On a warm and sunny day, the Kangaroos went into half-time 26-0 up and after Australia defeated England 52–4 in their previous meeting inlast year's Rugby League World Cup,the English looked set for another thrashing. However, England made an ambitious fight-back in the second half but, keeping Australia scoreless to lose by a more respectable margin of 26–16. Towards the end of the match, Johnathan Thurston was sent to thesin bin.

Saturday, 31 October
1430GMT
England 16 – 26 Australia
Tries:
Sam Burgess
Gareth Ellis
Lee Smith

Goals:
Kevin Sinfield(1)
Lee Smith (1)
Report
Tries:
Billy Slater(2)
Darren Lockyer
Greg Inglis
Brett Morris
Goals:
Johnathan Thurston(3)
DW Stadium,Wigan,England
Attendance: 23,122[13]
Referee:Steve Ganson
Player of the Match:Greg Inglis
FB 1 Shaun Briscoe
RW 2 Tom Briscoe
RC 3 Lee Smith
LC 4 Michael Shenton
LW 5 Ryan Hall
SO 6 Danny McGuire
SH 7 Sam Tomkins
PR 8 Adrian Morley
HK 9 James Roby
PR 10 James Graham
SR 11 Jamie Peacock(c)
SR 12 Gareth Ellis
LF 13 Kevin Sinfield
Substitutions:
BE 14 Eorl Crabtree
BE 15 Sam Burgess
BE 16 Ben Westwood
BE 17 Kyle Eastmond
Coach:
Tony Smith
FB 1 Billy Slater
RW 2 Brett Morris
RC 3 Greg Inglis
LC 4 Justin Hodges
LW 5 James McManus
SO 6 Darren Lockyer(c)
SH 7 Johnathan Thurston
PR 8 Ben Hannant
HK 9 Cameron Smith
PR 10 Petero Civoniceva
SR 11 Anthony Watmough
SR 12 Paul Gallen
LF 13 Nathan Hindmarsh
Substitutions:
BE 14 Brett White
BE 15 Luke Lewis
BE 16 David Shillington
BE 17 Robbie Farah
Coach:
Tim Sheens

New Zealand vs France

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New Zealand were leading 16–6 at half-time. France got to within 4 points of New Zealand at 16-12 before New Zealand scored 46 points in a row to comfortably win 62–12. New Zealand'sBryson Goodwinscored 22 individual points andSam Perrettscored ahat-trickof tries. This loss ended the French hopes of making the finals.

FB 1 Constant Villegas
RW 2 Nicholas Piquemol
RC 3 Teddy Saddaoui
LC 4 Vincent Duport
LW 5 Frédéric Vaccari
SO 6 Thomas Bosc
SH 7 James Wynne
PR 8 Artie Shead
HK 9 Kane Bentley
PR 10 Mathieu Griffi
SR 11 Olivier Elima(c)
SR 12 Julien Touxagas
LF 13 Jamal Fakir
Substitutions:
BE 14 Christophe Moly
BE 15 Andrew Bentley
BE 16 Sébastien Martins
BE 17 Romain Gagliazzo
Coach:
Bobbie Goulding
FB 1 Lance Hohaia
RW 2 Sam Perrett
RC 3 Steve Matai
LC 4 Junior Sa'u
LW 5 Bryson Goodwin
SO 6 Benji Marshall(c)
SH 7 Nathan Fien
PR 8 Frank-Paul Nu'uausala
HK 9 Thomas Leuluai
PR 10 Fuifui Moimoi
SR 11 Adam Blair
SR 12 Frank Pritchard
LF 13 Iosia Soliola
Substitutions:
BE 14 Issac Luke
BE 15 Greg Eastwood
BE 16 Ben Matulino
BE 17 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Coach:
Stephen Kearney
The French team lining up before the match.

Round three

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Australia vs France

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The Kangaroos had not played in Paris since 1994. They went into the match having won their last 14 matches against France. Due to French laws prohibiting the use ofalcohol advertisingin sport, the Australian jerseys' usualVictoria Bitterlogo was replaced by one forMovember.Debuting for Australia were Brett Morris' twin brother Josh Morris and New South Wales State of Origin centre Michael Jennings.[15]By playing in this match, Darren Lockyer surpassedClive Churchill's record for most games as Australian captain.[16] For the first 20 minutes the contest was quite even,[17]being played at both ends of the field with both sides getting and conceding penalties. It was the Australians who scored first when debutant Michael Jennings dummied his way through the defence from 20 metres out to score out wide.[18]Johnathan Thurston's conversion attempt missed, so France were down 4 nil with 18 minutes of the first half remaining. Jennings also scored the second try of the match in the 27th minute when Lockyer threw a cutout pass to him in front of France's line. Thurston again failed to add the extras, so the score remained at 8 nil. The score did not change from then till half time, with both sides' defence holding each other's attacking opportunities out.

The Morris twins celebrate their team's win with fatherSteve.

After receiving France's kick-off and making their way up-field with the help of a penalty, the Australians scored in only the 2nd minute of the half when Luke Lewis powered his way through the defence from about 12 metres out. With Cooper Cronk on the field instead of Johnathan Thurston, Kurt Gidley was given kicking duties and converted the try, pushing Australia's lead out to 14 nil. In the 45th minute the Kangaroos scored again after a Cooper Cronk 40/20 kick put them in an attacking position and they moved the ball out to Brett Morris' wing where he dived over untouched in the corner. Gidley's sideline conversion attempt missed so the score was 18 nil. Morris got his second try just a few minutes later when Darren Lockyer kicked ahead for him from 35 metres out. Gidley kicked the extras so Australia's lead was 24 nil. the Kangaroos continued to dominate possession and in the 56th minute Jennings got his hat-trick with a long-range try when he regathered a French dropped ball 30 metres out from Australia's line. Jennings thus became the 4th Kangaroo sinceLionel Morganin 1960,Brad Mackayin 1990 andDavid Williamsin 2008 to score a hat-trick on debut for Australia. Thurston, back on the field kicked his first successful goal of the match to push the score out to 30 nil with over 25 minutes of play to go. In the 61st minute France made the most of an attacking opportunity when Tomas Bosc kicked over the Australian defence where Olivier Elima leapt for it, coming down with the ball over the line.[19]Bosc's conversion attempt missed so the score was 30–4 with 18 minutes remaining. Josh Morris then got a try at the 69-minute mark when he received the ball from his twin brother Brett after the Australians had kept the ball alive. Thurston kicked the extras so the score was 36–4. Josh Morris then got his second try a little over 2 minutes later when the Australians moved the ball out to his wing from a scrum win 30 metres out. Thurston's successful conversion made the score 42-4 and this is what it would be at the final whistle.

The victory for Australia meant they would face the winner of the match between New Zealand and England to be played inHuddersfieldlater that evening.

FB 1 Clint Greenshields
RW 2 Vincent Duport
RC 3 Dimitri Pelo
LC 4 Teddy Sadaoui
LW 5 Sébastien Raguin
SO 6 Thomas Bosc
SH 7 James Wynne
PR 8 David Ferriol
HK 9 Kane Bentley
PR 10 Artie Shead
SR 11 Olivier Elima(c)
SR 12 Julien Touxagas
LF 13 Andrew Bentley
Substitutions:
BE 14 Christophe Moly
BE 15 Constant Villegas
BE 16 Sébastien Martins
BE 17 Mathieu Griffi
Coach:
Bobbie Goulding
FB 1 Kurt Gidley
RW 2 Brett Morris
RC 3 Josh Morris
LC 4 Michael Jennings
LW 5 David Williams
SO 6 Darren Lockyer(c)
SH 7 Johnathan Thurston
PR 8 Ben Hannant
HK 9 Robbie Farah
PR 10 Petero Civoniceva
SR 11 Trent Waterhouse
SR 12 Ryan Hoffman
LF 13 Nathan Hindmarsh
Substitutions:
BE 14 Cooper Cronk
BE 15 Luke Lewis
BE 16 David Shillington
BE 17 Sam Thaiday
Coach:
Tim Sheens

New Zealand vs England

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The last time these two sides met was in the2008 World Cupwhen they played each other for the chance to face Australia in the final. On that occasion New Zealand won, sending England back home. This time they were playing for the chance to face Australia in the Four Nations final. New Zealand could draw and still make the final, while England needed to win to advance. In all of England's prior games, they had lost the first half but had won and not conceded a point in the second half. For this match England coachTony SmithdroppedDanny McGuire,Lee SmithandTom Briscoein favour ofPeter Fox,Chris BridgeandJon Wilkin.For New Zealand,Greg EastwoodandSteve Mataiwere out with injury soJeff Limawas recalled and 19-year-oldKieran Foranwas brought in to make his international debut ahead ofKrisnan Inu.

England got the first points of the match when they attacked up the middle, Sam Burgess spinning out of a tackle to send Kyle Eastmond over under the black dot just on 9 minutes. Sinfield's conversion from right in front was successful so England were out to a 6 nil lead. New Zealand responded 5 minutes later, moving the ball out wide to Bryson Goodwin's wing where he dived over in the corner. He couldn't convert his own try though, so the score was left at 6–4. In the 29th minute New Zealand were awarded a penalty right in front of the goal-posts and took the two points, leveling the score at 6 all. Six minutes later England were up at the Kiwis' end of the field again, attacking the line, when Sam Tomkins kicked across-field to Peter Fox's corner where the winger dived on the ball. Sinfield kicked the extras from the sideline so England were again a converted try in front with just over 4 minutes remaining. England continued dominating field position and scored again in the 39th minute from a scrum win near England's line, the ball going through the hands out to Peter Fox to score his second. Sinfield again added the extras, pushing England's lead out to 18–6.

New Zealand opened the scoring after just a minute and a half into the second hand when at the halfway line Isaac Luke made a break from dummy-half, his offload finding support players who got the ball out to Ben Matulino who scored. Bryson Goodwin's kick added the extras, bringing the Kiwis back within a converted try, trailing 18–12. The play for the next half-hour went from end to end, with both teams getting good attacking opportunities but both teams' defences holding them out. Then when England were close to New Zealand's line they were awarded a penalty for ruck interference and with less than 10 minutes remaining, decided to take the kick for an 8-point lead. Sinfield's kick was successful so the score was 20–12 in favour of the home team. England were able to hold New Zealand out for the remaining minutes of the match and so earned a place in the final. Kevin Sinfield, in the unfamiliar position of hooker was named man-of-the-match.

Saturday, 7 November
1800GMT
England 20 – 12 New Zealand
Tries:
Peter Fox(2)
Kyle Eastmond
Goals:
Kevin Sinfield(4)
Report
Tries:
Bryson Goodwin
Ben Matulino
Goals:
Bryson Goodwin(2)
Galpharm Stadium,Huddersfield,England
Attendance: 19,390
Referee:Thierry Alibert
Player of the Match:Kevin Sinfield
FB 1 Shaun Briscoe
RW 2 Peter Fox
RC 3 Chris Bridge
LC 4 Michael Shenton
LW 5 Ryan Hall
SO 6 Sam Tomkins
SH 7 Kyle Eastmond
PR 8 Adrian Morley
HK 9 Kevin Sinfield
PR 10 James Graham
SR 11 Jamie Peacock(c)
SR 12 Gareth Ellis
LF 13 Sam Burgess
Substitutions:
BE 14 Eorl Crabtree
BE 15 Jon Wilkin
BE 16 Ben Westwood
BE 17 James Roby
Coach:
Tony Smith
FB 1 Lance Hohaia
RW 2 Sam Perrett
RC 3 Kieran Foran
LC 4 Junior Sa'u
LW 5 Bryson Goodwin
SO 6 Benji Marshall(c)
SH 7 Nathan Fien
PR 8 Frank-Paul Nu'uausala
HK 9 Thomas Leuluai
PR 10 Fuifui Moimoi
SR 11 Iosia Soliola
SR 12 Frank Pritchard
LF 13 Adam Blair
Substitutions:
BE 14 Issac Luke
BE 15 Jeff Lima
BE 16 Ben Matulino
BE 17 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Coach:
Stephen Kearney

Final

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The Australian team for the final had the Queensland team's halves pairing, front row, centre pairing and fullback, while both wingers, the whole back row, three-quarters of the bench and the coach were New South Walshmen.

Saturday, 14 November
1930GMT
England 16 – 46 Australia
Tries:
Sam Burgess(2)
Peter Fox



Goals:
Kevin Sinfield(2/3)
Tries:
Billy Slater(3)
Brett Morris(2)
Greg Inglis
Jarryd Hayne
Cameron Smith
Goals:
Johnathan Thurston(7/9)
Elland Road,Leeds,England
Attendance: 31,042[22]
Referee:Leon Williamson[23]
Player of the Match:Johnathan Thurston[24]
England Position Australia
Shaun Briscoe FB Billy Slater
Peter Fox WG Brett Morris
Chris Bridge CE Greg Inglis
Michael Shenton CE Justin Hodges
Ryan Hall WG David Williams
Sam Tomkins FE Darren Lockyer(c)
Kyle Eastmond HB Johnathan Thurston
Adrian Morley PR Ben Hannant
Kevin Sinfield HK Cameron Smith
James Graham PR Petero Civoniceva
Jamie Peacock(c) SR Luke Lewis
Gareth Ellis SR Paul Gallen
Sam Burgess LK Nathan Hindmarsh
Eorl Crabtree Int Kurt Gidley
Jon Wilkin Int Brett White
Ben Westwood Int Anthony Watmough
James Roby Int Sam Thaiday
Tony Smith Coach Tim Sheens

By playing in this match, Darren Lockyer became the first Australian in history to play in fifty international matches for his country. In addition, teammate and fellow Queenslander, Petero Civoniceva became the most-capped forward, breakingJohnny Raper's record by earning his 40th cap.[25]

It took Australia till the ninth minute to cross England's line. Quick passing out to Brett Morris on the right wing saw him dive over in the corner, but thevideo refereeruled that he'd lost control of the ball in the grounding of it so no try was allowed.[26]In England's very next set of six, they had reached Australia's half whenNRL-bound loose forward Sam Burgess charged through the Kangaroos' defence, running forty-five metres and dummying past the fullback to score under the posts.[27]Sinfield's conversion put England ahead 6 nil after eleven minutes of play. In the fourteenth minute Australia responded: acut-out passfrom Johnathan Thurston on England's try-line was flicked on by Justin Hodges' fingertips to Morris, who this time got his try. Thurston kicked theconversionfrom near the sideline so the scores were level at 6 all. A few minutes later England were back attacking Australia's line, when on the final tackle Eastmond put a kick up to his right winger Peter Fox, who beat Jarryd Hayne in the leap for the ball to come down with the try, putting the home team back in front.[28]Sinfield missed the conversion attempt so the score was 10–6 with twenty minutes of the first half remaining. Five minutes later Hayne made a good break from half way, kicking ahead for Greg Inglis to chase through and ground the ball. The video referee checked Inglis' grounding and gave him the benefit of the doubt.[29]Thurston kicked the extras so Australia had the lead again 12–10 with fourteen minutes of the first half left. At the thirty-minute mark England were penalised right in front of their goal posts and Australia opted to take the kick, Thurston's boot pushing Australia's lead out to four. No further points were scored in the first half so they went into the break at England 10, Australia 14.[30]

After ten minutes of sustained pressure on Australia's defence England were through, Burgess again charging over under the posts from close range.[31]Sinfield's kick added the Extras so once again England had the lead at 16–14. A little over three minutes later it was Australia attacking England's line when their fullback Billy Slater dove over from dummy-half, the lead changing again to be back with the Kangaroos.[32]Thurston couldn't get the conversion so Australia's lead stayed at only two points, 18–16. In the fifty-eighth minute the Kangaroos were on the attack again when Thurston chipped ahead from twenty metres out for Brett Morris to chase through and score in the corner behind the England defence. The conversion attempt by Thurston was missed so Australia lead 22–16 with twenty-one minutes of the match remaining. Shortly after the kick-off following the try England's Michael Shenton suffered a head clash when trying to tackle front-row forward Ben Hannant and the game was halted as he was stretchered unconscious from the field.[citation needed]Moments after the restart of play Hannant himself was concussed when tackled by James Graham but played on. Australia scored a remarkable try after sixty-six minutes when Darren Lockyer chipped over the top into England's in goal and Slater, chasing through leapt over the dead ball line to slap the ball back in with his hand for Cameron Smith to dive on and claim the four points.[33]Thurston's kick from right in front did not miss so Australia lead 28–16. As the Kangaroos returned the ball after a short kick-off from England they reached the opposition's end of the field and Slater scored again after backing up a good break from Smith. The conversion from Thurston was an easy one so the score was 34–16 in favour of the visitors with under ten minutes of the match remaining. In the seventy-third minute Jarryd Hayne got a try after running through to chase a Lockyer grubber. Thurston added the extras, Australia's lead now 40–16 with a little over five minutes left to play. The Australians got one more try though when Kurt Gidley made a break around the halfway line and kicked ahead, Billy Slater winning the race to the ball to claim his hat-trick in the seventy-seventh minute. Man-of-the-match Thurston added the extras so the score was 46-16 when the final hooter sounded.[34]It was England's heaviest loss to Australia on home soil.[35]

Awards

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Broadcast details

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The competition was televised in Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain and France.

  • In Australia, matches were broadcast onChannel Nine.
  • In New Zealand,SKY Network Televisionshowed all games live.
  • In the United Kingdom,BBC Sportbroadcast the first England v Australia match and France v Australia live, with all other matches shown bySky Sports.Both networks showed highlights programmes. It was the first time terrestrial television had shown international rugby league in theUnited Kingdomsince the2000 World Cup.
  • In France,Orange Sporthad rights to the tournament.
  • In the United States, from the second round onward, the games were available onESPN360.

References

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  1. ^Fraser, Adam (14 July 2009)."Gillette signs on with Four Nations".SportsProMedia.Archivedfrom the original on 29 September 2009.Retrieved1 November2009.
  2. ^PA (12 July 2009)."Gillette to sponsor Four Nations".Sporting Life. Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2011.Retrieved13 July2009.
  3. ^AAP (16 November 2009)."Slater rights World Cup wrongs".tvnz.co.nz.New Zealand: Television New Zealand Limited.Retrieved25 November2009.
  4. ^RLIF unveils expanded Test scheduleArchived14 July 2011 at theWayback MachineNRL.com
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