2011 Rugby League Four Nations

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. It 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)
Tournaments  < 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.

No.	Name	State	Club
661	Darren Lockyer (c)	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
715	Luke Lewis	NSW	Penrith Panthers
724	Willie Tonga1	QLD	North Queensland Cowboys
731	Johnathan Thurston	QLD	North Queensland Cowboys
737	Greg Inglis	QLD	South Sydney Rabbitohs
738	Cameron Smith (vc)	QLD	Melbourne Storm
739	Sam Thaiday	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
744	Cooper Cronk	QLD	Melbourne Storm
750	Paul Gallen	NSW	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
751	Billy Slater	QLD	Melbourne Storm
758	Anthony Watmough	NSW	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
761	Darius Boyd	QLD	St. George Illawarra Dragons
764	Robbie Farah	NSW	Wests Tigers
765	David Shillington	QLD	Canberra Raiders
767	Josh Morris2	NSW	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
?	Jharal Yow Yeh	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
?	Corey Parker	QLD	Brisbane Broncos
?	Daly Cherry-Evans	QLD	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
?	Tony Williams	NSW	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
?	Akuila Uate	NSW	Newcastle Knights
?	Matthew Scott	QLD	North Queensland Cowboys
?	Beau Scott3	NSW	St. George Illawarra Dragons
?	Chris Lawrence	NSW	Wests Tigers
?	Keith Galloway	NSW	Wests Tigers

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

Club Team	Players
Brisbane Broncos	Jack Reed
Castleford	Rangi Chase
Huddersfield	Leroy Cudjoe
Hull F.C.	Tom Briscoe, Kirk Yeaman
Leeds	Carl Ablett, Ryan Bailey, Ryan Hall, Ben Jones-Bishop, Danny McGuire, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Jamie Peacock(C), Kevin Sinfield
Melbourne Storm	Gareth Widdop
St. Helens	James Graham, James Roby, Jon Wilkin
Warrington	Garreth Carvell, Adrian Morley, Ben Westwood
Wests Tigers	Gareth Ellis, Chris Heighington
Wigan	Michael McIlorum, Sam Tomkins

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

Club Team	Players
Brisbane Broncos	Gerard Beale, Alex Glenn
Cronulla Sharks	Jeremy Smith
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	Kieran Foran
Melbourne Storm	Adam Blair, Sika Manu, Kevin Proctor
New Zealand Warriors	Lewis Brown, Kevin Locke, Simon Mannering, Ben Matulino, Russell Packer, Bill Tupou1, Elijah Taylor3
North Queensland Cowboys	Kalifa Faifai Loa2
Parramatta Eels	Fuifui Moimoi
Penrith Panthers	Sam McKendry
St George Illawarra Dragons	Jason Nightingale, Nathan Fien
South Sydney Rabbitohs	Issac Luke
Sydney Roosters	Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
Wests Tigers	Benji Marshall
Wigan	Thomas Leuluai

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

Club Team	Players
Bradford	Craig Kopczak
Burleigh Bears	Mark Lennon
Central Comets	Chris Beasley, Ian Webster
Cronulla Sharks	Tyson Frizell
Crusaders	Andy Bracek, Gil Dudson, Ben Flower, Jordan James, Elliot Kear, Peter Lupton, Lloyd White, Lee Williams
Featherstone Rovers	Ross Divorty
Halifax	Danny Jones
Mackay Cutters	Neil Budworth
South Wales Scorpions	Andrew Gay, Aled James, Christiaan Roets
Swinton	Ian Watson
Warrington	Lee Briers, Rhys Williams
Wynnum Manly Seagulls	Matt Seamark

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
Hull	Wrexham	Leeds
KC Stadium	Racecourse Ground	Elland Road
Capacity: 25,400	Capacity: 15,771	Capacity: 37,890

London

Leeds

Hull

Warrington

Leigh

Wrexham

Officiating

Referees

• Phil Bentham
• Matt Cecchin
• Henry Perenara^[12]

Touch judges

• Paul Holland (TJ)
• Shane Rehm (TJ)
• James Child (TJ)

Video Referees

• Ian Smith
• Ben Thaler

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

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

16 October 2011 4:00pm (AEDT)

Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle, Australia Attendance: 32,890 Referee: Phil Bentham

FB 1 Billy Slater RW 2 Akuila Uate RC 3 Willie Tonga LC 4 Chris Lawrence LW 5 Darius Boyd SO 6 Darren Lockyer (c) SH 7 Johnathan Thurston PR 8 Paul Gallen HK 9 Cameron Smith PR 10 Matthew Scott SR 11 Luke Lewis SR 12 Sam Thaiday LF 13 Anthony Watmough Substitutions: BE 14 Cooper Cronk BE 15 Keith Galloway BE 16 David Shillington BE 17 Tony Williams Coach: Tim Sheens

FB 1 Kevin Locke RW 2 Kalifa Faifai Loa RC 3 Lewis Brown LC 4 Gerard Beale LW 5 Jason Nightingale FE 6 Benji Marshall (c) HB 7 Kieran Foran PR 8 Russell Packer HK 9 Nathan Fien PR 10 Sam McKendry SR 11 Alex Glenn SR 12 Simon Mannering LK 13 Jeremy Smith Substitutions: BE 14 Issac Luke BE 15 Fuifui Moimoi BE 16 Sika Manu BE 17 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves Coach: Stephen Kearney

France vs England

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

21 October 2011 8:45pm (CET)

Parc des Sports, Avignon, France Attendance: 16,866 Referee: Matt Cecchin

FB 1 Cyril Stacul RW 2 Vincent Duport RC 3 Jean-Philippe Baile LC 4 Mathias Pala LW 5 Frédéric Vaccari SO 6 Thomas Bosc SH 7 Dane Chisholm PR 8 David Ferriol HK 9 Gregory Mounis PR 10 Rémi Casty SR 11 Olivier Elima (c) SR 12 Cyril Gossard LF 13 Jason Baitieri Substitutions: BE 14 Éloi Pélissier BE 15 Jamal Fakir BE 16 Sebastien Raguin BE 17 Mickaël Simon Coach: Bobbie Goulding

FB 1 Sam Tomkins RW 2 Ryan Hall RC 3 Jack Reed LC 4 Kirk Yeaman LW 5 Tom Briscoe SO 6 Kevin Sinfield SH 7 Rangi Chase PR 8 Jamie Peacock (c) HK 9 James Roby PR 10 James Graham SR 11 Gareth Ellis SR 12 Ben Westwood LF 13 Chris Heighington Substitutions: BE 14 Gareth Widdop BE 15 Adrian Morley BE 16 Jamie Jones-Buchanan BE 17 Jon Wilkin Coach: Steve McNamara

Wales vs Ireland

Wales	30–6	Ireland
Tries: Gay (2') 1 Roets (27') 1 Frizell (30') 1 Lennon (42') 1 Kear (45') 1 James (70') 1 Goals: Webster (27', 42', 70') 3/5 White 0/1	Match details	Tries: 1 (77') Bergin Goals: 1/1 (77') Finn

22 October 2011 6:00pm (GMT)

The Gnoll, Neath, Wales Attendance: 2,265 Referee: Thierry Alibert

Results

Round 1

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

28 October 2011 8:00pm (BST)

Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, England[20] Attendance: 12,491 Referee: Phil Bentham Player of the Match: Sam Thaiday[21]

FB 1 Billy Slater RW 2 Akuila Uate RC 3 Willie Tonga LC 4 Chris Lawrence LW 5 Darius Boyd SO 6 Darren Lockyer (c) SH 7 Johnathan Thurston PR 8 Paul Gallen HK 9 Cameron Smith PR 10 Matthew Scott SR 11 Luke Lewis SR 12 Sam Thaiday LF 13 Anthony Watmough Substitutions: BE 14 Cooper Cronk BE 15 Keith Galloway BE 16 David Shillington BE 17 Tony Williams Coach: Tim Sheens

FB 1 Kevin Locke RW 2 Kalifa Faifai Loa RC 3 Lewis Brown LC 4 Gerard Beale LW 5 Jason Nightingale FE 6 Benji Marshall (c) HB 7 Kieran Foran PR 8 Ben Matulino HK 9 Issac Luke PR 10 Sam McKendry SR 11 Sika Manu SR 12 Simon Mannering LK 13 Jeremy Smith Substitutions: BE 14 Thomas Leuluai BE 15 Fuifui Moimoi BE 16 Alex Glenn BE 17 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves Coach: Stephen Kearney

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

29 October 2011 2:30pm (BST)

Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, England[20] Attendance: 10,377 Referee: Henry Perenara Player of the Match: Sam Tomkins[22]

FB 1 Sam Tomkins RW 2 Ryan Hall RC 3 Jack Reed LC 4 Kirk Yeaman LW 5 Tom Briscoe SO 6 Kevin Sinfield SH 7 Rangi Chase PR 8 James Graham HK 9 James Roby PR 10 Jamie Peacock (c) SR 11 Gareth Ellis SR 12 Ben Westwood LF 13 Chris Heighington Substitutions: BE 14 Gareth Widdop BE 15 Adrian Morley BE 16 Jamie Jones-Buchanan BE 17 Jon Wilkin Coach: Steve McNamara

FB 1 Danny Jones RW 2 Elliot Kear RC 3 Ian Webster LC 4 Christiaan Roets LW 5 Rhys Williams FE 6 Lee Briers (c) HB 7 Matt Seamark PR 8 Jordan James HK 9 Neil Budworth PR 10 Gil Dudson SR 11 Tyson Frizell SR 12 Andy Bracek LK 13 Ben Flower Substitutions: BE 14 Ian Watson BE 15 Ross Divorty BE 16 Aled James BE 17 Craig Kopczak Coach: Iestyn Harris

Round 2

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')

5 November 2011 1:00pm (GMT)

Wembley Stadium, London, England[20] Attendance: 42,344 Referee: Matt Cecchin Player of the Match: Thomas Leuluai[23]

FB 1 Danny Jones RW 2 Elliot Kear RC 3 Ian Webster LC 4 Christiaan Roets LW 5 Rhys Williams FE 6 Lee Briers (c) HB 7 Lloyd White PR 8 Jordan James HK 9 Neil Budworth PR 10 Gil Dudson SR 11 Tyson Frizell SR 12 Chris Beasley LK 13 Ben Flower Substitutions: BE 14 Ian Watson BE 15 Andy Bracek BE 16 Ross Divorty BE 17 Craig Kopczak Coach: Iestyn Harris

FB 1 Kevin Locke RW 2 Gerard Beale RC 3 Lewis Brown LC 4 Alex Glenn LW 5 Jason Nightingale FE 6 Benji Marshall (c) HB 7 Kieran Foran PR 8 Sam McKendry HK 9 Thomas Leuluai PR 10 Ben Matulino SR 11 Sika Manu SR 12 Adam Blair LK 13 Jeremy Smith Substitutions: BE 14 Nathan Fien BE 15 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves BE 16 Fuifui Moimoi BE 17 Elijah Taylor Coach: Stephen Kearney

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')

5 November 2011 3:30pm (GMT)

Wembley Stadium, London, England[20] Attendance: 42,344 Referee: Henry Perenara Player of the Match: Johnathan Thurston[24]

FB 1 Sam Tomkins RW 2 Ryan Hall RC 3 Jack Reed LC 4 Kirk Yeaman LW 5 Tom Briscoe SO 6 Kevin Sinfield SH 7 Rangi Chase PR 8 James Graham HK 9 James Roby PR 10 Jamie Peacock (c) SR 11 Gareth Ellis SR 12 Ben Westwood LF 13 Chris Heighington Substitutions: BE 14 Gareth Widdop BE 15 Adrian Morley BE 16 Jamie Jones-Buchanan BE 17 Jon Wilkin Coach: Steve McNamara

FB 1 Billy Slater RW 2 Akuila Uate RC 3 Chris Lawrence LC 4 Greg Inglis LW 5 Darius Boyd SO 6 Darren Lockyer (c) SH 7 Johnathan Thurston PR 8 Paul Gallen HK 9 Cameron Smith PR 10 Matthew Scott SR 11 Luke Lewis SR 12 Sam Thaiday LF 13 Anthony Watmough Substitutions: BE 14 Cooper Cronk BE 15 Keith Galloway BE 16 David Shillington BE 17 Tony Williams Coach: Tim Sheens

Round 3

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

12 November 2011 06.00pm (GMT)

KC Stadium, Hull, England[20] Attendance: 23,447[25] Player of the Match: Kevin Sinfield[26]

FB 1 Sam Tomkins RW 2 Ryan Hall RC 3 Jack Reed LC 4 Kirk Yeaman LW 5 Tom Briscoe SO 6 Kevin Sinfield SH 7 Rangi Chase PR 8 James Graham HK 9 James Roby PR 10 Jamie Peacock (c) SR 11 Jon Wilkin SR 12 Ben Westwood LF 13 Chris Heighington Substitutions: BE 14 Gareth Widdop BE 15 Adrian Morley BE 16 Jamie Jones-Buchanan BE 17 Garreth Carvell Coach: Steve McNamara

FB 1 Kevin Locke RW 2 Gerard Beale RC 3 Lewis Brown LC 4 Simon Mannering LW 5 Jason Nightingale FE 6 Benji Marshall (c) HB 7 Kieran Foran PR 8 Ben Matulino HK 9 Thomas Leuluai PR 17 Russell Packer SR 11 Sika Manu SR 12 Adam Blair LK 13 Jeremy Smith Substitutions: BE 12 Alex Glenn BE 14 Issac Luke BE 16 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves BE 18 Elijah Taylor Coach: Stephen Kearney

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

13 November 2011 5:45pm (GMT)

Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales[20] Attendance: 5,233 Player of the Match: Darius Boyd[27]

FB 1 Danny Jones RW 2 Elliot Kear RC 3 Ian Webster LC 4 Christiaan Roets LW 5 Rhys Williams FE 6 Lee Briers (c) HB 7 Lloyd White PR 8 Jordan James HK 9 Neil Budworth PR 10 Craig Kopczak SR 11 Chris Beasley SR 12 Andy Bracek LK 13 Ben Flower Substitutions: BE 14 Mark Lennon BE 15 Ross Divorty BE 16 Aled James BE 17 Gil Dudson Coach: Iestyn Harris

FB 1 Darius Boyd RW 2 Josh Morris RC 3 Greg Inglis LC 4 Chris Lawrence LW 5 Jharal Yow Yeh SO 6 Cooper Cronk SH 7 Johnathan Thurston PR 8 Keith Galloway HK 9 Cameron Smith (c) PR 10 David Shillington SR 15 Anthony Watmough SR 12 Beau Scott LF 13 Corey Parker Substitutions: BE 14 Daly Cherry-Evans BE 16 Paul Gallen BE 17 Matthew Scott BE 18 Sam Thaiday Coach: Tim Sheens

Standings

2011 Four Nations

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	3	3	0	0	118	46	+72	6	Qualification for Final
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

Source: Gillette Four Nations

Final

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

Saturday, 19 November 6:00pm (GMT)

Elland Road, Leeds, England[20] Attendance: 34,174 Referee: Matt Cecchin Player of the Match: Johnathan Thurston[28]

England	Position	Australia
Sam Tomkins	FB	Darius Boyd
Ryan Hall	WG	Akuila Uate
Jack Reed	CE	Greg Inglis
Kirk Yeaman	CE	Chris Lawrence
Tom Briscoe	WG	Jharal Yow Yeh
Kevin Sinfield	FE	Darren Lockyer (c)
Rangi Chase	HB	Johnathan Thurston
James Graham	PR	Matthew Scott
James Roby	HK	Cameron Smith
Jamie Peacock (c)	PR	David Shillington
Jon Wilkin	SR	Luke Lewis
Gareth Ellis	SR	Sam Thaiday
Ben Westwood	LK	Paul Gallen
Gareth Widdop	Int	Anthony Watmough
Adrian Morley	Int	Cooper Cronk
Jamie Jones-Buchanan	Int	Keith Galloway
Garreth Carvell	Int	Tony Williams

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.