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This article is about the rugby league team representing the British Isles. For the rugby union team representing the same area, see
British and Irish LionsGreat Britain is one of the major national teams playing rugby league. The team is administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), and is commonly nicknamed the "Lions" or "Great Britain Lions". The RFL has announced that after the 2007 All Golds Tour[1] the Great Britain team will be retired, and that players will be able to represent England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland at the Test level. It is planned that the Great Britain team will come together only for occasional tours, similar to the British and Irish Lions rugby union team,
[edit] Competitions
Great Britain have traditionally been one of the strongest teams in rugby league, though usually playing second fiddle to Australia. They have won the Rugby League World Cup on three occasions: 1954, 1960 and 1972. Since 1995 the RFL have preferred to send the home nations as separate teams for world cup purposes. Great Britain continue to compete as a test playing nation both home and away (unlike the British and Irish Lions rugby union team, who are a touring only team playing sporadically). They compete against Australia for The Ashes, and New Zealand for the Baskerville Shield, as well the Tri-Nations series with both Australia and New Zealand. Great Britain also play in series and tours against other nations such as France, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
[edit] Titles, selection and identity
As stated above, there is some confusion as to which “nation” the Lions represent. The team was originally known as the Northern Union XIII in reference to the name of the sport's governing body. After 1922 the name "The Lions" was first used. In 1948 the team became known as Great Britain for the Ashes Series. During the 1990s the Rugby Football League expanded this to Great Britain and Ireland, and the jersey bore the name British Isles XIII. In 2004 the "...and Ireland" was dropped from the title, however, the Irish shamrock continues to form part of the RFL's crest and British Isles XIII remains on the jersey, as of 2006. Players from the Republic of Ireland have been selected to play for Great Britain, one recent example being Cork-born Brian Carney between 2003 and 2006. At matches, the team is represented by the Union Flag and the singing of God Save the Queen, both symbols of the United Kingdom. The practice of a UK-wide team being called Great Britain has a precedent with the Great British Olympic team. The formal name of the Olympic team includes "and Northern Ireland", however. In Australia, the Great Britain team is often erroneously referred to as England, most notably by television commentator Phil Gould. After the 2007 All Golds Tour the Great Britain team will be reserved for Lions tours of the Southern Hemisphere. According to Richard Lewis, chairman of the Rugby Football League:
- "It will bring consistency. What I am passionate about is the international game being consistent. To me, it has always been illogical that we play as Great Britain for three or four years, and when the World Cup comes along, suddenly we become England. In the major competitions, which will be most years, we will play as England. That will also allow Ireland, Scotland and Wales to develop. We have then floated the concept of Great Britain to tour in 2010. It would be a tour as opposed to playing a formal competition, and I wouldn't restrict that to just Australia and New Zealand." [2]
- "Next year (2007) will be the last time Great Britain will play. They will be England after that."[3]
[edit] History
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Great Britain national rugby league team – current squad |
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Tony Smith
Mick Sullivan/Gary Schofield (46)
New Zealand 6 - 14 Great Britain 
Fiji 4 - 72 Great Britain 
