Kiwis Named To Honour Leuluai

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josie andrews
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Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:17 pm
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Kiwis Named To Honour Leuluai

Post by josie andrews »

Thomas Leulaui will be surrounded by former New Zealand teammates when he ends his decorated 20-season career leading the Kiwis in their Rugby League World Cup warm-up match against the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on Saturday (6.00pm kick-off local time; 6.00am Sunday NZT).

After Leuluai announced his decision to retire at the end of the 2022 Super League season, Kiwi head coach Michael Maguire invited the 37-year-old to finish his playing days with a poignant final appearance in the New Zealand jersey.

Maguire has named a powerful line-up including 10 players who were Kiwi teammates during Leuluai’s 40-Test career from 2003-2017 – Jordan Rapana, Peta Hiku, Kieran Foran, Jesse Bromwich, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Kenny Bromwich, Isaac Liu, Joseph Tapine, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Dean Whare.Making their New Zealand debuts will be Canberra centre Sebastian Kris and Canterbury Bankstown hooker Jeremy Marshall-King plus Willie Isa, the ex-Toa Samoa international.

The 32-year-old joins his Wigan teammate Leuluai and 2012-2017 Kiwi Whare – now with Les Catalans – as one of the three Super League guest players.

The Kiwis will be without the suspended Jared Waerea-Hargreaves plus fullback Joseph Manu. Also not considered were Penrith’s NRL premiership-winning trio James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota and Scott Sorensen as well as Parramatta’s beaten grand finalists Dylan Brown, Isaiah Papali’i and Marata Niukore.

They’re due to join the squad in Leeds on Saturday in time to watch the game.Saturday’s occasion reprises the 2015 Headingley encounter between the Kiwis and Leeds when the Rhinos emotionally farewelled New Zealanders Ali Lauitiiti and Kylie Leuluai in a game the visitors won 34-16.

This time not only will the Kiwis give Leuluai a special farewell but the Rhinos will also do the same for one of their fan favourites Adam Cuthbertson (37), who has finished his career after more than 300 appearances in the NRL and the Super League.Leuluai has made almost 500 top level appearances including his 40 Tests, more than 330 games for Wigan and 85 in two stints with the Vodafone Warriors after starting out with the club as a 17-year-old in 2003.

Saturday’s match further cements a link between the two opponents and the famous Headingley ground which now dates back 115 years. It was on October 26, 1907, that the trailblazing All Golds beat Leeds 8-2 in the first of 12 matches between two. New Zealand holds an 11-1 winning advantage.

It has been confirmed Saturday’s match has been picked up by Sky’s streaming platform Sky Sport Next. It will be available to view on www.youtube.com free of charge on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuhXSy_OCvE

Spark Sport is the official broadcast partner of RLWC21. It will broadcast all 61 official Rugby League World Cup matches live with free-to-air delayed coverage on Three and ThreeNow.


NEW ZEALAND KIWIS v LEEDS RHINOS

1 CHARNZE NICOLL-KLOKSTAD
2 JORDAN RAPANA
3 PETA HIKU
4 SEBASTIAN KRIS
5 RONALDO MULITALO
6 KIERAN FORAN
7 THOMAS LEULUAI (c)
8 JESSE BROMWICH
9 BRANDON SMITH
10 NELSON ASOFA-SOLOMONA
11 KENNY BROMWICH
12 BRITON NIKORA
13 ISAAC LIU

Interchange:

14 JAHROME HUGHES
15 JOSEPH TAPINE
16 DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK
17 JEREMY MARSHALL-KING
18 DEAN WHARE
19 WILLIE ISA

https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2210/ ... euluai.htm
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
josie andrews
Posts: 35576
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:17 pm
Location: Wigan
Contact:

Re: Kiwis Named To Honour Leuluai

Post by josie andrews »

TV coverage confirmed for Leeds Rhinos vs New Zealand

In a type of fixture that has historical precedent but also is very rare in the modern game, Super League club Leeds Rhinos take on national team New Zealand at Headingley on Saturday night.

The game will act as the Kiwis’ warm-up for the World Cup as they look to recapture the magic of 2008 when they last lifted the trophy at Australia’s expense.

On top of this, the game will have added meaning for one of their veteran internationals in the shape of Thomas Leuluai as he plays the final game of his career.

Speaking of which, Adam Cuthbertson will do the same playing for Leeds Rhinos one last time after spells at York and Featherstone after a trophy laden spell at Headingley from 2015-20.

His farewell will also be the Headingley swansong for Tom Briscoe, Liam Sutcliffe, Brad Dwyer, Bodene Thompson and Muizz Mustapha.

Like Cuthbertson, Briscoe and Sutcliffe were involved in the 2015 treble winners whilst the duo along with Brad Dwyer and Cuthbertson helped lead Leeds to their last major trophy at Wembley in 2020.

The fixture will act as the ideal send off for these players with Sutcliffe and Dwyer headed to Hull FC, Mustapha switches to Castleford whilst Briscoe is expected to join newly promoted Leigh. The future of Thompson remains unclear.

No doubt set to be a special occasion like its predecessor in 2015 which acted as the final games for Kylie Leuluai, Ali Lauitiiti and Adrian Morley and a celebration of the treble winner, fans who are unable to attend will be able to watch the game from home.

The match kicks off at 6pm and live coverage will be shown on the OurLeague App which can be watched on your phone, laptop or streamed on your TV.

The app is running an early bird special which costs just £4.95. Purchase on the day of the game will be £10.

https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/tv-cover ... and-60063/
Anyone can support a team when it is winning, that takes no courage.
But to stand behind a team, to defend a team when it is down and really needs you,
that takes a lot of courage. #18thMan
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