The Baskerville Shield is a trophy awarded to the winner of rugby league test series between England and New Zealand. It named in honour of Albert Henry Baskerville, who organised the first ever tour by New Zealand of Great Britain in 1907.

Baskerville Shield
Trophy of the Baskerville Shield
Contested by

Great Britain / England New Zealand
Sport Rugby league
First held 2002
Current champion  New Zealand
Number of wins
 Great Britain /  England  New Zealand
4 1
Draws: None

The spelling of the trophy is somewhat controversial, as there is much evidence to suggest that Baskiville was the correct spelling of the surname. However, the Rugby Football League used the Baskerville spelling arguing that this was the version used by the man himself.[1]

There is also a trophy with this name awarded to the winner of the National Competition in New Zealand.[2]

History

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The shield was inaugurated for the 2002 New Zealand tour of Great Britain and France in which New Zealand played eight games in Europe and one in Oceania, winning six of these, including three against British club sides and one against an England A team. The test series between New Zealand and Great Britain was drawn, with one win each and one draw. The New Zealand Rugby League agreed that Great Britain should keep the inaugural shield because it wasn't won outright.

In the 2007 New Zealand tour of Great Britain and France, Great Britain won the series 3-0 to retain the shield. The largest of these losses was a 0-44 result in front of 20,324 at the KC Stadium, Hull. The tour was conducted as part of the celebrations of 100 years of New Zealand rugby league and was played in honour of the original 1907 tour. New Zealand played six games in total with five of these in Europe. After the tour, the Great Britain team was put on hiatus with the individual home nations taking priority on the international stage and as a result lengthy tours stopped taking place.

In the 2015 New Zealand tour of England, the shield was contested between New Zealand and England as the Great Britain team had been retired in 2007. England won the shield 2–1. The tour was the first to Europe by an Australasian team since the previous tour by New Zealand in 2007. The tour took place because Australia pulled out of a similar tour that they had agreed to undertake. The tour was shorter than others with just four games taking place, three against England and one against Leeds Rhinos. New Zealand won the Leeds game and the second test by just 9–2 in front of 44,393 at Olympic Stadium, London.

England and New Zealand contested the Baskerville Shield again during the 2018 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain. England won the shield 2–1, taking an unassailable lead with victories in the first two tests before New Zealand gained a consolation win in the final match.

Great Britain toured New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in 2019, which was the first Baskerville Shield to be played out in the southern hemisphere.[3]

Results

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Year Host Winner Series score Runner-up
2002   United Kingdom   Great Britain[a] 1.5 – 1.5   New Zealand
2007   United Kingdom   Great Britain 3 – 0   New Zealand
2015   England   England 2 – 1   New Zealand
2018   England   England 2 – 1   New Zealand
2019   New Zealand   New Zealand 2 – 0   Great Britain

Player statistics

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Try scorers

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Tries Name
3 Leon Pryce (GB), Keith Senior (GB), Henry Fa'afili (NZL)
2 Jamie Peacock (GB), Martin Gleeson (GB), Gareth Raynor (GB), Rob Burrow (GB), Nigel Vagana (NZL), Stacey Jones (NZL), Shontayne Hape (NZL), Paul Whatuira (NZL), Chase Stanley (NZL), Brett Ferres (ENG), Sean O'Loughlin (ENG), Elliot Whitehead (ENG)
1 Paul Sculthorpe (GB), Sam Burgess (GB), Maurie Fa'asavalu (GB), Ade Gardner (GB), Paul Wellens (GB), David Hodgson (GB), Danny Maguire (GB), Jon Wilkin (GB), Stephen Kearney (NZL), Francis Meli (NZL), Ruben Wiki (NZL), Ali Lauiti'iti (NZL), Taniela Tuiaki (NZL), Tohu Harris (NZL), Sam Moa (NZL), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (NZL), Josh Hodgson (ENG)

Goal scorers

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Goals Name
10 Gareth Widdop (ENG)
9 Andy Farrell (GB), Rob Burrow (GB)
5 Kevin Sinfield (GB)
4 Richard Swain (NZL)
3 Jeremy Smith (NZL), Isaac Luke (NZL)
1 Stacey Jones (NZL), Lance Hohaia (NZL)

Attendances

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Average attendances

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The 2015 series saw an average of 11,527 more people attend the three tests, this major increase owing largely to the test played at Olympic Stadium, London when 44,393 people were in attendance.[4]

Seven different stadiums have been used over the twelve tests that have taken place. DW Stadium, Wigan has been used the most times with three tests held there.

Year Host Total attendance Matches Average attendance % of change Stadium Capacity % Capacity
2002   United Kingdom 62,505 3 20,835 N/A 80,633 77.51%
2007   United Kingdom 58,081 3 19,360   7.08% 75,033 77.35%
2015   England 92,660 3 30,887   59.54% 116,538 79.51%
2018   England 76,069 3 25,356   17.91% 117,364 64.81%

Highest Attendances

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The highest attendance in the history of the Baskerville Shield test series is 44,393 which was seen at the Olympic Stadium, London, the only game to be played outside of the traditional rugby league heartland of the north of England.

Rank Stadium Attendance Event
1 Olympic Stadium, London 44,393 2015: Test 2
2 Elland Road, Leeds 32,186 2018: Test 3
3 Anfield, Liverpool 26,234 2018: Test 2
4 DW Stadium, Wigan 24,741 2015: Test 3
5 Kirklees Stadium, Huddersfield 23,604 2002: Test 2

Notes

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  1. ^ New Zealand Rugby League agreed Great Britain should win the competition as they were the touring side and did not win it outright.

References

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  1. ^ Sean Fagan. "Albert Baskerville - Or Baskiville?". rl1908.com/index.htm. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  2. ^ NZ News UK Albert Baskerville Trophy
  3. ^ rugby-league Upcoming Tours
  4. ^ bbc sport Olympic Stadium Test