Words – Ian Golden. Photo – NRL Imagery
Wales and New Zealand meet for the first time in Wheelchair Rugby League history this Monday as they face off in the consolation semi-finals of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup.
The match, which takes place at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong (kick-off 11am local, midnight GMT), may be a first in the wheelchair game, but the two proud countries share a special place in history, having contested the first-ever rugby league international match between two nations when they met on New Year’s Day 1908.
The historic fixture took place at the Athletic Ground in Aberdare, with Wales recording a famous 9–8 victory over the Kiwis. It was a landmark moment for the sport, establishing international rugby league just months after the game’s formation in Wales.
That first meeting began a rivalry which has since extended across senior men’s internationals, student rugby league, physical disability rugby league and, most recently, masters rugby league.
The first match was a remarkable occasion. New Zealand led 8–3 at half-time, but Wales fought back, with Dai “Tarw” Jones scoring the winning try in the closing minutes to secure a 9–8 victory.
Wales repeated that success in 1926, winning 34–8 at Pontypridd, before another famous victory in 1975, when they edged out New Zealand 25–24 in Swansea in that year’s Rugby League World Championship, recognised as one of the most dramatic matches in WRL history, especially as Wales defended the last four minutes with just 12 men. The Kiwis had won the earlier meeting on that same 1975 tournament, 13–8 in Auckland.
Across ten senior men’s internationals, Wales have won three and New Zealand seven. The most recent meeting was in 2011, when New Zealand won 36–0 at Wembley Stadium in the Four Nations.
The rivalry has also been played out at student level. Wales and New Zealand Students have met six times over five Student Rugby League World Cups, with the Kiwis winning every encounter.
The closest was the 1992 third-place play-off at Parramatta Stadium, when New Zealand won 14–12. Like the senior men’s game 17 years earlier, this was a dramatic encounter, with Wales leading 12-8 right up until the closing stages when a 50-metre line-break won it for the Kiwis. It was a tense occasion from before kick-off, as the Welsh walked towards the Kiwis when they were performing their haka, adding extra grit to the game.
There has also been a memorable meeting in Physical Disability Rugby League. At the 2022 PDRL World Cup, Wales beat New Zealand 28–26 in their first-ever PDRL international, scoring a dramatic late try and conversion. However, the result was subsequently reversed following an unintended technical breach relating to player classification, meaning Wales could not retain the victory or progress to the final.
The latest addition came just a week ago, on 31 October 2026, when Wales Masters faced New Zealand Masters at Widnes RUFC in their first meeting. Unlike in the other formats, Masters rugby league is non-competitive, with no official winners or losers, and matches are all recorded as 0–0.
From that historic 1908 meeting in Aberdare to the latest Masters encounter, Wales and New Zealand have shared a rugby league relationship spanning almost 119 years, 18 matches, and several different forms of the game, and now it’s time for a new version as our wheelchair side face the Wheel Kiwis and the haka again this Monday. Make sure you attend if you’re in Wollongong or watch on 7+ if in Australia or Premier Player in Wales.
