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Story: Rugby league

First New Zealand match

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First New Zealand match

Players from the teams that played New Zealand's first rugby league match are shown here on the day – 13 June 1908. They were known as the All Blacks and the Colours.

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New Zealand Rugby League

Reference: An illustrated history: centenary 1910–2010: 100 years of New Zealand Rugby League. Established April 25, 1910. Auckland: New Zealand Rugby League, 2010, p. 6

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How to cite this page

John Coffey, Rugby league – Arrival in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/39038/first-new-zealand-match (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by John Coffey, published 30 November 2012.