Rugby: Kiwis to face NFP champs - report

New Zealand will open their six-week autumn tour of Britain with a match against the Northern Ford Premiership champions, according to a report from Down Under.

The Kiwis will play the first of six Tests in 50 days against world champions Australia in Wellington on Friday, October 12, before setting off on their first tour to this country for four years.

Their 1998 visit comprised just three Tests but this time they will play four other games before wrapping up a nine-match tour against France.

The itinerary has yet to be confirmed by the Rugby Football League but it is known that Wales have been lined up to face Gary Freeman’s team.

According to the report on rleague.com, New Zealand will also play Hull in a farewell to the Boulevard and England A before meeting Great Britain on consecutive weekends in November.

The League are thought to have opted for Bolton’s Reebok Stadium, Huddersfield’s McAlpine Stadium and Wigan’s JJB Stadium for the Tests following near full houses for last year’s Ashes Series.

New Zealand, beaten World Cup finalists in 2000, will be looking to extend their record seven-match unbeaten run against Britain, whose last win was at Leeds in 1993.