The Australian Rugby League has
today announced the Centenary Test and this year’s City v Country Origin will be
played under international rules.
The decision means both matches will
feature the 12-4 interchange format rather than the current National Rugby
League system of 10-4.
Test matches are required to be
played under international rules unless the two participating countries agree
otherwise.
ARL Chief Executive Geoff Carr said player welfare played a major part in
the ARL and New Zealand Rugby League’s decision.
“We were mindful of the fact many
players selected for this match will be backing up to play the next day,” Carr
said.
“Likewise the NSW Rugby League and
Country Rugby League wanted to ensure the City Country Origin players were not
overworked during this period.
“The international rules allow for
two extra interchanges per match compared to the NRL system and this will
benefit those players.
“In the case of the Centenary Test
it is in the interest of both teams to play under international rules as the
upcoming World Cup will be in that format.”
Carr said a decision had not yet
been made on which set of rules this year’s Harvey Norman State of Origin series
would be played under.
“Traditionally State of Origin is played under
NRL rules,” Carr said.
“Origin differs in that it is a
mid-week game, meaning the players have more time to recover compared to those
playing who might have to back up and play the next
day.”
The ARL Board is expected to make a
decision on the State of Origin rules shortly.
