Rugby league: Kiwis to host Australia, Tonga as Pacific Championships return for 2024

James Fisher-Harris leads the Kiwis' haka against Toa Samoa in 2023. Photo / Photosport

The Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns will return to action at the end of the year, as New Zealand Rugby League and the NRL have confirmed the Pacific Championships tests for October and November.

Fresh from winning the 2023 iteration of the competition with a record 30-0 victory over Australia in Hamilton, the Kiwis will get the chance to defend their title and host the Kangaroos and Mate Ma’a Tonga in Christchurch and Auckland respectively.

The Kiwis’ clash against Australia on October 27 will also see international rugby league return to Christchurch for the first time since 2019, when New Zealand defeated Great Britain 23-8 at Rugby League Park.

That clash will also serve as a double-header, as the Kiwi Ferns also host the Jillaroos at the same venue on the same day.

While the Kiwis will end a five-year wait to return to Christchurch, the Kiwi Ferns will end a streak that dates back to 1998 in their test comeback in the garden city.

Like their male counterparts, the Kiwi Ferns also claimed their title in 2023 with a 12-6 victory over the Jillaroos at Melbourne’s AAMI Park last October.

Six days later, the Kiwis will take the field at Go Media Stadium against Tonga, in a rematch of New Zealand’s 26-6 victory from 2022.

Tonga’s presence in Auckland will be a huge boon for rugby league in Aotearoa, with Go Media Stadium having previously seen swarms of fans support their team, notably during the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

A day later, the Kiwi Ferns will travel to face Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby as their second match of the Pacific Championships.

Following both sets of fixtures, two of the Kiwis, Kangaroos and Mate Ma’a Tonga will face off in a tournament decider in Sydney.

The Kiwis’ fixtures will also mark the debut of New Zealand great Stacey Jones as New Zealand head coach, following Michael Maguire’s exit at the end of 2023.

As was the case in 2023, a second-tier Pacific Bowl competition will be played concurrently with the first-tier championship.

While no nations have as of yet been confirmed by the NRL, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Cook Islands loom as options for the men’s competition.

Samoa, who contested the Championship in 2023, will be missing from this year’s iteration, and will instead face England in two tests away from home.

On the women’s side, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands loom as options to play the bowl competition, while the Kiwi Ferns, Kangaroos and Papua New Guinea contest the championship.