The Baskerville Shield : 2018

Albert Baskerville was a New Zealander who was instrumental in bringing RL to Australasia. A brief summary of how he managed that can be read by clicking here. The strenuous efforts of playing and running an arduous tour took its toll and he died before making it home. This series is named after this pioneer of RL tours. Here is a summary of the three match series in England.

27th October, Hull, England:

England 18-16 New Zealand

The Kiwis came into the game confident after having deservedly defeated Australia just before departure to the UK. Both sides were missing players, England especially. The jumped out of the blocks with a try in 3 minutes which was converted. The Kiwis soon responded in kind after 30 minutes were now ahead 12-6. England was then awarded a penalty try on half time to square it up at the break.

In the second half, the sides kick penalty goals to have the NZ slightly ahead but a fine try with 12 minutes to puts England on top and that was how it remained. England leads the series 1-0. 

3rd November, Liverpool, England:

England 20-14 New Zealand

A must win game for the Kiwis to keep the series alive. The hosts went ahead early with a penalty, with NZ taking the lead with a converted try then Makinson got his first try for England just before the interval to level it up 6-6.

Five minutes after the resumption, the Kiwis took the lead again and after 50 minutes extended that with a penalty goal for a 14-6 advantage. Then England scored three unanswered tries (making up a hat trick for Makinson) and a sound win. The Baskerville Shield is retained by England with one game to play.

Makinson scoring one of three tries . Picture source BBC.

11th November, Leeds, England:

England 0-34 New Zealand

After outplaying Australia prior to coming to the UK, much was expected of the Kiwis. England was missing key players and that grew as the series progressed. However, NZ didn't play that well and England was professional in taking the first two games. Would England be complacent going into match three? Would the player deflections hurt them? Had the scoreline been close, one would say yes, but it wasn't.

In the first half, the Kiwis scored three tries while England had two disallowed by the video referee. In that sense, the 18-0 half time score could be explained. The reality was the second half remained scoreless for the hosts while the NZ side continued to widen its lead.

So the Kiwis saved their best for last while it was probably England's worst game of the series. England is now a solid unit, although this game belied that. The Kiwis continue their 'have a good game, then a couple of average ones' reputation. The series went to England, as does the Baskerville Shield. If the first two games made them feel on top of the world, the last game was a wake-up call.