League: Home tests top of NZRL agenda

It was a full house when the Kiwis met Samoa in a Four Nations encounter at Whangarei last November. Photo / Getty Images

The Kiwis could play up to three mid-year tests annually, if ambitious plans by the New Zealand Rugby League come to fruition.

Getting more test matches has been a problem over the past decade, as the international calendar is squeezed in favour of the club game.

But the NZRL's vision is for regular tests during the year, including against Pacific Island nations.

"Utopia for us would be games against Samoa, Tonga, maybe even England during the year," said NZRL chief executive Phil Holden.

"This would be alongside the Anzac test and is contingent upon a new stand-alone international window. A lot of things have to fall into place but that is certainly what we are working towards. There are quite a lot of opportunities."

Everything hinges on the new NRL broadcasting deal, which will run from 2018. The present deal is worth A$1.2 billion and analysts say the next could top A$2 billion.

The NRL's new head of game strategy Shane Richardson has made positive noises about a possible calendar restructure. That would see the NRL season reduced and a stand-alone State of Origin series. Such a window could create space for more tests, although clubs would still need to be persuaded to release their players.

"The recent success of the Kiwis [and] the popularity of the Pacific tests has put the international game back in the spotlight," said Holden. "It needs to be commercially viable and there is a challenge around player availability but it is something we need to work towards."

The timing is right as the Kiwis are hot property. Recent clashes with the Kangaroos have rated well, as audiences on both sides of the Tasman sense a genuine contest.

Fans across Australasia want to see the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Shaun Johnson and Jason Taumalolo in action, as they arguably have as much appeal as any Australian players. The last time the Kiwis played at Eden Park in 2012, they drew more than 35,000, during a victory drought. Imagine the crowd they might attract now, off the back of three successive transtasman victories.

Holden is also pushing to host either or both of the next two Anzac tests. He was stymied in his attempt to host the centenary Anzac test this year but is hopeful for the future.

"We need to have the Kiwis playing on home soil — it's absolutely vital," said Holden. "Everybody wants to see more test matches — the fans, the players — so hopefully we can make it happen."

The Kiwis have played only four tests in New Zealand in the last five years and, until the Four Nations match with Samoa last year, players such as Kieran Foran, Dean Whare and Lewis Brown had never played in front of their home fans.