Sport

All Golds' once-in-a-century fixture

07:38 am on 21 August 2008

The All Golds, New Zealand's first representative rugby league side, are set to play in New Zealand for the first time since 1908.

The modern-day All Golds will play New Zealand Maori in New Plymouth on Sunday, October the 12th.

The encounter follows a commemorative match between the All Golds and the Northern Union in Warrington last October to mark the 100th anniversary of the landmark tour of the United Kingdom by the original All Golds in 1907-08.

After the tour finished with matches in Australia on the way home, the All Golds were involved in the first game of rugby league in New Zealand on June 13, 1908 - a benefit match at Wellington's Athletic Park to raise money for tour organiser Albert Baskerville's widowed mother.

October's game is also a farewell to veteran Ruben Wiki, who retired from test football in 2006 and finishes up in the National Rugby League at the end of this season.

The match will also be vital for New Zealand Maori ahead of their encounter with an Australian Indigenous team, which will be the curtain-raiser to the Australia-New Zealand World Cup clash at the Sydney Football Stadium on October the 26th.