North Habour Stadium Chosen As Test
Venue

New Zealand will return to North Harbour Stadium for the first time since 1998 for their rugby league test against Australia on October 18.

The building of a new east stand at Ericsson Stadium, home to internationals since the tri-series competition in 1999, has forced the shift.

The game will kick off at the unusual time of 5.30pm to suit the scheduling of the NPC rugby semi-finals to be played that day.

Talk of a warm-up game between the Kiwis and the New Zealand A side, who will be in camp before leaving on October 13 for their tour of England, has apparently been ruled out.

The Kiwis will be named after the NRL grand final on October 6.

The 22-man A squad will be named after the Bartercard Cup finals.

They face a demanding schedule, with games against Cumbria at Whitehaven on October 19, a national selection at Keighley three days later, Warrington on October 26, and the full Great Britain team at Headingly, Leeds, on October 2