International Origin match
| International Origin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Rugby league |
| Instituted | 2010 |
| Inaugural season | 2011 |
| Ceased | 2013 |
| Number of teams | 2 |
| Country | England (RFL) |
| Trophy Holders | England RL (2013) |
| Most titles | Exiles RL (2 titles) |
| Website | www.internationalorigin.com |
| Broadcast partner | Sky Sports |
| Related competition | State of Origin series |
International Origin is the annual series of rugby league football matches between England RL and the Exiles. The International Origin was created by the RFL to ensure that the English national side had a good strong mid-season international very much like Australia has with their State of Origin series. The RFL intended this to be an annual one off game and it was in 2011, however this progressed to a two-game series in 2012. Plans are in the works to make this into a three-game series for the future, however it was scaled back to a standalone fixture in 2013 due to a lack of interest from both players and spectators.
In late 2010 the RFL called for a strong mid-season international for 2011 to try to give England a good competitive fixture before they played the international games at the end of the season.
The England team is selected by the best English players currently playing in the domestic competition (Super League). The Australian-based England players are not released by their clubs as this series is technically not an international test.
The Exiles RL team is selected from the overseas players in the Super League competition. These players are chosen to form a 23-man squad by a foreign coach (usually an Australian or New Zealand coach). For the Exiles team the fans get to choose who plays for the Exiles. All players in the squad are NRL club trained players. For the 2011 series, the players were chosen by a fan poll.
The RFL had previously attempted to have a mid-season series, this was the Rugby League War of the Roses where two counties (Yorkshire and Lancashire) played against each other. This was first created in 1895 but unfortunately after an extremely long run it stopped in 1989. However this concept was revived in 2001 under the name of the Origin Series, inspired by the success of State of Origin series in Australia between New South Wales and Queensland. The Origin Series was reduced to a one-off Origin Game in 2003 due to the British hosting the touring Australia, New Zealand A and as well the kick off of the Rugby League European Nations Cup. So together with the Challenge Cup, WCC and Rugby Super League, the RFL felt that too many Origin matches would be too much strain on the top players. The tournament was then rested due to apathy from rugby league supporters.
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