Plans are in place for New Zealand to have their own version of Australia's Prime Minister’s XIII, with a second national team proposed as part of a revamped elite pathway.
It's a model which has been used with success for a long time not only by Australia, but also in the Northern Hemisphere with the England Knights, and one which has the full backing ofThe New Zealand Rugby League believe the side could play in international windows against Pacific nations and even take on their Australian counterparts, with most of the squad to be made up of uncapped Test players alongside more experienced players not required in the full Kiwis squad.
Based off players selected in wider Kiwis squads over the past couple of years but not picked for the World Cup, a New Zealand 'A' side in 2022 could have included the likes of exciting Raiders centre Matthew Timoko, Cowboys enforcer Griffin Neame and veteran halves Te Maire Martin and Kodi Nikorima.
"We need to show the pathway to come in and give players an experience of what the culture of New Zealand league is all about. The more we can connect our Kiwi players to those pathways the better, I am a big advocate of that.We could play Fiji, Papua New Guinea, a second Australian team, it wouldn’t matter. It would be an opportunity for other teams to develop their own players too.
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