Test match
In the English-speaking world, a test match is the name given to the games played by selected teams in the sports of cricket , rugby league and rugby union .
Cricket
The term “test match” or “test” for short was first mentioned in connection with cricket in a sporting context. In 1861/62 a private selection of English cricketers undertook a tour of Australia and played against the selection teams of the former British colonies in Australia (Victoria, New South Wales etc.). These games were the first to be called test matches . It is believed that this name came about because these games were a test of the strength or skill of both teams.
On March 15, 1877, the first official international match in cricket between England and Australia was played. Today this game has the status of the first test match ever played in cricket, as the English selection of 1861/62 did not play against an all Australian selection, but only against the individual colonies. About 10 years later, the term “test match” to designate international matches in cricket began to gain acceptance.
Today a test match in cricket is the longest possible form of a cricket game. Test matches are played between national teams with test status, which is awarded by the International Cricket Council . Test matches last up to five days and are viewed as the ultimate test of strength and endurance.
Rugby league
A test match in rugby league is a game between two national teams that represent member associations of the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF). There is a difference between test matches and international matches: international matches are those games that are played between teams from different countries, regardless of the age of the participants. The first test match in the rugby league was played on January 1, 1908 in Aberdare between Wales and the "All Golds", a national team of New Zealand and Australian players.
Similar to test cricket, a test match in rugby league should be a test of strength, competence and dexterity; therefore only those games are called test matches in which the strongest possible team is set up. For these games, so-called “test caps” can be awarded to the participating players by the respective associations.
It is the responsibility of the respective national associations to recognize games as test matches . It may well be that one side recognizes a game as a test match , but the opposing side does not. It is also possible to retrospectively recognize games as test matches . An example of this practice is the so-called “Super League War” between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Super League , which ultimately was about the control of the top professional league in the rugby league in Australia and at the end of it national rugby League (NRL) was founded. In 1997 a selection of Super League players played five games against New Zealand and Great Britain. These games are still not recognized by the ARL as test matches , while the British Rugby Football League (RFL) and the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) from New Zealand have granted these games the status of test matches .
Rugby union
A test match in rugby union is a game that is awarded "full international status" by at least one of the associations of the teams participating in the game. Unlike in cricket and rugby league, where there is an official definition of the term “test match” by the international federations of these sports, “test match” is an unofficial but still widely used term in rugby union. Likewise, there are no regulations on the part of the International Rugby Board regarding the “full international match status” or “test status” such as B. in the test cricket. Recognition as a Test Match is the lending of Test caps (short Caps , sometimes International Caps ) symbolizes to the participating players.
The first test match in rugby union was played on March 27, 1871 between Scotland and England in Edinburgh . It is the first test match ever played in one of the English team sports.
In rugby union there are some national teams that do not represent a country, but whose games against other national teams are counted as test matches (e.g. the British and Irish Lions or the Pacific Islanders ). Likewise, some associations give the games between their national teams and national teams (such as the Barbarians ) the test status , as these teams represent the strongest possible teams in a selection and test matches similar to rugby league and cricket as the ultimate test of strength , Skill and competence can be seen.
Lending the caps is not tied to the recognition of a game as a test match by the association of the opposing team. However, it is very rare that there is disagreement about the status of a game. The only remaining dispute over the status of games in men's rugby union concerns games between the New South Wales Waratahs and New Zealand's All Blacks that were played in the 1920s. Since hardly Rugby Union was played at that time in Australia outside of New South Wales, which has ARU selecting from New South Wales in retrospect status as a country selection and thus these games test status and the affected players awarded Caps awarded, while the NZRU this Refused to this day. Given the professionalism in rugby union and the associated media coverage of the games, such a situation is almost unthinkable nowadays.
References and comments
- ↑ a b Missed targets, cheap wickets and the origin of 'Test'. ESPN, November 15, 2004, accessed February 24, 2012 .
- ↑ Ask Bearders. BBC Sport, December 21, 2001, accessed February 24, 2012 .
- ↑ a b Test cricket in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ a b Rugby Football League (Ed.): 2012 RFL Official Guide . Memorandum & Articles of Association. S. 96 (English, PDF [accessed February 23, 2012]).
- ↑ a b History of rugby league in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ Australia's Rugby League Test Matches 1908 - 2005. Sean Fagan / RL1908, August 14, 2010, archived from the original on August 14, 2010 ; accessed on February 23, 2012 .
- ↑ Super League was in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ Super League Tests should be added to Darren Lockyer's record, says Ruben Wiki. Courier Mail, April 22, 2010, accessed February 23, 2012 .
- ^ Australian Rugby League - Results. Sean Fagan / RL1908, August 14, 2010, archived from the original on August 14, 2010 ; accessed on February 23, 2012 .
- ^ Test match (rugby union) in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ History of rugby union #First international game in the English language Wikipedia
- ↑ Although players from two different political formations play for the Irish national team ( Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland , part of the United Kingdom ), the Irish island is considered in rugby union as a country in which the IRFU administers the sport on the entire island
- ↑ NSW vs. NZL. pickandgo.info, February 24, 2012, accessed February 24, 2012 .