Skanska Amateur Four Nations
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The Skanaska Amateur Four Nations (or Home Nations) Championship is a rugby league competition contested annually by Wales A, Ireland A, Scotland A and the England Lionhearts. While the teams from the Celtic nations are officially the countries' second string sides, the Lionhearts are England's representatives from the Rugby League Conference and the student and armed forces' sides. The competition has previously been sponsored by Cheltenham Regency and Parkhouse Recruitment.
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[edit] History
Friendly matches between A sides were played between 1998 and 2001 with Scotland facing Wales twice and Ireland three times and Wales taking on the forerunner to the England Lionhearts once.
The success of these one-off friendly internationals saw the advent of the first Home Nations Championship in 2002.
Until the final match between Wales and England at Cheltenham, the tournament was low-key and had little publicity, even in Wales where the Ireland match was played on a park pitch in Penarth on a Sunday morning. But the England v Wales match received unprecedented national coverage with highlights on Sky Sports and resulted in a shock Wales win.
Wales would continue to "shock" for the next four years as they continued to win the title, only losing two matches in this period. It took the introduction of the Celtic Crusaders to weaken the Wales side and allow England to win the title for the first time in 2006. Even then Wales only lost by two penalties and travelled with a weakened injury ladened side.
The tournament has been successful in introducing new players to international rugby league with at least three players from the Celtic nations each year are invited to play for their full international sides.
[edit] Results and Tables
[edit] 2002
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | Agn | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Wales |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 60 | 6 | 60 |
 England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 46 | 4 | 62 |
 Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 100 | 94 | 2 | 6 |
 Scotland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 168 | 0 | -128 |
15th June - Scotland 22 Wales 40 at Glasgow
16th June - Ireland 10 England 32
20th July - Scotland 8 England 58
21st July - Wales 52 Ireland 20 at Penarth
18th August - Ireland 70 Scotland 10
15th September - England 18 Wales 28 at Cheltenham
[edit] 2003
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | Agn | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 104 | 72 | 4 | 32 |
| England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 80 | 62 | 4 | 18 |
| Scotland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 96 | 2 | -6 |
| Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 110 | 2 | -44 |
21st June - England 28 Scotland 20
28th June - Ireland 32 Wales 28 at Dublin
27th July - Wales 48 Scotland 22 at Brewery Field, Bridgend
27th July - England 34 Ireland 14
9th August - Scotland 48 Ireland 20
14th September - Wales 28 England 18 at Aberavon RFC
[edit] 2004
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | Agn | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 70 | 6 | 54 |
| Scotland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 76 | 78 | 2 | -2 |
| England |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 63 | 88 | 2 | -25 |
| Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 83 | 2 | -27 |
15th May - Wales 56 Ireland 12 at Cardiff Athletics Stadium (1989)
13th June - Scotland 26 England 28
3rd July - Scotland 26 Wales 34 at Glasgow
3rd July - Ireland 28 England 24 at Clontarf RFC, Dublin
22nd August - Ireland 16 Scotland 24
12th September - England 32 Wales 34 at Coventry Bears
[edit] 2005
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | Agn | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 54 | 4 | 66 |
| Scotland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 102 | 4 | -33 |
| England |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 75 | 2 | -15 |
| Ireland |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 70 | 2 | -18 |
12th June - Wales 70 Scotland 8 at Brewery Field, Celtic Crusaders
2nd July - England 8 Ireland 26 at Halifax RLFC
16th July - Ireland 10 Wales 18 at Terenure College, Dublin
23 July - England 16 Scotland 17 at New River Stadium, London Skolars
14th August - Scotland 44 Ireland 16 at Glasgow
11th September - Wales 32 England 36 at Brewery Field, Celtic Crusaders
[edit] 2006
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | Agn | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 63 | 6 | 57 |
| Ireland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 84 | 4 | 1 |
| Wales |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 58 | 70 | 2 | -12 |
| Scotland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 106 | 0 | -46 |
Saturday 15th July - Ireland 23 England 44 at Terenure College RFC, Dublin
Saturday 3rd June - Ireland 38 Scotland 30 at St Marys RFC, Limerick
Sunday 16th July - Scotland 16 Wales 22 at Glasgow
Sunday 13th August - Scotland 14 England 46 at Glasgow
Saturday 19th August - Wales 10 Ireland 24 at Brewery Field, Celtic Crusaders
Sunday 10th September England 30 Wales 26 at Featherstone Rovers RLFC
[edit] 2007
| Team | P | W | D | L | For | Agn | Pts | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 99 | 64 | 5 | 35 |
| Ireland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 56 | 5 | 16 |
| England |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 107 | 2 | -26 |
| Scotland |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 114 | 0 | -26 |
Saturday 16th June - Wales A 44 Scotland 30 at Cardiff Demons
Saturday 23rd June - England A 22 Ireland A 28 at Leigh Centurions
Saturday 30th June - Wales A 22 France A 18 at Neath Port Talbot Steelers (not part of Championship)
Saturday 14th July - Ireland A 16 Wales 16 at Carlow
Saturday 14th July - England A 42 Scotland A 40 at Gateshead Thunder
Saturday 11th August - Scotland A 18 Ireland A 28 at Glasgow Hawks
Sunday 19th August - Wales A 39 England A 18 at Blackwood Bulldogs
