All Stars to get their game on in Rotorua

New Zealand will host one of the biggest matches on the NRL calendar next season, with the annual All Stars contest in this country.

The All Stars match has been running since 2010 but has always been held in Australia.

That will change in 2023.

The Herald on Sunday understands the match between the Ma¯ ori All Stars and Indigenous All Stars will be in Rotorua next year.

Although it is a pre-season fixture, the concept has been revitalised in the past four years, since the Ma¯ ori selection replaced the previous NRL All Stars team.

That has delivered much more of an edge to the contest, with the games over the last few seasons replicating the intensity of test matches.

Almost 27,000 people saw the David Kidwell-coached

Ma¯ ori win 16-10 at Commbank Stadium in Sydney in February, with large crowds attending the matches in Townsville (2021) and Gold Coast (2020).

Now it is New Zealand’s turn.

It will be a hot ticket in Rotorua, probably the biggest league match in the geothermal city since the Kiwis faced Tonga there in 2009. The Kiwis have also played Papua New Guinea (1996) and Australia (1989) in Rotorua.

The initiative is a small step in the NRL’S plan to regenerate the sport here, after a three-year vacuum.

Last Saturday’s Kiwis test in Auckland was the first international men’s match here since October 2019, while the Warriors will break a 1038-day drought between home games today.

The governing body realises it will need to do a lot more — especially with the curious recent axing of the mid-season test window — but it is a welcome gesture.

It’s also logical. The match should generate more interest on this side of the Tasman and the Ma¯ ori will resonate in the heartland.

The 2022 edition featured topline internationals such as James Fisherharris, Joseph Tapine, Jordan Rapana and Kodi Nikorima, while Kidwell’s 2021 side had 10 current or former Kiwis, including Joseph Manu, Dallin Watene-zelezniak, Benji Marshall and Briton Nikora.

It’s expected that the game will be staged in New Zealand in alternate years from 2023 onwards, although that will depend on commercial arrangements.

Rotorua International Stadium has never hosted an NRL match but has been a popular destination for Warriors pre-season games.

The club first played there in 2010 (against the Roosters), with other games against the Eels (2011), Panthers (2015), Storm (2018) and Tigers (2020).

The first NRL All Stars match was held in 2010, on the Gold Coast.

The Sunshine State strip has hosted on four other occasions, with Brisbane (twice), Newcastle, Melbourne, Townsville and Sydney the other venues.

For the first five iterations, the concept featured an Indigenous team against the rest. In 2016 and 2017, the format shifted to a World All Stars side — with five nations represented — before the current concept, in place since 2019.

A parallel Women’s All Stars match has featured since 2011, with the Ma¯ ori women victorious in 2019 and 2021.