Kiwis set to face Tonga in October

New Zealand Rugby League CEO Greg Peters has ruled out the Kiwis playing a test in Auckland in June, despite the government’s announcement on Tuesday and will instead look to organise a test against Tonga in October.

From April 19 the trans-Tasman travel bubble will go up, allowing people to come from Australia to New Zealand without having to spend two weeks in managed isolation.

The NZRL had been looking at hosting a test against Tonga in late June, during the NRL’s weekend off for the second State of Origin game.

However, Peters says the risk remains too high to bring players over the Tasman, in case they get stuck in New Zealand if there’s a coronavirus outbreak and flights are halted.

‘‘The announcement is a cause for great optimism and the light at the end of the tunnel for getting back to a new normal,’’ Peters told Stuff.

‘‘However, with the traffic light approach, if there are any cases, there is still a level of uncertainty and it would mean for a one-week campaign in June, it’s still too uncertain.

‘‘We’ll be able to play with more certainty around playing matches at the end of the year.’’

The NRL grand final is on October 3 and the Kiwis’ first test at the Rugby League World Cup in England is against Lebanon on October 24, so there are only two clear weekends between these events. Peters is also hoping to squeeze in a test against the Kangaroos during this gap.

‘‘There is a limited window and we’d like to also play Australia, so we’ve got to work through that, because we haven’t played Australia for two years now and that’s one of the big games on the calendar.’’

Theoretically the NZRL could have looked to have played a test in Australia on June 26 or 27, against one of the Pacific nations and while that hasn’t been totally ruled out, Peters said it was unlikely as there are also risks involved.