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 of newly re-signed Kiwis coach Michael Maguire.
The 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.
In addition to the return of the Junior Kiwis, who haven’t played since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would potentially give New Zealand the opportunity to involve up to 75 players in elite male national teams each campaign.
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.
"It’s definitely something I am keen to get up and running ASAP. We want to be able to get more Kiwis playing in the jerseys on the pathway to playing at the highest levels," Maguire told NRL.com.
"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.
"England have it too with the Knights, it’s not just the Australians who are doing it.
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.
Michael Maguire
NZRL CEO Greg Peters said while it's unlikely to happen this year, a second New Zealand senior side is part of their plans, and if and when it's formed it could also have an impact on the age cut-off set for the Junior Kiwis.
“I doubt whether it would happen this year, but certainly on our radar for future thinking,” Peters told NRL.com.
“We’d also like to get the Junior Kiwis up and running again too. The last they played was 2019, so it’s overdue to get that team back on the park and rebuild the development opportunities for Kiwi-eligible players that don’t always get the opportunity because of the very few Test matches we have.
Match Highlights: Australia v New Zealand
“Depending on whether we can have a New Zealand 'A', or whatever you want to call that other team, that would also impact if we see the Junior Kiwis as a U-20 side rather than a U-23 side.”
In the meantime the NZRL are working to confirm their 2023 Test calendar, which Peters said will provide an opportunity for a camp environment rather than one-off matches.
"I'm encouraged by what we are looking at doing at the end of the year and the window that is now opening up for international matches outside of a World Cup year," Peters said.
"I think it's good to be able to get a group of players together to work for a number of weeks, and the high performance program we could put around that is great."