Former Kiwi skipper Ruben Wiki was today named as captain of the New Zealand All Golds, who will play a match in England this month to celebrate the centenary of international rugby league.
Recalled Kangaroo prop Steve Price, one of Wiki's teammates at the New Zealand Warriors, will reprise the role of legendary Australian Dally Messenger from the original 1907-8 All Golds.
Last month, Price was, coincidentally, named the National Rugby League's Dally M prop and captain of the year.
The All Golds' match against the Northern Union in Warrington on October 20 will also reunite Wiki and two other long-serving Kiwis, halfback Stacey Jones and Nigel Vagana, for the final time.
All three retired from the test arena after last year's Tri-Nations final.
For Jones, the former Warrior who has been playing for French club Les Catalans Dragons, it will be his last match of rugby league before he hangs up his boots.
The All Golds, wearing an all-black strip, will be coached by Brisbane and former Australian test coach Wayne Bennett.
Wiki, whose 55 caps for the Kiwis are a world record, described being handed the captaincy as "unbelievable".
"To lead the side in this special game is a bonus in my career," he said.
"To have Steve in the black jersey, it's a once in a life time, so it's going to fun. It's just a great honour to be among so many legends and I'm just looking forward to running out there again."
The fixture at Halliwell Jones Stadium celebrates the anniversary of the original All Golds' pioneering tour.
That side, organised by Albert Baskerville, also played matches in Australia, where Messenger was invited to join the tour party, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on the way to Britain.
They lost a one-off encounter against Wales - New Zealand's debut test - before beating the Northern Union 2-1.
They stopped off again in Australia on the way home and beat their hosts 2-1 in the first official trans-Tasman series.
While Price was in the selectors' sights from the start, the Messenger role was to have gone to Andrew Johns, and then Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston.
However, injury successively removed each of the three from the reckoning.
Meanwhile, plans to include one or more rugby players - the original All Golds began their nine-month tour by playing under rugby rules against New South Wales - have been dropped.
An early target was former All Black skipper Tana Umaga, who was ruled out because of other commitments.
Team manager Malcolm Boyle said former All Black first five-eighth Carlos Spencer had been among others approached.
However, their commitments had also prevented them from being involved.
The full All Gold squad is due to be named in Wellington next week.
The balance of the players will come from British-based New Zealanders and from members of the Kiwi tour party not involved in the one-off test with Australia in Wellington on October 14.
After the clash with the Kangaroos, the Kiwis head to Europe, where they will play tests against Great Britain on October 27, November 3 and November 10, and a one-off test against France in Paris on November 17.
