[1] Several changes were made to the initial squad selected, as Gary Connolly, Lee Jackson and Jason Robinson were informed they would not be allowed to play due to their contracts with the ARL.

[2] There were also a number of other withdrawals, with John Bentley returning to rugby union, and Shaun Edwards, Paul Newlove and Steve McNamara all ruled out due to injury.

[29] The lack of success was attributed to the large number of key players who were unavailable for the tour, and the blow to morale caused by sending some of the squad home early.

Fatigue was also an issue - due to the British rugby league season switching from winter to summer the previous year, some players had taken part in over 60 games within the space of 14 months.

[30] New Zealand Rugby League president Graham Carden was blamed for the tour's financial losses, having failed to adequately promote the Test series, resulting in poor attendances.