The island nation of New Zealand is renowned for producing Rugby League talent; the NRL, for example, is currently swarming with Kiwi representatives. But, a fraction of New Zealanders have also come to Britain, attempting to stamp their authority on the Super League. Not only do New Zealand players bring strength, passion and fire to the British game, they are also some of the most respected characters to grace the Super League competition. Here are five of the best.

Lesley Vainikolo

After playing six seasons for the Canberra Raiders, Lesley Vainikolo made the move to Bradford ahead of the 2002 season, quickly becoming one of Super League's greatest ever wingers.

Despite his 6ft2, 112kg frame, Vainikolo had an astonishing turn of pace and would play a major part in what was described as Bradford's "Golden Era" in the top flight, winning two Super League titles and three World Club Challenges.

A figure that would make any Rugby League player quake in their boots, Vainikolo scored an astounding 149 tries in 152 games in his six seasons at Odsal. His try-scoring record was so impressive that he actually set the record for the most tries in a match - six versus Hull in 2005 - and the most tries in a Super League season - 36 in just 26 games, including five hat-tricks - a record only broken 12 years later by Castleford Tigers' Denny Solomona.

Though born in Tonga, Vainikolo represented only New Zealand at international level.

12 appearances for the Kiwis yielded 14 tries, including nine in the 2000 World Cup. A truly remarkable player and character, "The Volcano" - as he was aptly nicknamed - left his mark not only on Bradford but the whole of Super League.

Ali Lautiiti

After starring in the NRL for New Zealand Warriors, Ali Lautiiti made the move to West Yorkshire and to the Leeds Rhinos in particular ahead of the 2004 season.

Lautiiti appeared 196 times for Leeds, scoring a quite remarkable 63 tries. And, it was at Leeds where Lautiiti won some major team honours. One of the most feared and powerful forwards in the game, Lautiiti won two League Leaders' Shields, one World Club Challenge and four Super League titles at the West Yorkshire side.

Even after departing Leeds for Wakefield Trinity in 2012 at the age of 33, the 6ft2, 115kg monster he still racked up another four seasons in Super League, playing at a consistently high level as he had done throughout his career.

Whilst at Wakefield, Lautiiti registered registered 20 tries in 94 appearances before moving back to New Zealand Warriors at the end of 2015. Lautiiti would play just one season in a Warriors' shirt before retiring in 2016.

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Lautiiti represented the Kiwis 19 times between 2000 and 2006, before switching his allegiance to Samoa in 2007.

Brent Webb

Full-back Brent Webb joined Leeds Rhinos from NRL side New Zealand Warriors ahead of the 2007 season. By that year Webb was already a New Zealand international, having played in the 2005 Tri-Nations tournament. Whilst at the Rhinos, the full-back won three Super League Grand Finals and became an ever-present for the West Yorkshire side.

In his six seasons at Leeds, Webb registered 155 appearances, scoring 89 tries before a move to French side Catalans Dragons in 2012 ended his time at the club. Though he went on to make 10 appearances in a Dragons' shirt, a reoccurence of a back injury forced Webb to retire in 2014 at the age of 34. For his national side, the dynamic and aggressive No.1 wore the Kiwis' shirt 17 times between 2004 and 2008.

Thomas Leuluai

With by far the most New Zealand caps on this list with 35, Tommy Leuluai must go down as one of Wigan's greatest ever players. After moving to London Broncos from New Zealand Warriors in 2004, Leuluai spent two seasons in the capital before moving to Lancashire ahead of the 2007 season.

Leuluai - a short, stocky hooker/half-back - made nearly 200 appearances for the Warriors in his first five-year stint, registering 60 tries as he made a name for himself as one of the toughest in Super League.

Leuluai was vital in Wigan's Grand Final-winning season in 2010, leading the side around the field and even picking up the Harry Sunderland Trophy at Old Trafford for the role he played in Wigan's victory over St Helens. The durable Kiwi was again key in 2011 as the Warriors brought home the Challenge Cup. Leuluai had made such a great impression on the Wigan club and its fans that his move back to New Zealand Warriors in 2013 was met with great sadness. Yet, he once more returned - like the prodigal son - ahead of the 2017 season.

In his one-and-a-bit season with Wigan so far, Leuluai has registered 33 appearances and scored three tries. He truly is a cult hero at the DW Stadium.

Robbie Paul

Robbie Paul joined Bradford as an 18-year-old in 1994. Though this was before the creation of Super League in 1996, Paul did play in the top-flight of British Rugby League for over ten years before retiring at the end of the 2011 season. Whilst in Britain, Paul made his name for the Bradford Bulls. It was 1996 when Paul first burst onto the scene, captaining the Bulls at scrum-half in the 1996 Challenge Cup Final in which he scored three tries and won the Lance Todd Trophy for a man-of-the-match performance. In the first Super League season, Paul was the Bulls' top try-scorer and still holds the record for the most amount of tries in a Bradford shirt.

From the late '90s to the early noughties, Paul went from strength to strength, guiding the Bulls to a Grand Final victory in 2001, a World Club Challenge victory in 2002 and a remarkable "treble" in 2003. The accolades did not end there though and Paul was once more instrumental in 2004 as the West Yorkshire side recorded another World Club Challenge victory and then again in 2005 as the Bulls defeated local rivals Leeds in the Super League Grand Final.

When Paul left Bradford after 11 years at the club in 2006, his Super League career did not end there and then. Paul spent two years at Huddersfield, before dropping down a league with Salford - where he played another two years - and then a final two-year hurrah with Leigh, before retiring at the end of 2011.

An astonishing achievement, Paul appeared 241 times for Bradford, scoring an even more remarkable 224 tries in Bradford's "Golden Era". For New Zealand, the flashy, confident half-back notched up 27 appearances over the course of nine years, scoring 13 tries and kicking two goals in the process. When Paul left the Giants and thus Super League at the end of 2007, he went down as one of the greatest half-backs to ever step foot on British soil.