1979 Great Britain Lions tour

1979 Great Britain Lions tour
Date25 May 1979 –
13 August 1979
ManagerHarry Womersley
Dick Gemmell
Coach(es)Eric Ashton
Tour captain(s)Doug Laughton
Top point scorer(s)John Woods (171)
Top try scorer(s)Steve Evans (16)
Summary
P W D L
Total
27 21 01 05
Test match
06 02 00 04
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
3 0 0 3
 New Zealand
3 2 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tour1974
Next tour1984

The 1979 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 16th tour of Australasia and took place from May to August 1979. A total of 27 matches were played against local club and representative sides during the tour, including a three match Test match series against Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Touring squad

[edit]

In March 1979, a 30-man squad was selected for the tour, with Doug Laughton appointed as captain.[1] The squad included Widnes prop Jim Mills, who was banned from playing in New Zealand due to an incident in 1975 when Mills played for Wales against New Zealand.[2] Despite an appeal to overturn the ban, the International Board confirmed the ban would be upheld.[3]

After the squad was selected, John Bevan and Stuart Wright were forced to withdraw due to injury, and were replaced by Roy Mathias and David Barends.[4] Ken Kelly also suffered an injury shortly before the tour departed, and was replaced by John Holmes.[5]

Name Position Club Apps Tests Tries Goals Drop goals Points Notes
Mick Adams Forward Widnes 16 5 0 8 1 17
David Barends Back Bradford Northern 16 2 10 0 0 30
John Burke Forward Wakefield Trinity 9 0 0 0 0 0 [a]
Len Casey Forward Bradford Northern 14 5 4 0 0 12
Steve Evans Back Featherstone Rovers 19 6 16 0 0 48
George Fairbairn Back Wigan 10 5 3 18 1 46 [b]
Peter Glynn Back St Helens 15 0 6 0 0 18
Jeff Grayshon Forward Bradford Northern 14 5 2 0 0 6
Phil Hogan Forward Hull Kingston Rovers 14 4 5 0 0 15
John Holmes Back Leeds 13 6 1 2 0 7
Eric Hughes Back Widnes 17 6 8 0 0 24
Melvyn James Forward St Helens 13 0 3 0 0 9
John Joyner Back Castleford 14 6 6 0 0 18
Doug Laughton (c) Forward Widnes 5 1 0 0 0 0
Graham Liptrot Forward St Helens 11 0 1 0 0 3
Brian Lockwood Forward Hull Kingston Rovers 12 1 1 0 0 3
Tommy Martyn Forward Warrington 5 0 3 0 0 9 [b]
Roy Mathias Back St Helens 17 1 10 0 0 30
Jim Mills Forward Widnes 5 1 2 0 0 6 [a]
Roger Millward Back Hull Kingston Rovers 3 0 0 4 0 8 [c]
Keith Mumby Back Bradford Northern 13 0 1 8 0 19
Steve Nash Back Salford 6 0 2 0 0 6
George Nicholls Forward St Helens 13 6 2 0 0 6
Steve Norton Forward Hull 9 2 0 0 0 0
Alan Redfearn Back Bradford Northern 10 1 1 0 0 3
Trevor Skerrett Forward Wakefield Trinity 12 4 1 0 0 3
Mike Smith Back Hull Kingston Rovers 11 3 4 0 0 12
Gary Stephens Back Castleford 15 5 6 0 0 18
Charlie Stone Forward Hull 12 0 0 0 0 0
David Topliss Back Wakefield Trinity 7 1 2 0 0 6 [c]
David Ward Forward Leeds 11 6 0 0 0 0
David Watkinson Forward Hull Kingston Rovers 12 1 2 0 0 6
John Woods Back Leigh 17 4 12 67 1 171

Results

[edit]

Australia

[edit]
25 May 1979
North Queensland 5 – 29 Great Britain
27 May 1979
Central Queensland 11 – 20 Great Britain
30 May 1979
Wide Bay 7 – 27 Great Britain
2 June 1979
North Coast 6 – 33 Great Britain
5 June 1979
Northern Division 11 – 20 Great Britain
8 June 1979
Queensland 19 – 25 Great Britain
10 June 1979
Toowoomba 19 – 16 Great Britain

First Test

[edit]
16 June 1979
Australia 35 – 0 Great Britain
Tries: Boustead (2), Price (2), Corowa
Goals: Cronin (10)
 [8]
Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 23,051
Referee: Eddie Ward
Player of the Match: Ray Price
18 June 1979
Brisbane 7 – 10 Great Britain
20 June 1979
Southern Division 10 – 10 Great Britain
24 June 1979
Newcastle 12 – 25 Great Britain
26 June 1979
Riverina 10 – 37 Great Britain

Second Test

[edit]
30 June 1979
Australia 24 – 16 Great Britain
Tries: Cronin (2), Reddy, Rogers
Goals: Cronin (6)
 [9]
 Tries: Hughes, Joyner
Goals: Woods (5)
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 26,857
Referee: Greg Hartley
Player of the Match: Rod Reddy
1 July 1979
Illawarra 13 – 18 Great Britain
4 July 1979
Western Division 12 – 19 Great Britain
7 July 1979
New South Wales 17 – 19 Great Britain
8 July 1979
Monaro 7 – 21 Great Britain

Third Test

[edit]
14 July 1979
Australia 28 – 2 Great Britain
Tries: Boyd, Eadie, Price, Reddy
Goals: Cronin (8)
 [10]
 Goals: Fairbairn
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 16,844
Referee: Eddie Ward
Player of the Match: Ray Price

New Zealand

[edit]
17 July 1979
Maoris 13 – 15 Great Britain

First Test

[edit]
21 July 1979
New Zealand 8 – 16 Great Britain
Tries: Ah Kuoi, Uluave
Goals: Collicoat
 [11]
 Tries: Evans, Fairbairn, Hughes, Smith
Goals: Fairbairn (2)
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: John Percival
22 July 1979
Northern District 5 – 58 Great Britain
25 July 1979
Central District 5 – 14 Great Britain
29 July 1979
Wellington 3 – 39 Great Britain

Second Test

[edit]
5 August 1979
New Zealand 7 – 22 Great Britain
Tries: Filipaina
Goals: Filipaina (2)
 [12]
 Tries: Casey, Evans, Grayshon, Hughes
Goals: Fairbairn (5)
Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: John Percival
7 August 1979
West Coast 0 – 19 Great Britain

Third Test

[edit]
11 August 1979
New Zealand 18 – 11 Great Britain
Tries: Fisher, Graham, Leuluai, O'Hara
Goals: Filipaina (3)
 [13]
 Tries: Hughes, Smith, Stephens
Goals: Fairbairn
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Kevin Steel
13 August 1979
Auckland 10 – 18 Great Britain

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b John Burke was called up as a replacement for Jim Mills due to injury.[6]
  2. ^ a b George Fairbairn was called up as a replacement for Tommy Martyn due to injury.[6]
  3. ^ a b David Topliss was called up as a replacement for Roger Millward due to injury.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (28 March 1979). "Dyl left out of overseas tour". The Guardian. London. p. 27. ProQuest 186084158.
  2. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (29 March 1979). "New Zealand adamant on Mills ban". The Guardian. London. p. 27.
  3. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (14 June 1979). "Mills tour ban stands". The Guardian. London. p. 24. ProQuest 186063885.
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (11 May 1979). "Replacements have right credentials". The Guardian. London. p. 26. ProQuest 186162353.
  5. ^ "Holmes called up for tour". The Guardian. London. 21 May 1979. p. 28. ProQuest 186186261.
  6. ^ a b "Burke and Fairbairn face instant action on tour". The Guardian. London. 22 June 1979. p. 25. ProQuest 186129790.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Edward (28 June 1979). "Hogan is out". The Guardian. London. p. 22. ProQuest 186193946.
  8. ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 2". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 3". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  11. ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1979 Series - Game 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  12. ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1979 Series - Game 2". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1984 Series - Game 3". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
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