1979 Great Britain Lions tour
1979 Great Britain Lions tour | |||||
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Date | 25 May 1979 – 13 August 1979 | ||||
Manager | Harry 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 |
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Total |
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Test match |
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Opponent |
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Australia |
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New Zealand |
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Tour chronology | |||||
Previous tour | 1974 | ||||
Next tour | 1984 |
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
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
Australia
First Test
16 June 1979 |
Australia | 35 – 0 | Great Britain |
---|---|---|
Tries: Boustead (2), Price (2), Corowa Goals: Cronin (10) | [8] |
Second Test
30 June 1979 |
Australia | 24 – 16 | Great Britain |
---|---|---|
Tries: Cronin (2), Reddy, Rogers Goals: Cronin (6) | [9] | Tries: Hughes, Joyner Goals: Woods (5) |
Third Test
14 July 1979 |
Australia | 28 – 2 | Great Britain |
---|---|---|
Tries: Boyd, Eadie, Price, Reddy Goals: Cronin (8) | [10] | Goals: Fairbairn |
New Zealand
First Test
21 July 1979 |
New Zealand | 8 – 16 | Great Britain |
---|---|---|
Tries: Ah Kuoi, Uluave Goals: Collicoat | [11] | Tries: Evans, Fairbairn, Hughes, Smith Goals: Fairbairn (2) |
Second Test
5 August 1979 |
New Zealand | 7 – 22 | Great Britain |
---|---|---|
Tries: Filipaina Goals: Filipaina (2) | [12] | Tries: Casey, Evans, Grayshon, Hughes Goals: Fairbairn (5) |
Third Test
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 |
Notes
- ^ a b John Burke was called up as a replacement for Jim Mills due to injury.[6]
- ^ a b George Fairbairn was called up as a replacement for Tommy Martyn due to injury.[6]
- ^ a b David Topliss was called up as a replacement for Roger Millward due to injury.[7]
References
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (28 March 1979). "Dyl left out of overseas tour". The Guardian. London. p. 27. ProQuest 186084158.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (29 March 1979). "New Zealand adamant on Mills ban". The Guardian. London. p. 27.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (14 June 1979). "Mills tour ban stands". The Guardian. London. p. 24. ProQuest 186063885.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (11 May 1979). "Replacements have right credentials". The Guardian. London. p. 26. ProQuest 186162353.
- ^ "Holmes called up for tour". The Guardian. London. 21 May 1979. p. 28. ProQuest 186186261.
- ^ a b "Burke and Fairbairn face instant action on tour". The Guardian. London. 22 June 1979. p. 25. ProQuest 186129790.
- ^ Kennedy, Edward (28 June 1979). "Hogan is out". The Guardian. London. p. 22. ProQuest 186193946.
- ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 2". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 3". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1979 Series - Game 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1979 Series - Game 2". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1984 Series - Game 3". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.