The 1928 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team of Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and August 1928. The tour involved a schedule of 24 games; 16 in Australia, including a three-test series against Australia for the Ashes and a further eight in New Zealand, including a three-test series against New Zealand.

Captained by Jonty Parkin, the Lions returned home having won 18, lost five and drawn one of their games. They won the Ashes against Australia by two tests to one, and also two out of three tests against New Zealand.

Squad

An initial 23-man squad for the tour was named on 29 February 1928,[2] with three additional players being selected two weeks later and Jonty Parkin being appointed as captain.[3] In April, Frank Gallagher declined his tour invitation for business reasons,[4] and Joe Thompson was selected as a replacement.[5]

Name Position Nationality Club
Walter Gowers Fullback  England Rochdale Hornets
Jim Sullivan Fullback  Wales Wigan
Tom Askin Three-quarter  England Featherstone Rovers
Jim Brough Three-quarter  England Leeds
Alf Ellaby Three-quarter  England St Helens
John Evans Three-quarter  England Swinton
Alf Frodsham Three-quarter  England St Helens
Emlyn Gwynne Three-quarter  Wales Hull
Joe Oliver Three-quarter  England Batley
Mel Rosser Three-quarter  Wales Leeds
Bryn Evans Half-back  England Swinton
Les Fairclough Half-back  England St Helens
Jonty Parkin (c) Half-back  England Wakefield Trinity
William Rees Half-back  Wales Swinton
Nat Bentham Forward  England Wigan Highfield
Harold Bowman Forward  England Hull
Frank Bowen Forward  England St Helens Recs
Bill Burgess Forward  England Barrow
Oliver Dolan Forward  England St Helens Recs
Albert Fildes Forward  England St Helens Recs
Ben Halfpenny Forward  England St Helens
Bill Horton Forward  England Wakefield Trinity
Bob Sloman Forward  England Oldham
Joe Thompson Forward  Wales Leeds
Billy Williams Forward  Wales Salford
Harold Young Forward  England Bradford Northern

The two team managers were G.F. Hutchins of Oldham and E. Osborne of Warrington.[2]

Schedule and results

The touring party departed from Tilbury on 20 April 1928 on board the SS Cathay.[6] The team arrived in Melbourne on 28 May, with thirteen players travelling by train for the opening game of the tour in Cootamundra, while the rest of the team continued their journey via ship to Sydney.[7]

Date Opponents Score (GB first) Venue Attendance Notes
30 May South West District 14–14 Cootamundra 8,000
2 June New South Wales 15–20 Sydney 55,000
4 June New South Wales 22–9 Sydney 48,000
9 June New South Wales 7–22 Sydney 38,000
13 June Far Northern Coast 20–9 Lismore 6,500
16 June Queensland 7–21 Brisbane 25,000
20 June Ipswich 23–13 Ipswich 2,000
23 June  Australia 15–12 Brisbane 39,200
27 June Central Queensland 27–11 Rockhampton 10,000
30 June Northern Queensland 30–16 Townsville 11,000
4 July Wide Bay 61–13 Bundaberg 4,000
7 July Toowoomba 17–12 Toowoomba 12,000
11 July Newcastle 19–17 Newcastle 7,000
14 July  Australia 8–0 Sydney 44,548
18 July Western NSW 22–9 Parkes 9,000
21 July  Australia 14–21 Sydney 37,000
1 August South Auckland 31–5 Hamilton
4 August  New Zealand 13–17 Auckland 28,000
8 August Auckland 14–9 Auckland 15,000
11 August Auckland City 26–15 Auckland 25,000
14 August Buller 72–3 Westport
15 August West Coast 62–13 Greymouth
18 August  New Zealand 13–5 Dunedin 12,000
25 August  New Zealand 6–5 Christchurch 21,000

Following the end of the third test against New Zealand, the team departed Auckland aboard the RMS Niagara, and played two exhibition games in Canada before returning home.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.33 1927–1928. League Publications. p. 16.
  2. ^ a b "Rugby League Tour". Leeds Mercury. 1 March 1928. p. 9 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Rugby Tour Party Completed". Leeds Mercury. 15 March 1928. p. 11 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Gallagher And Tour". Hull Daily Mail. 3 April 1928. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Joe Thompson To Tour". Athletic News. 9 April 1928. p. 14 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Rugby League Tourists". Yorkshire Post. 21 April 1928. p. 23 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "English League Team". Newcastle Sun. 29 May 1928. p. 6 – via Trove.
  8. ^ "The Niagara Sails". Auckland Star. 28 August 1928. p. 8 – via Papers Past.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928_Great_Britain_Lions_tour
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