The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand was a rugby league tour by the Great Britain team which took place from May to July 1992. It was the last tour of such length undertaken by Great Britain.
It included games in Papua New Guinea, Australia - a three-test series for The Ashes and matches against club and representative teams - and New Zealand - a two-test series as well as matches against local sides.
The tour took place during the 1992 Winfield Cup premiership season, which led to friction between the touring side's management and the Australian Rugby League over match scheduling and promotion. The Lions finished the tour with thirteen wins and four losses and a profit of ₤244,645.[1]
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England
Wales
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Scotland
Bobby Goulding and Jonathan Davies were originally selected but did not tour due to suspension and injury respectively. Aston, Hulme, Sampson, McNamara, Myers and Harrison were called up during the tour to replace injured players.[1]
Paul Eastwood was the leading point scorer on tour with 50 and was also the leading goal scorer with 17. Martin Offiah was the leading try scorer with 7.[1]
The coach was Halifax's Mal Reilly with assistant Phil Larder. The team manager was Maurice Lindsay.[2] Ellery Hanley was the tour captain but only played in one game. Garry Schofield was the Test captain while Deryck Fox was the Mid-week captain.[1]
The Lions first traveled to Papua New Guinea.
| Highlands Zone | 15-24 | Great Britain | Goroka | ||
| Tries: P.Singapar, G.Ongogo Goals: G.Ongogo (2), A.Tete (1) |
Tries: Garry Schofield (2), P.Eastwood, D.Betts Goals: P.Loughlin (4) |
Stadium: Danny Leahy Oval Attendance: 7,000 |
| Islands Zone | 22-38 | Great Britain | Rabaul | ||
| Tries: J.Alunga (2), W.Langa Goals: N.Eremas (4) |
Tries: K.Fairbank (2), G.Hallas, K.Ellis, A.Hunte, J.Lydon, K.Skerrett Goals: G.Steadman (3), D.Fox (2) |
Stadium: Queen Elizabeth Park Attendance: 5,000 |
This match was the most points scored on tour.[1]
| 31 May 1992 | Papua New Guinea | 14 - 20 | Great Britain | Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 7,294 Referee/s: Eddie Ward |
| Tries: M.Elara, K.Tani, R.Wagambie Goals: A.Emil (1) |
[1] | Tries: M.Offiah (2), P.Eastwood, P.Clarke Goals: P.Loughlin (2) |
The Lions then traveled to Australia to contest The Ashes series.
| 1 June | Queensland Residents | 10 - 14 | Great Britain | Townsville, Queensland | |
| Tries: Peter Hamilton Goals: Gerard Kerr (3) |
Tries: John Devereux, Billy McGinty, Shaun Edwards Goals: Kevin Ellis |
Stadium: Sports Reserve Attendance: 4,000[3] Referee: John Willey |
| Saturday, 6 June | Canberra Raiders | 12 - 24 | Great Britain | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | |
| Tries: Jason Croker, M Spinks Goals: Ricky Stuart, A Friend |
Tries: Andy Platt (2), Paul Eastwood, Alan Hunte, Paul Newlove Goals: Paul Loughlin, Graham Steadman |
Stadium: Bruce Stadium Attendance: 4,728[4] Referee: Greg McCallum |
| Tuesday, 9 June | Illawarra Steelers | 10 - 11 | Great Britain | Wollongong, New South Wales | |
| Tries: Ryan Girdler, Aaron Whittaker Goals: Ryan Girdler |
Tries: Graeme Hallas, Shaun Edwards Goals: John Devereaux Field goal: Kevin Ellis |
Stadium: Steelers Stadium Attendance: 9,500[5] Referee: Graham Annesley |
With Ellery Hanley out injured, five-eighth Garry Schofield was appointed British captain for the first test.
| Friday, 12 June | Australia | 22 - 6 | Great Britain | Sydney Football Stadium Attendance: 40,141 Referee/s: Dennis Hale Man of the Match: Bradley Clyde |
| Tries: Mal Meninga (2), Michael Hancock, Paul Sironen Goals: Rod Wishart (3/6) |
Tries: Joe Lydon Goals: Lee Crooks (1/2) |
| NSW Country | 6-24 | Great Britain | Parkes, New South Wales | ||
| Tries: J.Connelly Goals: B.Quinton (1) |
Tries: G.Connolly, P.Eastwood, G.Steadman Goals: P.Eastwood (6) |
Stadium: Pioneer Oval Attendance: 8,014 Referee: Steve Albert |
| Friday, 19 June | Parramatta Eels | 22-16 | Great Britain | Sydney, New South Wales | |
| Tries: M. Laurie, Michael Buettner, S. Mahon, Stu Galbraith Goals: Michael Buettner (3) |
Tries: M. Offiah (2), S. Edwards Goals: P. Eastwood (2) |
Stadium: Parramatta Stadium Attendance: 18,220 |
English winger Martin Offiah, generally regarded at the time as the fastest player in rugby league, participated in a highly publicised foot race with Parramatta Eels speedster Lee Oudenryn before the tour match against the Eels. With both players decked out in their full football gear, including boots, Offiah was surprisingly beaten by the Eels flyer but would get his revenge later in the night with 2 tries, one a long range try where Oudenryn failed to make ground on him in a 50m chase.[6]
| Tuesday, 23 June | Newcastle Knights | 0-22 | Great Britain | Newcastle, New South Wales | |
| Tries: J.Lydon, A.Hunte (2), K.Fairbank Goals: D.Fox (3) |
Stadium: Marathon Stadium Attendance: 9,758 |
For the second test Britain fielded an all-Wigan forward pack,[7] and with Andy Gregory injured, Shaun Edwards came in at scrum half-back for his first start against the Australians in test football.
| Friday, 26 June | Australia | 10 - 33 | Great Britain | Princes Park, Melbourne Attendance: 31,005 Referee/s: Dennis Hale Man of the Match: Garry Schofield |
| Tries: Bob Lindner, Chris Johns Goals: Mal Meninga |
Tries: Phil Clarke, Paul Newlove, Garry Schofield, Graham Steadman, Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (6/7) Field goal: Garry Schofield |
| Australia | Position | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Andrew Ettingshausen | FB | 1. Graham Steadman |
| 2. Rod Wishart | WG | 2. Paul Eastwood |
| 3. Laurie Daley | CE | 3. Daryl Powell |
| 4. Mal Meninga (c) | CE | 4. Paul Newlove |
| 5. Michael Hancock | WG | 5. Martin Offiah |
| 6. Peter Jackson | FE | 6. Garry Schofield (c) |
| 7. Allan Langer | HB | 7. Shaun Edwards |
| 8. David Gillespie | PR | 8. Kelvin Skerrett |
| 9. Steve Walters | HK | 9. Martin Dermott |
| 10. Paul Harragon | PR | 10. Andy Platt |
| 11. Paul Sironen | SR | 11. Dennis Betts |
| 12. Bob Lindner | SR | 12. Billy McGinty |
| 13. Bradley Clyde | LF | 13. Phil Clarke |
| 14. Brad Mackay | Res. | 14. Joe Lydon |
| 15. Glenn Lazarus | Res. | 15. Paul Hulme |
| 17. Kevin Walters | Res. | 16. Gary Connolly |
| 18. Chris Johns | Res. | 17. Karl Harrison |
| Bob Fulton | Coach | Mal Reilly |
By playing in this match, Australia's Mal Meninga equalled Reg Gasnier's record of 36 tests for Australia.[8] The British got off to a 4 - 0 lead after some penalties kicked by Paul Eastwood early in the first half. A brawl started by Australian forward Paul Harrogan got the Lions another penalty and they decided to attack the Kangaroos' line. From the resulting good field position, first receiver Philip Clarke was able to throw a dummy and make a break through the defensive line to dive over for the first try of the match. It was then converted by Eastwood, so the visitors led 10 - 0. The next try for Great Britain came when replacement half Shaun Edwards got the ball mid-field and made a break before kicking it ahead into Australia's in-goal area. Several players from both sides came racing through to dive on the ball but the Lions' Paul Newlove was the only one who got his hand on it.[9] Next, Garry Schofield scored a brilliant individual try when he chipped ahead from about fifteen metres out and then beat the Australian defence to dive on it. Great Britain thus went into the break leading 22 - 0.[10]
Schofield kicked a drop goal to open the scoring in the second half, making it 23 nil. Australia then got their first try fifteen minutes into the second half when Bob Lindner got the ball at first receiver close to the line and reached out from the tackle to touch the ball down. The next try came from Australian centre Chris Johns who ran onto replacement half Kevin Walters' pass from about fifteen metres out through a gap in the defence to score. Back in Australia's half, British fullback Graham Steadman got the ball at first receiver about twenty metres out and bolted down the right sideline to score in the corner, sealing the match for the tourists. The British then added to their score when Schofield got the ball around mid-field, chipped it over the defence and regarthered it. He found Martin Offiah in support, the speedy winger beating Australian fullback Ettingshausen in a race for the left corner. This left the final score at 33 - 10, equalling Great Britain's largest ever winning margin[11] and Australia's second-largest ever losing margin[12]
| Tuesday, 30 June | Gold Coast Seagulls | 10 - 28 | Great Britain | Tweed Heads, New South Wales | |
| Tries: R.Herring (2) Goals: Wayne Bartrim (1) |
Tries: Gary Connolly (2), John Devereux, Steve McNamara, Steve Hampson Goals: Deryck Fox (4) |
Stadium: Seagulls Stadium Attendance: 6,700 Referee: David Manson |
Former Australian test skipper Wally Lewis was a late withdrawal for the Seagulls with a hamstring injury.[13]
| Friday, 3 July | Australia | 16 - 10 | Great Britain | Lang Park, Brisbane Attendance: 32,313 Referee/s: Dennis Hale Man of the Match: Paul Sironen |
| Tries: Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (3) |
Tries: Laurie Daley, Mal Meninga Goals: Mal Meninga (4) |
The third and final test was allocated points for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup.
AUSTRALIA: Ettingshausen (Cronulla); Carne (Brisbane), Fittler (Penrith), Meninga (Canberra, capt), Hancock (Brisbane); Daley (Canberra), Langer; Lazarus (both Brisbane), S Walters (Canberra), Harrigon (Newcastle), Sironen (Balmain), Lindner (Western Suburbs), Clyde (Canberra). Substitutes: Gillespie (Western Suburbs) for Sironen, 40; Johns (Brisbane) for Carne, 73; K Walters (Berisbane) for Ettingshausen, 73; Cartwright (Penrith) for Lindner, 73.
GREAT BRITAIN: Steadman (Castleford); Eastwood (Hull), Powell (Sheffield), Newlove (Featherstone), Offiah (Wigan); Schofield (Leeds, capt), Edwards; Skerrett, Dermott, Platt, Betts, McGinty, Clarke (all Wigan). Substitutes: Harrison (Halifax) for Skerrett, 50; Hulme (Widnes) for McGinty, 50; Connolly (St Helens) for Newlove, 62; Lydon (Wigan) for Schofield, 75.
By playing in this, his 37th test match, Australian captain Mal Meninga became the most-capped player for the Kangaroos in history, and also equalled Keith Holman's record for most tests against Great Britain.[14] His try and four goals also brought his total of points scored in Anglo-Australian test matches to 108, overtaking Neil Fox's record.
Australian forward Brad Clyde was awarded with the Harry Sunderland Medal for the Player of the Series.[15]
| Wednesday, 8 July | Auckland | 8-14 | Great Britain | Auckland, New Zealand | |
| Tries: D.Macintosh Goals: D.Macintosh (2) |
Tries: A.Hunte, K.Ellis Goals: D.Fox (3) |
Stadium: Carlaw Park Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Jim Stokes |
This was Great Britain's first defeat of Auckland since 1979, Auckland had won five with one draw since then.[1]
| Sunday, 12 July [2] |
New Zealand | 15 - 14 | Great Britain | Showgrounds, Palmerston North Attendance: 11,548 Referee/s: Bill Harrigan |
| Tries: Richie Blackmore, Tony Kemp Goals: Matthew Ridge (2), Gavin Hill Field goal: Daryl Halligan |
Tries: Phil Clarke, Shaun Edwards Goals: Graham Steadman (3) |
| Canterbury | 6-17 | Great Britain | Christchurch, New Zealand | ||
| Tries: Maea David Goals: Mike Culley (1) |
Tries: Paul Newlove, Kevin Ellis, Alan Hunte Goals: Deryck Fox (3), Joe Lydon (FG) |
Stadium: Addington Showgrounds Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Des O'Sullivan |
| Sunday, 19 July | New Zealand | 16 - 19 | Great Britain | Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 10,233 Referee/s: Bill Harrigan |
| Tries: Gary Freeman, Sean Hoppe, Brent Todd Goals: Matthew Ridge (2) |
[3] | Tries: Denis Betts, Lee Jackson, Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (3), Garry Schofield |
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