1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain
The 1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the fifth Kangaroo tour, and took the Australia national rugby league team around the north of England, to London and Paris. The tour also featured the 11th Ashes series which comprised three Test matches and was the first to be won by Great Britain in a clean sweep. The squad's outbound journey was marred by tragedy when Sydney University centre Ray Morris contracted meningitis en-route and died in hospital. The tour match played at Stade Pershing in Paris on New Year's Day 1934 was the first rugby league international played in France.
Touring squad
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Frank McMillan was named as captain-coach of the touring squad after his Queensland counterpart Herb Steinohrt declared himself unavailable to tour. George Bishop and Ernie Norman were selected but ruled out of the tour before the squad left Sydney. Vic Hey and "Mick" Glasheen took their places.
| Name | Posit. | Club | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Brown | Centre | Eastern Suburbs | 3 |
| Alan Ridley | Winger | Queanbeyan | 2 |
| Wally Prigg | Lock | Centrals (Newcastle) | 3 |
| Sid Pearce | Second row | Eastern Suburbs | 2 |
| Fred Gardner | Winger | St George Dragons | 1 |
| Vic Hey | Five-eighth | Western Suburbs | 3 |
| Jim Gibbs | Second row | South Newcastle | 2 |
| Jack Why | Winger | South Sydney | 2 |
| Joe Doyle | Second row | Brothers (Toowoomba) | 1 |
| Frank O'Connor | Front row | South Sydney | 2 |
| Cliff Pearce | Centre | Western Suburbs | 3 |
| Les Mead | Halfback | Western Suburbs | 1 |
| Fred Laws | Halfback | Newtown (Toowoomba) | 1 |
| Ray Stehr | Front row | Eastern Suburbs | 2 |
| Frank McMillan (c) | Fullback | Western Suburbs | 2 |
| Mick Madsen | Front row | Brothers (Toowoomba) | 3 |
| Bill 'Circy' Smith | Fullback | Starlights (Ipswich) | 1 |
| Viv Thicknesse | Halfback | Eastern Suburbs | 2 |
| Frank Doonar | Rialto (Ipswich) | 0 | |
| Arthur Folwell | Hooker | Newtown | 2 |
| Fred Gilbert | Valleys (Toowoomba) | 0 | |
| Dan Dempsey | Hooker | Booval | 1 |
| Melville Glasheen | Estates (Townsville) | 0 | |
| Fred Neumann | Winger | Fortitude Valley | 0 |
| Frank Curran | Front row | South Sydney | 0 |
| Henry Denny | Forward | Westerb Suburbs (Brisbane) | 0 |
| Jack Little | Hooker | Fortitude Valley | 0 |
| Les Heidke | Second row | Tivoli | 0 |
| Ray Morris | Centre | University | 0 |
The journey
Les Heidke was suffering from leg ulcers before the squad left Sydney and Dan Dempsey was brought in to take his place. The Queenslanders in the squad all contributed ₤10 to enable Heidke to make the tour as a private citizen and to perhaps recover in time to play. Heidke sailed with the squad from Sydney on the SS Manduna bound for Melbourne where they boarded the SS Jervis Bay for England. At sea Heidke's condition did not improve and he was put off the ship in Perth and headed home.
Exhibition matches were played in Colombo, Sri Lanka and in Egypt. Sydney University centre Ray Morris contracted an ear infection at sea. In the Mediterranean his condition worsened and he was put off the ship in Malta and hospitalised in Valletta. Two days later he died of meningitis.[1]
1st Test
The Australian team enjoyed an eleven match winning streak on the tour matches leading into the first Test. For the first sixty-five minutes of the match there was no score in the muddy conditions, then English fullback Jim Sullivan proved the difference with two penalty goals.[3]
2nd Test
| Great Britain | 7-5 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Jack Woods Goals Jim Sullivan (2) |
Tries Dave Brown Goals Dave Brown |
3rd Test
| Great Britain | 19–14 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries Barney Hudson Jack Feetham Stan Smith Goals Jim Sullivan (5) |
Tries Vic Hey Wally Prigg Goals Dave Brown (5) |
In winning the match which was played in thick fog, England became the first team to post a 3–0 clean sweep in an Anglo-Australian Test series.
Matches of the tour
| N° | Opposing Team | F | A | Date | Venue | Attendance | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  St Helen's Recreation | 13 | 9 | Aug 26, 1933 | City Road, St Helens | 8,880 | Tour match |
| 2 | Leigh RLC | 16 | 7 | Aug 30, 1933 | Mather Lane, Leigh | 4,590 | Tour match |
| 3 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 20 | 0 | Sep 2, 1933 | Craven Park, Hull | 7,831 | Tour match |
| 4 | Bramley RLFC | 53 | 6 | Sep 6, 1933 | Barley Mow, Bramley | 1,902 | Tour match |
| 5 | Oldham Roughyeds | 38 | 6 | Sep 9, 1933 | The Watersheddings, Oldham | 15,281 | Tour match |
| 6 | Yorkshire | 13 | 0 | Sep 13, 1933 | Headingley Stadium, Leeds | 10,309 | Tour match |
| 7 | Barrow RLFC | 24 | 5 | Sep 16, 1933 | Craven Park (Barrow) | 12,221 | Tour match |
| 8 | Lancashire | 33 | 7 | Sep 20, 1933 | Wilderspool Stadium | 16,576 | Tour match |
| 9 | Wigan | 10 | 4 | Sep 23, 1933 | Central Park (Wigan) | 15,712 | Tour match |
| 10 | Castleford | 39 | 6 | Sep 27,1933 | Castleford | 4,250 | Tour match |
| 11 | Halifax RLFC | 16 | 5 | Sep 30,1933 | Thrum Hall, Halifax | 10,358 | Tour match |
| 12 | ENGLAND | 0 | 4 | Oct 7, 1933 | Belle Vue, Manchester | 34,000 | Test match |
| 13 | Bradford Northern | 7 | 5 | Oct 11, 1933 | Birch Lane, Bradford | 3,328 | Tour match |
| 14 | Warrington | 15 | 2 | Oct 14, 1933 | Wilderspool Stadium | 16,431 | Tour match |
| 15 | Hunslet FC | 22 | 18 | Oct 18, 1933 | Parkside, Hunslet | 6,227 | Tour match |
| 16 | Salford | 9 | 16 | Oct 21, 1933 | The Willows, Salford | 15,761 | Tour match |
| 17 | Widnes FC | 31 | 0 | Oct 26, 1933 | Lowerhouse Lane, Widnes | 6,691 | Tour match |
| 18 | Wakefield Trinity | 17 | 6 | Oct 28, 1933 | Belle Vue (Wakefield) | 5,596 | Tour match |
| 19 | Bradford Northern | 10 | 7 | Oct 30, 1933 | Birch Lane, Bradford | 3,328 | Tour match |
| 20 | English League | 5 | 7 | Nov 1, 1933 | Wigginton Road Cricket Ground York | 3,158 | Tour match |
| 21 | Swinton | 4 | 10 | Nov 4, 1933 | Station Road, Swinton | 13,341 | Tour match |
| 22 | ENGLAND | 5 | 7 | Nov 11, 1933 | Headingley, Leeds | 29,618 | Test match |
| 23 | Keighley Cougars | 14 | 7 | Nov 14, 1933 | Lawkholme Lane, Bradford | 3,800 | Tour match |
| 24 | Huddersfield FC | 13 | 5 | Nov 18, 1933 | Fartown Ground, Huddersfield | 7,522 | Tour match |
| 25 | London Highfield | 20 | 75 | Nov 22, 1933 | White City Stadium | 10,541 | Tour match |
| 26 | Broughton Rangers | 19 | 0 | Nov 25, 1933 | Belle Vue, Manchester | 5,527 | Tour match |
| 27 | Leeds | 15 | 7 | Nov 29, 1933 | Headingley, Leeds | 5,295 | Tour match |
| 28 | St Helens RLFC | 20 | 11 | Dec 2, 1933 | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 5,735 | Tour match |
| 29 | Rochdale Hornets | 26 | 4 | Dec 5, 1933 | Athletic Grounds, Rochdale | 3,603 | Tour match |
| 30 | Cumberland | 16 | 17 | Dec 9, 1933 | Recreation Ground (Whitehaven) | 5,800 | Tour match |
| 31 | ENGLAND | 16 | 19 | Dec 16, 1933 | Station Road, Swinton | 10,900 | Test match |
| 32 | York RLFC | 15 | 17 | Dec 23, 1933 | Wigginton Road Cricket Ground York | 6,500 | Tour match |
| 33 | Hull FC | 19 | 5 | Dec 25, 1933 | The Boulevard, Hull | 16,341 | Tour match |
| 34 |  Wales | 51 | 19 | Dec 30, 1933 | Wembley Stadium London | 10,000 | International |
| 35 | England | 63 | 13 | Dec 31, 1933 | Stade Pershing Paris | 5,000 | International |
Tour firsts
- The first Australian side to play a rugby exhibition match in Ceylon and Egypt.
- The first Australian side to play a match under lights.
- The first English side to win the Ashes in a clean sweep.
- The first rugby international to be played in France.
- Dave Brown's tour point-scoring record of 285 points (19 tries and 114 goals) remains unsurpassed.
Published sources
- Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
- Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
References
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