1988 Great Britain Lions tour

The 1988 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 18th tour of Australasia and took place from May to July 1988. It started with a Test match against Papua New Guinea before the best-of-three series against Australia for the Ashes title, and finally a Test against New Zealand. Some of these matches counted toward the ongoing 1985–1988 World Cup tournament. An additional 13 matches were played against local club and representative sides from each host nation.

Background

The tour took place after Britain's 1987–88 Rugby Football League season. A 16-man British press party - the largest ever - accompanied the team through Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.^[1]

Touring squad

Malcolm Reilly was the British team's coach. His assistant coach was Phil Larder. The tour manager was Les Bettinson. The touring side's captain was Ellery Hanley, who was signed by Sydney club the Balmain Tigers to play the remaining rounds of the 1988 NSWRFL season once his representative commitments were fulfilled.^[2] It was also announced during the tour that Kevin Ward would rejoin Manly-Warringah for the remainder of their season once the tour was completed.^[3]

Des Drummond was left out of the touring squad after defending himself from a spectator who rushed onto the pitch shouting racial abuse.^[4] Andy Currier had to be flown out during the Ashes to cover for the injured Garry Schofield.

Name	Position	Club	Date of birth	Home Nation	Tests
Beardmore, KevinKevin Beardmore	Forward	Castleford	1960	England	4
Case, BrianBrian Case	Forward	Wigan		England	2
Crooks, LeeLee Crooks	Forward	Hull	(1963-09-18)18 September 1963	England
Dixon, PaulPaul Dixon	Forward	Halifax	(1962-10-28)28 October 1962	England
Edwards, ShaunShaun Edwards	Half	Wigan	(1966-10-17)17 October 1966	England
Eyres, RichardRichard Eyres	Forward	Widnes	(1966-12-07)7 December 1966	England
Fairbank, KarlKarl Fairbank	Forward	Bradford	(1963-06-01)1 June 1963	England
Ford, PhilPhil Ford	Back	Bradford	(1961-03-16)16 March 1961	Wales
Gibson, CarlCarl Gibson	Three-quarter back	Leeds	(1963-04-23)23 April 1963	England
Gill, HendersonHenderson Gill	Wing	Wigan	(1961-01-16)16 January 1961	England
Gregory, AndyAndy Gregory	Half	Wigan	(1961-08-10)10 August 1961	England
Gregory, MikeMike Gregory	Forward	Warrington	(1964-05-20)20 May 1964	England
Groves, PaulPaul Groves	Forward	St Helens	(1965-05-27)27 May 1965	England
Haggerty, RoyRoy Haggerty	Back	St Helens		England
Hampson, SteveSteve Hampson	Back	Wigan	(1961-08-14)14 August 1961	England
Hanley, ElleryEllery Hanley (c)	Utility	Wigan	(1961-03-27)27 March 1961	England
Hulme, DavidDavid Hulme	Half	Widnes	(1964-02-06)6 February 1964	England
Hulme, PaulPaul Hulme	Forward	Widnes	(1966-04-19)19 April 1966	England
Loughlin, PaulPaul Loughlin	Back	St Helens	(1966-07-28)28 July 1966	England	5
Lydon, JoeJoe Lydon	Back	Wigan	(1963-11-26)26 November 1963	England
Medley, PaulPaul Medley	Forward	Leeds	(1966-09-21)21 September 1966	England
Offiah, MartinMartin Offiah	Wing	Widnes	(1966-12-29)29 December 1966	England
Powell, RoyRoy Powell	Forward	Leeds	(1965-04-30)30 April 1965	England
Platt, AndyAndy Platt	Forward	St Helens	(1963-10-09)9 October 1963	England
Schofield, GarryGarry Schofield	Back	Leeds	(1965-07-01)1 July 1965	England
Stephenson, DavidDavid Stephenson	Back	Leeds		England
Waddell, HughHugh Waddell	Forward	Oldham	(1958-11-13)13 November 1958	England
Ward, KevinKevin Ward	Forward	Castleford	(1957-08-05)5 August 1957	England
Wilkinson, IanIan Wilkinson	Back	Leeds	(1960-12-03)3 December 1960	England
Wright, DarrenDarren Wright	Back	Widnes	(1968-01-17)17 January 1968	England

Papua New Guinea

The Lions played only two games in Papua New Guinea, winning both of them.

Papua New Guinea	Posit.	Great Britain
Dairi Kovae	FB	Paul Loughlin
Kepi Saea	WG	Phil Ford
Mea Morea	CE	Garry Schofield
Bal Numapo (c)	CE	David Stephenson
Arnold Krewanty	WG	Henderson Gill
Darius Haili	SO	Shaun Edwards
Tony Kila	SH	Andy Gregory
Isaac Rop	PR	Kevin Ward
Michael Matmillo	HK	Kevin Beardmore
Yer Bom	PR	Brian Case
Mathias Kombra	SR	Paul Medley
Tuiyo Evei	SR	Mike Gregory
Haoda Kouoru	LF	Ellery Hanley (c)
Thomas Rombuk	Res.	David Hulme
Ngala Lapan	Res.	Paul Dixon
Barry Wilson	Coach	Mal Reilly

The result of this match counted towards the 1985–1988 World Cup tournament, the final of which was to be played later in the year. The first Test of the tour was played in 38 degree heat with fans clustered in trees and clinging to lights around the ground.^[6] 21-year-old Shaun Edwards, the youngest member of the touring party, damaged his knee after six minutes of the match and it was feared that he would miss the rest of the tour.^[7] By half time Great Britain were leading 28 - 6. Garry Schofield scored his 17th try in 18 Test matches for Great Britain, and captain Ellery Hanley made three try-saving tackles.^[8]

After the match Edwards was flown to Sydney to undergo surgery on his knee's cartilage due to the injury he sustained while playing in this match.^[7]

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Australia

The Australian leg of the tour took place in the midst of the 1988 NSWRFL season as well as the 1988 State of Origin series. In 1988 Australia was also celebrating its national bicentenary.^[10] The tour's itinerary, which involved short periods between matches, making it tough for the visitors, was designed by the Australian Rugby League but agreed to by the British.^[11]

The Ashes series attracted just 67,554 to the three tests, with the dead rubber third game attracting just 15,944 to the Sydney Football Stadium. The second Ashes test against Australia at Lang Park in Brisbane drew the tours highest attendance of 27,130. The total Ashes series attendance was 7,926 less than had attended the 1984 series played in Australia and was 34,006 less than the record breaking series played in England during the 1986 Kangaroo Tour. It was also easily the lowest ever attended Ashes series played in Australia.

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The country side, captained by former NSW, South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs Five-eighth Rocky Laurie, gave the tourists their first defeat. Also playing for Northern Division was future NSWRL Rothmans Medal winner, Moree Boomerangs Halfback Ewan McGrady who crossed for two tries. The game became known as "Black Sunday" for the Lions.

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Although facing the Lions mid-week side (which included test players Andy Platt, Martin Offiah, Phil Ford, Carl Gibson, David Hulme and Roy Powell), Manly went into the game missing regular first grade players Paul Vautin, Michael O'Connor, Phil Daley (Australian test players rested before the first test four days later), Dale Shearer, David Ronson and Mal Cochrane. In the absence of Vautin, the defending Winfield Cup premiers were captained by 1986 Kangaroo Tourist and 10 test veteran Noel Cleal who had a point to prove after being a shock omission from the Australian test team despite NSW's dismal form in the State of Origin series. In front of a vocal Brookvale Oval crowd of 21,131 (the 3rd largest attendance, including tests, of the tour), the makeshift Sea Eagles side put the tourists to the sword, running out five tries to nil winners. Manly's teenage halfback Geoff Toovey capped a man of the match performance scoring one of his sides tries. The match saw the first time that former test rivals and team mates in Manly's 1972 and 1973 premierships Bob Fulton (Manly) and Mal Reilly (Great Britain) would coach against each other.

The game was refereed by Frenchman Francis Desplas who would be the referee for all three tests of the Ashes series. Although not playing the game, Mal Reilly allowed Lions prop forward Kevin Ward who had played in Manly's 1987 Grand Final winning team, to take the toss of the coin in front of his 'home' fans despite Andy Platt captaining the side.

Manly-Warringah: Tim Dwyer, Stuart Davis, Joe Ropati, Darrell Williams, Greg Austin, Cliff Lyons, Geoff Toovey, Ian Gately, Charlie Haggett, Mark Brokenshire, Mark Pocock, Noel Cleal (c), Des Hasler. Res - Paul Shaw, Glenn Ryan.

Great Britain: Phil Ford, Carl Gibson, Ian Wilkinson, Darren Wright, Martin Offiah, David Stephenson, David Hulme, Hugh Waddell, Paul Groves, Roy Powell, Karl Fairbank, Paul Medley, Andy Platt (c). Res - Roy Haggerty, Lee Crooks.

1st Ashes Test

The Ashes series was styled the 'Winfield Test series' due to sponsorship from Winfield cigarettes. The first game was the 100th rugby league test between the two sides. Andrew Ettingshausen, Peter Jackson, Tony Currie, Sam Backo and Phil Daley were selected to make their Test match debuts for Australia.^[15] The absence of several of Great Britain's Test stars meant that several members of their team were playing out of position.^[16]

Following heavy losses to Northern Division and Manly-Warringah in their two games immediately prior to the first test, one unnamed ARL official allegedly remarked that trying to promote a test series with the Great Britain side was like trying to flog a dead horse. Indeed this was reflected when only 24,480 attended the first test at the Sydney Football Stadium, with the dead rubber third test at the venue only attracting 15,944 fans, the lowest ever test attendance between the two teams in Sydney.

Australia	Posit.	Great Britain
Garry Jack	FB	Paul Loughlin
Andrew Ettingshausen	WG	Phil Ford
Michael O'Connor	CE	Garry Schofield
Peter Jackson	CE	David Stephenson
Tony Currie	WG	Martin Offiah
Wally Lewis (c)	SO	David Hulme
Peter Sterling	SH	Andy Gregory
Phil Daley	PR	Andy Platt
Greg Conescu	HK	Kevin Ward
Sam Backo	PR	Kevin Beardmore
Wally Fullerton-Smith	SR	Paul Dixon
Paul Vautin	SR	Mike Gregory
Bob Lindner	LF	Ellery Hanley (c)
Gary Belcher	Res.	Henderson Gill
Steve Folkes	Res.	Roy Powell
Don Furner	Coach	Malcolm Reilly

Following a high tackle on British hooker Kevin Beardmore by Australian front rower Phil Daley, Great Britain put the first points on the board with Paul Loughlin's penalty kick from 40 metres out.^[17] The first try also went to the visitors with Ellery Hanley beating several defenders to score in the corner. Great Britain looked the better team in the first half and were leading 6 - 0 at the break.^[18]

After six minutes of the second-half Sam Backo ran on to a Peter Sterling pass to score Australia's first try, although there was doubt around the ball's grounding.^[19] Peter Jackson scored two tries over 11 minutes to give Australia victory. In between these two tries Wally Lewis kicked a field goal.^[17]

John MacDonald of the The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the tourists were not only competitive, but a little unlucky, and that the 17-6 score did not reflect how close they came to winning. He also leveled heavy criticism at the refereeing performance of Francois Desplas, who could not speak English.^[20] As man-of-the-match, British forward Kevin Ward received $1,000.^[20]

Great Britain's second-row forward Andy Platt received an injury to his left arm that was expected to see him sidelined for the next two weeks.^[21]

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In the 20th minute of the match British centre Garry Schofield was assisted from the field with a fractured jaw bone.^[22]

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British prop Lee Crooks injured his shoulder in this match putting him in doubt for the remainder of the Ashes series. Winning the scrums 11-2, Great Britain had a wealth of possession and exploited it ruthlessly. The Capras' only try came from Black Water Devils second-rower Marshall Leisha during the last ten minutes.^[23]

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2nd Ashes Test

Match commentary provided by Darryl Eastlake.

Australia	Posit.	Great Britain
Garry Jack	FB	Paul Loughlin
Tony Currie	WG	Henderson Gill
Peter Jackson	CE	Phil Ford
Michael O'Connor	CE	Ellery Hanley (c)
Andrew Ettingshausen	WG	Martin Offiah
Wally Lewis (c)	SO	David Hulme
Peter Sterling	SH	Andy Gregory
Phil Daley	PR	Kevin Ward
Greg Conescu	HK	Kevin Beardmore
Sam Backo	PR	Roy Powell
Wally Fullerton Smith	SR	Paul Dixon
Paul Vautin	SR	Andy Platt
Wayne Pearce	LF	Mike Gregory
Gary Belcher	Res.	Darren Wright
Bob Lindner	Res.	Paul Hulme
Don Furner	Coach	Mal Reilly

On Lang Park's electronic scoreboard the message "Bullfrog - shame our favourite No 7 isn't here" was displayed in a reference to Queensland halfback Allan Langer being overlooked for selection by Kangaroos team manager Peter Moore in favour of Peter Sterling.^[24]

The tourists got first points with a penalty kick. After playing the ball three quarters of the way towards Great Britain's line Australians moved the ball through the hands out to left centre Michael O'Connor who broke through the defence and scored the first try. Australia's next try came in the twentieth minute when Wally Lewis chip kicked the ball ahead for himself, re-gathered it and passed it Peter Jackson who crossed untouched and scored behind the uprights.^[25] O'Connor successfully converted his try taking the score to 14-4 in favour of the hosts. After playing the ball around mid field the Australians kept the ball alive with a total of nine passes, the last of which was to Andrew Ettingshausen on the right wing who beat Martin Offiah to dive over in the corner. O'Connor's conversion attempt hit the upright so the half time score remained at 18-4.^[24]

After the break Great Britain were playing the ball within their own half of the field when Ellery Hanley got it at first receiver and ran himself, splitting the defence and racing into Australia's half where he passed to Ford who ran the remaining forty metres to score beneath the uprights. Sam Backo then scored a close range try, running from dummy-half and forcing his way over the line. Again playing the ball close to Great Britain's line Australia scored from dummy half once more when Wayne Pearce dived over. Playing the ball just inside Great Britain's half the Australians continued up-field, evading tacklers and passing to support players, the last of whom was Wally Lewis who ran the remaining metres to score untouched. Five minutes from full-time Andy Gregory was sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes- effectively for the remainder of the game - after another high tackle on Ettingshausen.^[24]

By winning this match Australia successfully defended their Ashes title. The Poms' excessive aggression was seen as costing them the match.^[26] Criticism of French referee Desplas also continued.^[27]

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With Great Britain leading 26-10 with 20 minutes to go, the local forwards rallied strongly to give the Lions a fright.^[28]

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The Australian invitational side also featured Phil Blake, Mario Fenech (captain), David Trewhella, Gavin Miller, Greg Florimo. Britain's prop Kevin Ward made a return in this match. The home side led 14-2 after 22 minutes but the tourists brought it back to 18-16 in the increasingly muddy conditions.^[29]

3rd Ashes Test

This match also counted toward the result of the 1985–1988 World Cup tournament. Australia were considered favourites, having won the past fifteen consecutive test matches.^[26] Great Britain's chances were also lessened by the squad missing the likes of Shaun Edwards, Kevin Beardmore, Steve Hampson, Andy Platt, Garry Schofield, Joe Lydon, Lee Crooks and Andy Goodway for one reason or another, and some players taking to the field not fully fit. It was the debut of Paul Hulme and Hugh Waddell in the front row.^[30] The match was broadcast by the Nine network with commentary from Darryl Eastlake and Jack Gibson.

Australia	Position	Great Britain
Garry Jack	1. FB	Phil Ford
Andrew Ettingshausen	2. WG	Henderson Gill
Michael O'Connor	3. CE	David Stephenson
Peter Jackson	4. CE	Paul Loughlin
Tony Currie	5. WG	Martin Offiah
Wally Lewis (c)	6. FE/SO	David Hulme
Peter Sterling	7. HB/SH	Andy Gregory
Martin Bella	8. PR	Kevin Ward
Greg Conescu	9. HK	Paul Hulme
Sam Backo	10. PR	Hugh Waddell
Wally Fullerton Smith	11. SR	Mike Gregory
Paul Vautin	12. SR	Roy Powell
Wayne Pearce	13. LF	Ellery Hanley (c)
Gary Belcher	14. Res.	Brian Case
Bob Lindner	15. Res.	Darren Wright
Don Furner	Coach	Malcolm Reilly

Early in the match Great Britain were disallowed a try when Henderson Gill dived onto an Andy Gregory bomb which was not secured by the Australian fullback.^[31] The Kangaroos then had chances to score at the other end of the field, but the British defence held strong. The first try of the match would go to the visitors when, playing the ball inside Australia's twenty-two, they strung some passes together, getting the ball out to Martin Offiah who dove over the line on the right wing. The conversion attempt was missed so the score was 0 - 4 with over three quarters of the match still to be played.^[32] A few minutes later Great Britain were again on the attack in Australia's territory and keeping the ball alive, their scrum half back Andy Gregory darting about elusively before passing it to Ford who stepped and weaved his way amongst the defenders to dash through and score near the uprights. The conversion was successful, giving Great Britain a 0-10 lead. Shortly before half-time Australia suffered a major setback when their halfback Peter Sterling was forced off with a dislocated shoulder after being driven into the turf in a tackle by Roy Powell.^[26] No more points were scored in the first half, so this was the score at the break.

Australia scored first in the second half after winning a scrum against the feed within Great Britain's twenty-two. Working the ball up close to the uprights, their captain Wally Lewis got it at first receiver and ran it into the defence, wrestling his way through to the tryline where he reached out and put it down beneath the black dot. The try was successfully converted, so the score was 6 - 10 in favour of the Lions. Great Britain then extended their lead after working the ball up into an attacking position where Andy Gregory chipped it ahead. In the rush of chasers from both sides trying to reach the ball it was knocked ahead into the in-goal area where Henderson Gill dived on it. The kick was successful so the British were leading 6-16.^[33] Again the Britons' failure to win a scrum in their own territory afforded Australia another opportunity, with forward Sam Backo crashing over the line shortly after from close range. The successful kick brought the Kangaroos back to within an unconverted try at 12-16. The Lions struck again from deep within their own half where centre Paul Loughlin got the ball at first receiver, ran through the defensive line and crossed half-way before passing to Henderson Gill in support on his outside to dive over on the right wing. The conversion attempt was missed, so the British lead was 12-20. Then they scored another long range try while working the ball away from their own line, Andy Gregory making a dart from dummy half, catching the markers napping and getting into open space. He then found Mike Gregory in support who ran about seventy metres to dive over under the posts.^[32] The easy kick meant a 26 - 12 lead for Great Britain and this is where the scoreboard remained at full-time.

This was the end of a 15-match winning streak for the Australians,^[34] and Great Britain's first Test victory over the Kangaroos since their 18-14 win at Odsal during the 1978 Kangaroo tour, as well as their first win in Australia for 18 years. It also put Great Britain on top of the World Cup points table.^[35]

After the match there was a gala dinner at the Regent Hotel.^[36]

New Zealand

The Lions lost all three of their matches in New Zealand.

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The result of this match would determine who would contest the final of the 1985–1988 World Cup tournament's final to be played later in the year. Commentary was provided by England's Ray French.

New Zealand	Posit.	Great Britain
Darrell Williams	1. FB	Phil Ford
Shane Horo	2. WG	Henderson Gill
Dean Bell (c)	3. CE	David Stephenson
Kevin Iro	4. CE	Paul Loughlin
Gary Mercer	5. WG	Martin Offiah
Shane Cooper	6. SO	David Hulme
Clayton Friend	7. SH	Andy Gregory
Peter Brown	8. PR	Kevin Ward
Wayne Wallace	9. HK	Kevin Beardmore
Adrian Shelford	10. PR	Hugh Waddell
Mark Graham	11. SR	Mike Gregory
Sam Stewart	12. SR	Roy Powell
Mark Horo	13.LF	Ellery Hanley (c)
Gary Freeman	14. Res.	Paul Hulme
Anthony Gordon	Coach	Malcolm Reilly

It was a rainy afternoon in Christchurch. Following the national anthems "God Save the Queen" and "God Defend New Zealand", and a haka by the Kiwis, Great Britain kicked off. In slippery conditions New Zealand knocked during the first set of six. This resulted in a scrum to the visitors deep inside the Kiwis' territory. From the scrum win the ball was moved out to the left where a pass was knocked down by a New Zealand defender but re-gathered by British centre Paul Laughlin who dived over the line. The referee awarded the try which Louglin failed to convert, so Great Britain got out to an early 4 nil lead. A few minutes later a penalty was awarded to the Lions but Loughlin's kick was again wide. Shortly after that New Zealand were awarded a penalty and Peter Brown kicked it successfully, bringing the margin back to two points at 2 - 4.

Great Britain captain Ellery Hanley sustained a cut under his eye during the match which required 12 stitches.^[37]

References

Great Britain Lions tours 1910 1914 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1979 1984 1988 1990 1992 1996

Rugby league Ashes 1908–09 1910 1911-12 1914 1920 1921-22 1924 1928 1929–30 1932 1933 1936 1937 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1959 1962 1963 1966 1967 1970 1973 1974 1978 1979 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 2001 2003 Related Kangaroo tour Australia national rugby league team Australasia rugby league team Great Britain national rugby league team