1958 Great Britain Lions tour
The 1958 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 11th tour of Australia and New Zealand and took place from May to November 1958. The Lions played 26 games on tour including the three test Ashes series against Australia and two tests against New Zealand.[1]
The Great Britain squad was coached by Jim Brough. The team captain was Alan Prescott from St Helens while Phil Jackson from Barrow was the tour vice-captain. The team managers were Mr B. Manson and Tom Mitchell.
The tour saw a record AU£78,417 in gate receipts with the Lions taking home a profit in excess of £40,000.
Touring squad
During the tour, players used numbers 1–26 in alphabetical order.
Australian leg
Test venues
The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. As per normal to maximise the gate, two tests were played at the 70,000 capacity Sydney Cricket Ground.
| Sydney | Brisbane |
|---|---|
| Sydney Cricket Ground | Brisbane Exhibition Ground |
| Capacity: 70,000 | Capacity: 35,000 |
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| 18 May | Southern Districts  |
18–36 |  |
Wollongong Showground, Wollongong | |
| 21 May | Western Districts  |
24–24 | |
Wade Park, Orange | |
| 24 May | Newcastle  |
16–35 | |
Newcastle Sportsground, Newcastle | |
| Attendance: 21,126 |
| 28 May | Northern NSW  |
17–27 | |
Scully Park, Tamworth | |
| 31 May | Sydney  |
15–20 | |
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
| Attendance: 48,692 Referee: Darcy Lawler |
| 4 June | Riverina  |
10–29 | |
Leeton | |
| Attendance: 6,000 |
| 7 June | New South Wales  |
10–19 | |
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
| Attendance: 52,963 Referee: Col Pearce |
The final match before the first Test was often viewed by the home side as a chance to soften up the tourists and that was certainly the case in a violent clash which saw four players dismissed by referee Col Pearce – Vince Karalius (Great Britain); Greg Hawick, Rex Mossop and Peter Dimond (NSW).
The Ashes
The three Ashes series tests drew an aggregate attendance of 171,060.
1st Test
Saturday 14 June |
Australia  |
25–8 |  |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Brian Carlson Ross Kite Rex Mossop Kel O'Shea Norm Provan Goals: Gordon Clifford (5) |
[2] | Tries: Dave Bolton Ike Southward Goals: Ike Southward (1) |
         Australia
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  Great Britain
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After going through the tour undefeated before the test, the Lions ran into a hungry Australian side who led 10–0 after just 10 minutes and led 18–0 at halftime in front of 68,777 fans at the SCG.
| 16 June | Brisbane  |
29–34 | |
Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane | |
Referee: Jack Casey |
| 21 June | Queensland  |
29–34 | |
Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane | |
Man of the Match: Brian Davies |
| 22 June | Central Division  |
19–61 | |
Browne Park, Rockhampton | |
| 26 June | Wide Bay  |
25–50 | |
Bundaberg | |
| 28 June | Far North Queensland  |
8–78 | |
Cairns | |
| 28 June | North Queensland  |
17–78 | |
Townsville | |
Lions test fullback Eric Fraser kicked 15 goals from 18 attempts in the match. Dick Huddart crossed for 4 tries while Eric Ashton and Mick Martyn each scored 3 tries.
2nd Test
Saturday 5 July |
| Australia |
18–25 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Brian Carlson Peter Dimond Keith Holman Bill Marsh Goals: Gordon Clifford (3) |
[3] | Tries: Ike Southward (2) Jim Challinor Alex Murphy Mick Sullivan Goals: Eric Fraser (5) |
Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane Attendance: 33,563 Referee: Darcy Lawler Man of the Match: Alex Murphy |
Australia
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Great Britain
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Inspired by captain Alan Prescott who played on until the end despite breaking his right arm in just the 3rd minute of the game, Great Britain leveled the series at 1–all with a 25–18 win over Australia in Brisbane. The injury ended Prescott's tour as a player. At half time, Prescott was offered a pain killing enjection but refused, telling team manager Tom Mitchell "I just can’t got off, Tom. We would be two men short. We have got to win, so I had better help the boys". Great Britain also lost Dave Bolton with a broken collar bone after just 17 minutes.
With Vince Karalius and Brian McTigue providing the muscle and teenage scrum-half Alex Murphy providing the class, the Lions had the measure of Australia this day.
| 9 July | Toowoomba  |
19–36 | |
Toowoomba Athletic Oval, Cairns | |
| Attendance: 7,500 |
| 13 July | NSW North Coast |
15–56 | |
Oakes Oval, Lismore | |
| Attendance: 5,541 |
3rd Test
Former Australian captain Ken Kearney played his 31st and last test.
Saturday 19 July |
| Australia |
17–40 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Greg Hawick Keith Holman Norm Provan Goals: Gordon Clifford (4) |
[4] | Tries: Mick Sullivan (3) Alan Davies Alex Murphy Ike Southward Abe Terry Johnny Whiteley Goals: Eric Fraser (8) |
Australia
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Great Britain
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Great Britain wrapped up The Ashes with a comprehensive 40–17 win over Australia in front of another 68,000+ crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground. As he had done in the second test in Brisbane, 19 year old St Helens scrum-half Alex Murphy tormented the home side and was awarded the Man of the Match. Following the game, Lions players chaired injured captain Alan Prescott (carrying The Ashes cup) on a lap of honour of the ground.
The following matches took place after the New Zealand leg of the tour.
| 14 August | Representative Colts |
v | |
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney | |
In this game against the NSWRFL's Representative Colts (U/21), future Australian captain Reg Gasnier played his first game against Great Britain.
| 17 August | Coalfields | v | |
Maitland Showground, Maitland | |
| 23 August | Western Australia  |
v | |
Claremont Showgrounds, Perth | |
New Zealand
1st Test
Saturday 26 July |
New Zealand  |
15–10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Rex Percy (2) Tom Hadfield Goals: Cyril Eastlake (3) |
[5] | Tries: Phil Jackson Mick Sullivan Goals: Eric Fraser (2) |
    New Zealand
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Great Britain
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Just a week after their Ashes triumph over Australia, Great Britain were brought back down to earth by a committed New Zealand side 15–10 at Carlaw Park in Auckland.
2nd Test
Saturday 9 August |
| New Zealand |
15–32 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Tom Hadfield Rex Percy Keith Roberts Goals: Cyril Eastlake (3) |
[6] | Tries: Mick Sullivan (3) Eric Ashton (2) Alex Murphy Goals: Eric Fraser (7) |
New Zealand
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Great Britain
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With Alex Murphy returning from injury, Great Britain outclassed New Zealand 32–15 in front of 25,000 at Carlaw Park.
References
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