The 1990 Kangaroo Tour was the seventeenth Kangaroo Tour, where the Australian national rugby league team (known as the XXXX Kangaroos due to sponsorship reasons) travelled to Europe and played eighteen matches against British and French club and representative rugby league teams, in addition to three Test matches against Great Britain and two Tests against the French. It followed the tour of 1986 and the next was staged in 1994.
This series was the closest the British team came to reclaiming The Ashes since last winning in Australia in 1970. Great Britain won the first Test at Wembley Stadium and in the second Test at Old Trafford in Manchester the match was tied at 10-all until the final minutes when Australia scored a late try to win the game. Australia then went on to easily win the third and deciding Test and retain The Ashes. Australia won both Test series against Great Britain and France, suffering one loss (against Great Britain in the first Test), and remaining undefeated in tour matches against British clubs in a streak stretching back to midway through the 1978 tour.
The 17th Kangaroo tour was televised back to Australia on the Ten Network with commentary provided by Graeme Hughes and David Morrow. Also joining the commentary team at various stages, including the second Ashes Test at Old Trafford, were then Manly-Warringah coach and former New Zealand national rugby league team coach Graham Lowe, and the captain of 1986 Kangaroos, Wally Lewis. The Channel 10 coverage was sponsored by Just Jeans. The ABC televised the tests against France with Warren Boland providing commentary.
The team was coached by Bob Fulton making his third Kangaroo Tour, though his first as coach (Fulton had captained the Kangaroos on his previous tour as a player in 1978). Mal Meninga was making a record third consecutive tour and his first as captain, while NSW captain Benny Elias (making his second tour) was named as the tours vice-captain. As per custom, the Australian Rugby League appointed two tour managers, one each from the Queensland and New South Wales rugby leagues. Former Kangaroo captain Keith Barnes was team manager from NSW, while Les Stokes was the manager from Qld.
Other staff included trainers Shaun McRae (who also acted as Fulton's assistant coach), Brian "The Sheriff" Hollis, and World Champion boxing trainer Johnny Lewis as team conditioner. Manly-Warringah club doctor Nathan Gibbs, a former South Sydney and Parramatta forward who had retired from playing in 1984 to concentrate on his medical studies, was team doctor. Gibbs made the controversial decision during the selection medicals to rule Kangaroo stalwart and likely captain Wally Lewis unfit for the tour and thus unable to make a third consecutive tour alongside Meninga.
The touring side was represented by 18 New South Welshmen (N) and 10 Queenslanders (Q).
Mal Meninga was making his third Kangaroo Tour having also toured in 1982 and 1986. Greg Alexander, Gary Belcher, Martin Bella, Ben Elias, Des Hasler, Bob Lindner, Steve Roach, Dale Shearer and Paul Sironen were all 1986 tourists. For the rest of the squad it was their first ever Kangaroo Tour.
The Kangaroos went away with four club halfbacks in the squad. Test incumbent Allan Langer; Canberra's former Wallaby and dual premiership winning half Ricky Stuart; and former test halfbacks Des Hasler and Greg Alexander – though Hasler's ability to play almost anywhere in the backline as well as the back row, saw him as the team's utility player while Alexander would play most of the tour as backup fullback to Gary Belcher, with two games on the wing : one against Widnes, the final tour game on the English leg; the other the second Test against France, the final game of the tour (he had also played most of the game against Castleford on the wing after replacing the injured Mark McGaw). Like Terry Lamb in 1986, Alexander was selected for every game on the tour, though unlike Lamb he did not appear in each game after not getting off the bench in the Wigan game or in the second Ashes Test.
1990 was the first Kangaroo Tour to Great Britain and France where the entire playing party came from the NSWRL Premiership and since the 1988 introduction of the Gold Coast Chargers, Brisbane Broncos and Newcastle Knights expanding the competition to 16 clubs with 5 Queensland players coming from Brisbane Broncos, 2 from Canberra Raiders, 1 from Manly Sea Eagles and 1 from Western Suburbs Magpies and from the Newcastle district of Northern NSW 1 from Newcastle Knights.
The Ashes series against Great Britain saw a record aggregate crowd of 133,684 attending the Test series, easily beating the previous record of 114,883 set during the 1948–49 Kangaroo tour and was some 66,130 more than had attended the 1988 Ashes series in Australia. As with the 1982 and 1986 tours, the game against Wigan at Central Park drew the biggest club game attendance of the Kangaroo Tour with a crowd of 24,814.
The tour took place during the 1990–91 Rugby Football League season. [1] [2] Bradford Northern were left off the tour itinerary after being fined by the RFL for fielding what was virtually a reserve grade side against the touring New Zealand team in 1989.
Of the 13 games the Kangaroos played in England, four of the teams (Wigan, Warrington, Castleford and Hull) were coached by Australian's while one other (St Helens) was coached by a New Zealander.
The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues.
| London | Manchester | Leeds |
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| Wembley Stadium | Old Trafford | Elland Road |
| Capacity: 82,000 | Capacity: 50,000 | Capacity: 32,500 |
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| Sunday, 7 October | St. Helens  | 4–34 |  Australia | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | |
| Tries: Les Quirk Goals: Bernard Dwyer (0/1) Tea Ropati (0/2) | [3] | Tries: Andrew Ettingshausen (3), Mal Meninga (2), Kerrod Walters, Steve Roach, Michael Hancock Goals: Mal Meninga (1/6) Laurie Daley (0/1) Greg Alexander (0/1) | Attendance: 15,219 Referee: John Holdsworth Player of the Match: John Cartwright |
         St Helens |      Australia |
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Kangaroos skipper Mal Meninga, a crowd favourite at St Helens after playing with the club in 1984–85 and helping them to win the Premiership and Lancashire Cup, returned to Knowsley Road and scored two tries, including the opening try of the tour. Andrew Ettingshausen came into the side on the wing in place of Dale Shearer who was ruled out with a stomach muscle strain, and crossed for a hat-trick of tries. [4]
| Wednesday, 10 October | Wakefield Trinity  | 18–36 | Australia | Belle Vue, Wakefield | |
| Tries: Nick Du Toit, Andy Mason, Andrew Wilson Goals: Mark Conway (3/4) | [5] | Tries: Brad Fittler, Chris Johns, Glenn Lazarus, Mark Sargent, Ricky Stuart, Kevin Walters Goals: Greg Alexander (6/7) | Attendance: 7,724 Referee: Kevin Allatt Player of the Match: Glenn Lazarus |
    Wakefield Trinity | Australia |
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Referee Kevin Allatt sent 4 players off during this game and sin binned 3 others. Sent off were John Thompson (WT), Mark Carroll (Aus), Ricky Stuart (Aus) and David Gillespie (Aus) who was actually sent off for back chatting the referee after the game had finished. Billy Conway (WT), Des Hasler and Dale Shearer (Aus) were also sent to the sin-bin during the game. In a media interview after the game, Australian coach Bob Fulton said it was something like out of Fawlty Towers and that he couldn't believe that the referee lost control. Fulton also added that the referee had told him before the game that he was 48 years old, causing the Australian coach to think that he should have been home in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea rather than refereeing a professional game of football. [6]
In English club football at the time, players sent-off during a match were required to face the RFL judiciary, including those from touring international teams. All three Kangaroos, Carroll, Stuart and Gillespie, escaped suspension from the league who agreed that the send-offs were enough punishment under the circumstances.
Penrith's Brad Fittler, who was aged 18 years and 247 days on the day of the game and just 12 months earlier had been a member of the Australian Schoolboys side, played in the centres and officially became the youngest ever Kangaroo tourist.
| Sunday, 14 October | Wigan  | 6–34 | Australia | Central Park, Wigan | |
| Tries: Shaun Edwards Goals: Joe Lydon (1/1) | [7] | Tries: Andrew Ettingshausen (3), Michael Hancock, Gary Belcher, Brad Mackay, Allan Langer Goals: Mal Meninga (3/7) | Attendance: 24,814 Referee: Colin Morris Player of the Match: Gary Belcher |
    Wigan | Australia |
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The match against English power club Wigan was generally regarded as the Kangaroos "4th Test" in England. However, as the team had done a week earlier against St Helens, the Kangaroos won the match easily with Wigan's only score coming from a first half penalty try to Shaun Edwards who was illegally pulled down in a chase to the ball by Bob Lindner (had Edwards not been awarded the try it would have still been scored anyway as Wigan winger David Myers had beaten everyone to ground the ball in the in-goal). Joe Lydon converted and Wigan led 6–0, but from there the Kangaroos took control of the game. Two tries to Ettingshausen and singles to Michael Hancock and man of the match Gary Belcher saw the Kangaroos race to a 20–6 lead at half time. And hopes of a Wigan comeback were snuffed out early in the second half when Ettingshausen crossed for his second hat-trick of the tour in just two games. Further tries to Brad Mackay and Alfie Langer pushed the final score out to 34–6 (Australia's highest ever score against the Cherry and Whites) and only Mal Meninga's continued poor goal kicking (3/7 here to follow his 1/6 against St Helens) kept the score from being even greater. [8]
Other than the second Ashes Test where he didn't get off the bench during the game, this was the only game on tour that Greg Alexander did not take the field. He was the only one of the 4 man reserves bench not to be used by coach Fulton.
| Wednesday, 17 October | Cumbria  | 10–42 | Australia | Derwent Park, Workington | |
| Tries: Willie Richardson Goals: Graeme Cameron (1) Barry Vickers (1) Field Goals: Dean Marwood (2) | [9] | Tries: Dale Shearer (3), Cliff Lyons (2), Mark Carroll, Ben Elias, Mark Geyer Goals: Greg Alexander (5) | Attendance: 6,750 Referee: Jim Smith Player of the Match: Des Hasler |
 Cumbria | Australia |
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The match against Cumbria in Workington was the 1990 Kangaroos only game against an English county team and was played in light rain. Playing at lock forward, Des Hasler was the official Man of the Match while Dale Shearer signaled his intentions with a hat trick of tries. For the Cumbrians, Barrow halfback and team captain Dean Marwood was their best player using a clever kicking game to continually turn the Kangaroos defence around.
| Sunday, 21 October | Leeds  | 10–22 | Australia | Headingley, Leeds | |
| Tries: John Gallagher, Paul Dixon Goals: Simon Irving (1/2) | [10] | Tries: Paul Sironen (2), Bob Lindner, Mal Meninga Goals: Mal Meninga (3/5) | Attendance: 16,037 Referee: Ray Tennant Player of the Match: Paul Sironen |
    Leeds | Australia |
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During the game against Leeds at Headingley, the home side led the Kangaroos 10–6 at half time thanks to tries from former All Blacks fullback John Gallagher and Great Britain forward Paul Dixon who was awarded a try after what appeared to be a Leeds knock-on. This was the first time since Hull F.C. led the Kangaroos 7–0 at The Boulevard during game 12 of the 1982 Kangaroo tour that a British team (club, county or test) had led the tourists at half time of a match. An all-in brawl in the first half left Australian five-eight Laurie Daley with a broken bone in his right hand leaving him in doubt for the upcoming first test at Wembley Stadium
After heavy criticism of French referee Alain Sablayrolles (who could not speak English), this would be the final time an Ashes series was refereed by a Frenchman. From the 1992 series referees would be from either Australia, Britain or New Zealand.
In the first rugby league international played at Wembley for 17 years, Ellery Hanley inspired a stirring first Test win for the Lions in front of 54,569 fans, the largest ever Test attendance in England and breaking the record of 50,583 set at Old Trafford in the first Ashes Test of the 1990 Kangaroo tour. [11]
Lions coach Mal Reilly named the expected side, as did Bob Fulton. However, due to a broken hand suffered by Laurie Daley in the game against Leeds, Fulton elected to play Canberra Raiders halfback Ricky Stuart at Five-eighth in his test debut. Stuart's selection saw him become the 38th Australian dual-rugby international having previously played for The Wallabies (Australian rugby union team) during their 1987 tour of Argentina. Although not selected for the test, Kangaroos forward Mark Carroll suffered a knee injury during the team's first training session in London at the Crystal Palace ground, the home of London's only professional league club of the time Fulham. The injury required Carroll to undergo an arthroscopy which would see him not return to the field until the game against Hull F.C. three weeks later.
Saturday, 27 October |
Great Britain  | 19–12 |  Australia |
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| Tries: Paul Eastwood (2) Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (3/6) Field Goals: Garry Schofield (1) | [12] | Tries: Mal Meninga Mark McGaw Goals: Mal Meninga (2/4) |
Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 54,569 Referee: Alain Sablayrolles  Player of the Match: Garry Schofield  |
 Great Britain | Australia |
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Immediately after the kickoff, the Kangaroos got a taste of test football in England when Martin Bella received the ball for the first hit up. The Lions, knowing they were kicking off and that Australia were to handle the ball first, had coated the ball with petroleum jelly to make it extra slippery and Bella dropped the ball in the opening tackle (during the stop in play the British trainer came onto the field with a towel for Andy Gregory to wipe the jelly from the ball before he fed the scrum). Lions players also came in for criticism as a number were seen to have the jelly smeared on their legs to make them harder to tackle. The Lions soon opened the scoring after Bob Lindner had been tackled and had then played the ball forward. Sablayrolles ruled that Lindner had a marker and a nervous Paul Eastwood kicked a penalty goal that bounced in off the posts. Eastwood's next kick about 15 minutes later also hit the posts but this time bounced back into play, though luckily for Australia Lindner was in place to take the ball and prevent the Lions from scoring a try.
The Kangaroos were having difficulty with the French referee's interpretations (the penalty count would eventually favour the home side 17–7), but although the Lions enjoyed the bulk of possession, the Aussie's managed to weather the storm and at half time the score was locked at 2–all. Ellery Hanley and Garry Schofield's tactic of kicking over the Kangaroos defensive line rather than having their forwards trying to bash their way through it was proving to be a problem.
Despite a brilliant individual try in the second half to Mark McGaw after Steve Hampson and Carl Gibson had collided while attempting to tackle him, and a try to Mal Meninga, the Aussies were in trouble all day. The Lions, led by Hanley and Schofield were playing better than expected and after second half tries to Martin Offiah following a dropped bomb by Belcher in front of the posts (the Australian fullback had been hit in a perfectly timed tackle by Hanley who chased his own kick and caused Belcher to spill the ball straight into the arms of the waiting Offiah), a double to Eastwood who scored the winning try and a field goal by Schofield saw the Lions take a famous 19–12 win. After also winning the final game of the 1988 series in Sydney, this was Great Britain's second straight win over Australia and ended any hopes that the 1990 Tour would emulate the unbeaten 1982 and 1986 Kangaroo tours.
| Wednesday, 31 October | Warrington  | 6–26 | Australia | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | |
| Tries: Tony Thorniley Goals: David Lyon (1) | [13] | Tries: Brad Fittler, Brad Mackay, Mark Geyer, Michael Hancock, Mark Sargent Goals: Greg Alexander (3) | Attendance: 10,200 Referee: Dave Carter Player of the Match: Glenn Lazarus |
    Warrington | Australia |
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Despite this being a midweek match just four days after the test at Wembley, Mal Meninga played the game against Warrington at his own request. Former Great Britain captain Mike Gregory made his return from injury for the home side. The Aussies aura of invincibility had been broken by the first test loss at Wembley, giving hope to not only the Lions test side but also the rest of the club sides waiting to play the Kangaroos and the scoreline was generally believed to have flattered the Kangaroos. It wasn't until late in the game that they put it out of Warrington's reach.
| Sunday, 4 November | Castleford  | 8–28 | Australia | Wheldon Road, Castleford | |
| Tries: David Plange Goals: Lee Crooks (1/1) Graham Steadman (1/1) | [14] | Tries: Andrew Ettingshausen (2), Bob Lindner, Dale Shearer, Mal Meninga Goals: Mal Meninga (4/5) | Attendance: 9,033 Referee: Gerry Kershaw Player of the Match: Paul Sironen |
    Castleford | Australia |
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The Kangaroos played with the expected second test lineup. Dale Shearer had replaced Michael Hancock on the wing. Cliff Lyons came in at 5/8 with Ricky Stuart moved to halfback at the expense of Allan Langer who played this game from the bench (he came on to replace Stuart with only 8 minutes remaining). Glenn Lazarus replaced Martin Bella in the front row (Bella also played from the bench) while Brad Mackay came in at lock with Bob Lindner moved to the second row in place of John Cartwright (again on the bench). Mark McGaw's tour ended just 20 minutes into the game after rupturing the Medial ligament in his right knee. Unfortunately the injury occurred when his knee came into accidental contact with the head of Glenn Lazarus while the pair were tackling Castleford pivot Graham Steadman (who also banged his knee with McGaw's, though without injury). For his part, Lazarus required 17 stitches to bad gash above his left eye and would not take any further part, replaced by the man who had seemingly lost his place to the dual Canberra premiership winning prop, Martin Bella.
Midway through the second half, Castleford's Australian coach Darryl van der Velde defused a potentially volatile situation by replacing Lee Crooks who had begun to be involved in a number of flare-ups with Kangaroos front rower Steve Roach. Prior to coming off, veteran Crooks who had made his test debut for Great Britain as a teenager against the 1982 Kangaroos, was arguably Castleford's best player on the day. [15]
| Tuesday, 6 November | Halifax  | 18–36 | Australia | Thrum Hall, Halifax | |
| Tries: Rob Hutchinson (2), Greg Austin, Wilf George Goals: Steve Smith (1) | [16] | Tries: Chris Johns (2), Mark Geyer, Mark Sargent, Greg Alexander, Kevin Walters, Michael Hancock Goals: Greg Alexander (3) | Attendance: 8,730 Referee: Brian Galtress Player of the Match: Greg Alexander |
   Halifax | Australia |
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Halifax were the only 2nd Division team the Kangaroos faced in 1990 and were out to prove their worth. However, as per normal for the English club sides on the tour, after 15 minutes their intensity dropped and by halftime the Kangaroos had cruised to a 32–6 lead. With both Mal Meninga and Ben Elias not playing and expected to be named in the second test team, Bob Fulton handed the captaincy for the game to Allan Langer. Mark Geyer got the ball rolling with the opening try after Halifax fullback Steve Smith spilled a Greg Alexander bomb behind his posts. From there tries to Mark Sargent, Alexander, Kevin Walters and a double to Chris Johns saw the Kangaroos shoot away with Australian centre Greg Austin scoring the only try for the home side. In an unsavory incident, as he crossed for a try just after the half-time siren, Kevin Walters was hit on the head by a coin thrown from the crowd.
Halifax out-scored the Kangaroos 12–4 in the second half, aided no end by referee Brian Galtress who handed the home side some 10 penalties to just 2 to the Kangaroos in the half (Halifax won the penalty count 15–6 and according to media reports, Halifax coach Peter Roe was seen having harsh words with the referee at half time). Galtress also disallowed 3 seemingly fair tries to the Australians in the second half, including one to Dale Shearer who was ruled offside from a Kevin Walters kick although television replays indicated that Shearer had been about one metre behind Walters.
Soon after scoring Australia's last try of the night midway through the second half, test winger Michael Hancock suffered an ankle injury which forced him from the field. It would cost him what slim chance he had of keeping his place in the side for the upcoming second test with Brisbane teammate Dale Shearer ultimately re-claiming his place on the Australian test wing.
Bob Fulton made a number of changes from the first test loss at Wembley. Dale Shearer returned to the wing in place of Michael Hancock. A knee injury against Castleford when his knee had collided with the head of teammate Glenn Lazarus (who suffered a bad cut requiring 17 stitches) had ended centre Mark McGaw's tour with Laurie Daley returning to the test team to partner Meninga in the centres despite having a broken bone in his right hand. Cliff Lyons, who had won a premiership with Manly under Fulton in 1987, was called up to make his test debut with Ricky Stuart moving to halfback in place of Allan Langer. Others coming into the side were Benny Elias (hooker) for his first test since the 1988 World Cup final, Glenn Lazarus in the front row and playing in headgear to protect the stitches, while Brad Mackay come in at lock with Bob Lindner moving to the second row at the expense of John Cartwright who dropped to the bench. Mal Reilly stuck with much of the same side that had won the first test, though injury ruled out Bradford's Karl Fairbank with Leeds forward Roy Powell moved to the bench. Wigan's Andy Platt came into the team in the front row and Paul Dixon dropping back to his preferred second row.
Saturday, 10 November |
| Great Britain | 10–14 | Australia |
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| Tries: Paul Dixon Paul Loughlin Goals: Paul Eastwood (1/3) | [17] | Tries: Dale Shearer Cliff Lyons Mal Meninga Goals: Mal Meninga (1/4) |
Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance: 46,615 Referee: Alain Sablayrolles Player of the Match: Ben Elias |
Great Britain | Australia |
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After a tense opening during which neither side gained any clear ascendancy, Dale Shearer made a welcome return to test football when he opened the scoring with a try 18 minutes into the first half after good lead-up play by Lyons, Stuart and Daley had left the flyer with a 35-metre run to the line. Meninga missed the conversion and the only other score was a penalty goal to Lions winger Paul Eastwood after Paul Sironen was penalised for giving Denis Betts a 'facial' in a tackle to leave the score 4–2 in Australia's favour.
The Lions hit back early in the second half with a try to Dixon who broke through Shearer's tackle and was able to score after Mal Meninga and Gary Belcher had fallen off him when they collided with each other. Eastwood hooked the conversion attempt and the Lions led 6–4. Soon after Lions winger Martin Offiah went down with a leg injury and he was replaced by Paul Loughlin which saw Carl Gibson forced out to the wing.
Australia reclaimed the lead thanks to a brilliant team try to Cliff Lyons in his test debut. The ball passed through 12 sets of hands (with Lyons handling it 3 times in the movement) with the Kangaroos refusing to let the ball die before Stuart and Meninga got the ball to Andrew Ettingshausen who raced down the right wing and centre kicked for Lyons to regather and score beside the posts with Garry Schofield clinging to his waist, giving the Kangaroos a 10–6 lead after Meninga landed the conversion.
With just ten minutes left, Great Britain were poised to reclaim The Ashes after twenty years with an intercept try by replacement centre Loughlin late in the match. Ricky Stuart had aimed a pass to Meninga, but Loughlin (called a Giraffe by Bob Fulton) intercepted it on the half way and raced 50 metres to score, though he was kept out wide due to a converging Laurie Daley. After hooking his earlier conversion attempt from almost the same position, Eastwood then asked noted right foot goal kicker Loughlin if he wanted to take the kick, but the St. Helens centre declined. The Hull F.C. winger then sliced the pressure conversion attempt to the left of the posts. Had the kick been successful it would have given the Lions a 12–10 lead with time running out. [18]
However the match remained tied at 10–all and after a Garry Schofield touch finder with less than 3 minutes remaining, Great Britain had the Kangaroos pinned only 10 metres out from their own line. After struggling to make ground following the scrum win, on the 4th tackle Ricky Stuart dummied past an exhausted Lee Jackson and ran 75 metres downfield leaving Lions players (including Ellery Hanley) in his wake before passing to Mal Meninga in support (who legally shouldered Carl Gibson out of the way) to complete a length-of-the-field try that sealed the match for Australia and force the series into a decider. Meninga (who had admitted that he had not been happy with his goal kicking on the tour) missed the conversion of his own try, but it wasn't a factor as the siren sounded to end the match seconds after the kick. [19]
| Wednesday, 14 November | Hull F.C.  | 4–34 | Australia | The Boulevard, Hull | |
| Tries: Neil Turner Goals: Paul Eastwood (0/1) | [20] | Tries: Andrew Ettingshausen (2), Des Hasler (2), Kevin Walters (2), Kerrod Walters Goals: Greg Alexander (3/7) | Attendance: 13,081 Referee: David Campbell Player of the Match: Allan Langer |
 Hull F.C. | Australia |
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After a number of tours where the Kangaroos played at least two games in the north-eastern British seaside city, this would be the only game of the tour that the Australian's played in Hull. Although Australian Brian Smith was still officially the Hull coach at this time, his assistant Noel Cleal (a member of the 1986 Kangaroos and a premiership winner with Manly-Warringah under Bob Fulton in 1987) was given the coaching duties for the game. Cleal would take over as Hull coach at the end of the season when Smith moved back to Sydney to coach St George and at the time of this game, Hull were on top of the RFL premiership ladder. In a post match interview, Cleal admitted that he was sitting on the fence in this game. As coach of Hull he wanted his side to win, but he also admitted that it was pleasing to see Australia playing so well with the Ashes decider to be played in 10 days time. Giant forward Mark Carroll returned to the side after suffering a knee injury during a team training session a few days before the first Ashes Test some 3 weeks earlier.
| Sunday, 18 November | Widnes  | 8–15 | Australia | Naughton Park, Widnes | |
| Tries: Jonathan Davies Goals: Jonathan Davies (2/2) | [21] | Tries: Greg Alexander, Gary Belcher, Dale Shearer Goals: Gary Belcher (1/1) Mal Meninga (0/3) Field Goals: Gary Belcher (1) | Attendance: 14,666 Referee: John Kendrew Player of the Match: Gary Belcher |
   Widnes | Australia |
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The game against Widnes was shrouded in controversy. Midway through the second half Paul Sironen was taken from the field with an eye injury and Kangaroos team doctor Nathan Gibbs diagnosed a scratched retina. During the game, Australian captain Mal Meninga had reluctantly made a complaint to referee John Kedrew about Australian players being poked in the eyes when being tackled, as had happened to Sironen (the alleged culprit was Widnes captain Kurt Sorensen who later denied any deliberate wrongdoing). Kangaroos team management and coach Bob Fulton were furious about the incident after the game, although the matter went no further due to a lack of any conclusive video evidence. The injury put Sironen in doubt for the up-coming third and deciding Ashes test in Leeds.
The game against the reigning World Club champions was a tight one on what proved to be the coldest day of the tour in England. Led by their inspirational 'Welsh Wizard' fullback, dual rugby international Jonathan Davies, Widnes pushed the Kangaroos to the closest club game score of the tour with the Kangaroos finally winning 15–8 thanks to tries to man of the match Gary Belcher (who also kicked a goal after Meninga had missed with his 3 attempts as well as adding the tour's only field goal), Dale Shearer and Greg Alexander. "Brandy" played the game at Naughton Park, the scene of Australia's last non-test loss in England back in 1978, on the wing with Shearer moved to the centres in place of Laurie Daley who was being kept under wraps until the third test due to his broken right hand.
In the third and final test of The Ashes series, Australia kept alive their series streak (not having lost The Ashes since Great Britain won in Australia in 1970 and not having lost them in England since 1959), with a 14–0 win in front of a packed Elland Road in Leeds. Australia ran in three tries to nil with Mal Meninga, Andrew Ettingshausen and Benny Elias all crossing the line while the Lions rarely threatened the Kangaroos line in the wet and slippery conditions.
Kangaroos captain Mal Meninga became just the third Australian to score a try in each test of an Ashes series following on from legendary try-scoring winger Ken Irvine in 1962 and 1963, and the most unlikely of the trio, front-row forward Sam Backo in 1988.
Bob Fulton made only one change to his side from Old Trafford with David Gillespie coming onto the bench for John Cartwright. Mal Reilly did similar to his former Manly-Warringah teammate and only made changes to his bench with Jonathan Davies replacing Paul Loughlin and Mike Gregory returning to the side in place of Shaun Edwards.
This test also doubled as a round game of the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup.
Saturday, 24 November |
| Great Britain | 0–14 | Australia |
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| Tries: Goals: | [22] | Tries: Andrew Ettingshausen Mal Meninga Ben Elias Goals: Mal Meninga (1/3) |
Great Britain | Australia |
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The deciding test was played in wet and slippery conditions, though the Kangaroos handled the tricky conditions better than the home side.
Australia's first try to Andrew Ettingshausen came when the Kangaroos caught the Lions short in their defensive line. Centre Carl Gibson had received a head knock and was in the hands of the trainers. Unfortunately he was still on the field which did not allow his replacement Jonathan Davies to come on and make up the numbers. Stuart's long pass to Ettingshausen allowed him to skirt around Martin Offiah to score in the corner for the only points of the first half after Meninga missed the difficult sideline conversion.
Later in the second half, Meninga scored after Garry Schofield had raced out the Lions defensive line to try for an intercept. However the ball got to Cliff Lyons first and he immediately exploited the gap where Schofield should have been to send Meninga back inside to score untouched under the posts. In the Elland Road grandstand, Lions coach Mal Reilly and his assistant Phil Larder could only look on in disbelief. Schofield, who was nicknamed "The Poacher" due to his habit of racing out of the line looking for intercepts, had been warned before the game by both Reilly and Larder (as well as his own club coach, former Lions captain David Ward) not to race out of the defensive line as the Australians were capable of exploiting any gap it created, which is exactly what happened. Meninga's easy conversion of his own try gave Australia what would be a match winning 10–0 lead in the conditions. With only minutes remaining, Elias put the result beyond doubt when he scooted out of dummy half and scored in the corner to give Australia a well earned 14–0 win.
| Tuesday, 27 November | President's XIII  | 18–46 | Australia | Corbeil Essones Stadium, Paris | |
| Tries: Marginet (2), Ramirez, Lope Goals: Stephen (1) | Tries: Greg Alexander (2), Brad Fittler (2), Chris Johns, Des Hasler, Kevin Walters, Allan Langer, Mark Sargent Goals: Greg Alexander (3) Dale Shearer (1) | Attendance: 3,000 Referee: M. Millett |
Australia: Greg Alexander, Dale Shearer, Brad Fittler, Chris Johns, Des Hasler, Kevin Walters, Allan Langer (c), Mark Sargent, Kerrod Walters, Martin Bella, Mark Carroll, Mark Geyer, David Gillespie
| Thursday, 29 November | France B | 6–78 | Australia | Georges Livet Stadium, Lyon | |
| Tries: Eric Van Brussel Goals: Chrismanovitch (1/2) | [23] | Tries: Greg Alexander (5), Gary Belcher (2), Brad Fittler (2), Allan Langer, Mark Geyer, Mark Carroll, Mark Sargent Goals: Greg Alexander (13/13) | Attendance: 2,000 Referee: M. Agali Player of the Match: Greg Alexander |
Australia: Greg Alexander, Gary Belcher, Brad Fittler, Chris Johns, Des Hasler, Kevin Walters, Allan Langer (c), Mark Sargent, Kerrod Walters, Martin Bella, Mark Carroll, Mark Geyer, David Gillespie
Fullback Greg Alexander (Test fullback Gary Belcher actually played on the wing) had a field day against the French B team in Lyon, crossing for 5 tries and kicking 13 goals from 13 attempts for a personal score of 46 points which saw him become the first player to score over 100 points on the tour (he ended the game with 104 points for the tour).
Sunday, 2 December 1990 |
| France | 4–60 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: David Fraisse Goals: Michel Roses (0/1) | [24] | Tries: Greg Alexander (3) Gary Belcher (2) Andrew Ettingshausen (2) Paul Sironen Dale Shearer David Gillespie Glenn Lazarus Goals Greg Alexander (7/8) Mal Meninga (1/3) |
Parc de Sports, Avignon Attendance: 2,200 Referee: John Holdsworth  Player of the Match: Greg Alexander |
     France | Australia |
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The Kangaroos easily accounted for a gallant, but out-classed French side in the first test in Avignon. Replacement halfback Greg Alexander, who came on after only 15 minutes of the first half for Ricky Stuart who left the field feeling ill, continued his good form in France and crossed for a hat-trick of tries. He also took over the goal kicking from Mal Meninga and kicked 7/8 giving him a personal points haul of 26 points as the Kangaroos won their 8th straight game against France 60–4.
The only change to the Kangaroos line up from the third test against Great Britain was David Gillespie coming off the bench to replace an injured Bob Lindner, with giant Penrith back row forward Mark Geyer coming onto the bench for his test match debut.
| Thursday, 29 November | Languedoc-Roussillon  | 9–38 | Australia | Stade d'Albert Domec, Carcassonne | |
| Tries: Goals: Gilbert (4) Field Goa: Gilbert | [25] | Tries: Brad Fittler (2), Greg Alexander, Dale Shearer, Andrew Ettingshausen, Allan Langer, John Cartwright, Mark Sargent Goals: Greg Alexander (3) | Attendance: 2,000 Referee: M. Chamfreau |
Australia: Greg Alexander, Dale Shearer, Chris Johns, Andrew Ettingshausen, Des Hasler, Brad Fittler, Allan Langer (c), Mark Sargent, Kevin Walters, Martin Bella, Mark Geyer, Mark Carroll, John Cartwright
9 December 1990 |
| France | 10–34 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Patrick Entat Cyril Pons Goals Marc Tisseyre (1/2) | [26] | Tries: Brad Mackay Andrew Ettingshausen Mal Meninga Steve Roach Dale Shearer Greg Alexander Goals Greg Alexander (3/7) |
Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan Attendance: 3,428 Referee: John Holdsworth Player of the Match: Cliff Lyons |
France | Australia |
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Against an out-classed French team, Kangaroos coach Bob Fulton allowed himself the luxury of fiddling with the test side for the final game of the tour. Laurie Daley was ruled out with a hamstring injury which saw Dale Shearer move to the centres with Greg Alexander selected to play in the unfamiliar position of wing. Bob Lindner returned to the side which saw David Gillespie move back to the bench while Mark Geyer was also ruled out with injury and was replaced by speedy Brisbane Broncos outside back Chris Johns for his test debut.
After scoring a first half try, Greg Alexander performed a gymnastic backflip (Alexander claimed he had wanted to do that during one of the English games but felt the timing hadn't been right given the circumstances with Australia under pressure due to their first test loss). The Kangaroos won the second test 34–10 against a much more committed French team at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan. [27]
Leading try scorer
Leading point scorer
Largest attendance
Largest club game attendance
Bob Lindner was named the player's player of the tour.
The 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup was the tenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and continued to use the three-year format, stretching across the years 1989 to 1992. As with the 1985–1988 World Cup, teams played each other on a home-and-away basis. These matches were fitted into the normal international programme of three-match test series between the nations, with a pre-designated match from each series counting as the World Cup fixture. The tournament culminated in the 1992 Rugby League World Cup final.
The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the Kangaroos are ranked first in the IRL Men's World Rankings. The team is the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having won the competition 12 times, and contested 15 of the 16 finals, only failing to reach the final in the 1954 inaugural tournament. Only five nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia has an overall win percentage of 69%.
Malcolm Norman Meninga is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the game's history. He enjoyed a long career in both Australia and England, playing mainly as a goal-kicking centre. After retiring, Meninga has enjoyed success as a coach, and is currently the head coach of Australia.
Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander, also known by the nickname of "Brandy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, who has since become a radio, television commentator and rugby league journalist. Originally a goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country and state on several occasions. Alexander's position for the majority of his career was at half-back, however early in his career – particularly in representative sides – he was moved to fullback. It was this ability to play different positions with great success that saw Alexander make both the 1986 and the 1990 Kangaroo Tours.
Michael David O'Connor is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who represented Australia in both codes. He played for the Wallabies in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons from 1983 until 1986, and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1987 until his retirement at the end of 1992, becoming captain of Manly in 1990, as well as winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with the Sea Eagles.
The 1994 Kangaroo Tour was the 18th and last Kangaroo Tour played in the conventional format, where the Australia national rugby league team played a number of matches against British and French clubs or provincial outfits, in additions to the Test matches. The outbreak of the Super League war in early 1995 meant that the next Kangaroo tour, set for 1998, never eventuated; although shortened, test only tours were staged in 2001 and 2003.
Noel Harvey "Crusher" Cleal is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A destructive second-row for the Manly Sea Eagles, he also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin Series and the Australian national rugby league team.
Bob Lindner is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. An Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he is one of a handful of players to be named man-of-the-match in State of Origin football more than once. Fifteen years after his retirement from football in Australia, he had made the most appearances and scored the most tries of any forward in State of Origin history.
The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in the grand final between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Canberra Raiders who were the first club ever from outside Sydney to appear in a premiership decider. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1987 National Panasonic Cup.
The 1991 State of Origin series saw the tenth time the annual three-match State of Origin series between the New South Wales and Queensland representative rugby league teams was played entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. It was notable as Wally Lewis' farewell from Origin football and featured his half-time stoush with Mark Geyer in Game II which match culminated in Michael O'Connor's sensational match-winning sideline conversion in teeming rain.
The 1989 State of Origin series was the eighth time the annual three-game series between New South Wales and Queensland was contested entirely under 'state of origin' selection rules. It was Queensland's second consecutive Origin clean-sweep and an unpleasant inauguration for New South Wales' new coach Jack Gibson who, along with a new captain in Gavin Miller and eight new players, was brought into a dramatically overhauled Blues side that had lost its five last State of Origin matches.
The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team plays a number of tour matches against British and French teams, in addition to the Test matches. The next Kangaroo tour was staged in 1990.
The 1982 Kangaroo tour was the fifteenth Kangaroo tour where the Australian national rugby league team played a number of matches against British and French rugby league teams, in addition to the Test matches. The Australia national rugby league team have generally since 1908 barring wartime, toured Great Britain every four years often capping the tour with matches and Tests in France. This regular touring side are known as the Kangaroos.
The 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team, nicknamed the 'Lions', of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and July 1992. The tour was the last of such length undertaken by the Great Britain team, and included a test match against Papua New Guinea, a three-test series against Australia for The Ashes, and a two-test series against New Zealand for the Baskerville Shield, all interspersed with matches against local club and representative teams.
The 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 3 July in Melbourne and finished on 31 July in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches, with the third test doubling as a 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament match. New Zealand did not play in any other matches while on 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.
The 1992 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Great Britain and Australia on 24 October 1992 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Australia won the final by 10 points to 6 in front of an international record crowd of 73,631. Australia, the defending champions, won the Rugby League World Cup for the 7th time.
The 1993 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league test series played in Australia between Australia and New Zealand. The series, which started on 20 June in Auckland and finished on 30 June in Brisbane, consisted of three test matches. The three Tests attracted a total of 74,494 fans.
The 1991 Kangaroo tour of Papua New Guinea was a two-week, end of season tour of Papua New Guinea by the Australia national rugby league team. The Australians played five matches on the tour, including two Test matches against the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team. The tour began on 29 September and finished on 13 October.
The 1987 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles season was the 41st in the club's history since their entry into the then New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in 1947.
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