1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia

1992 Great Britain Lions tour
Date	24 May 1992 – 19 July 1992
Manager	Maurice Lindsay
Coach(es)	Mal Reilly
Tour captain(s)	Ellery Hanley
Top point scorer(s)	Paul Eastwood (63)
Top try scorer(s)	Martin Offiah (7)
Summary	P W D L
Total	17 13 00 04
Test match	06 03 00 03
Opponent	P W D L
Papua New Guinea	1 1 0 0
Australia	3 1 0 2
New Zealand	2 1 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tour	1990
Next tour	1996

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.

Taking place following the conclusion of England's 1991–92 Rugby Football League season and during Australia's 1992 Winfield Cup premiership season, the tour led to friction between the Great Britain team's management and the Australian Rugby League over match scheduling and promotion. For the first time ever, a Lions tour was shown live on television in the United Kingdom through Sky Sports. The commentators for the tour were Eddie Hemmings and former Lions World Cup hooker Mike Stephenson who had a greater insight into the Australian game having spent most of the 1970s and 1980s, playing, coaching and commentating in the Sydney premiership. ^[1] The Lions finished the tour with thirteen wins and four losses and a profit of £244,645. Unfortunately for the Lions, three of their losses came in the Test matches, two against Australia and one against New Zealand with the other loss coming against Sydney club side Parramatta. ^[2]

Touring squad

A 32-man squad was selected for the tour, including 13 players from Wigan, setting a record for the number of players supplied by one club. ^[3] One of the Wigan players selected was Andy Gregory, who had announced his international retirement in 1990, but made himself available for selection after being persuaded to reconsider his decision. ^[4] From the originally selected squad, Leeds scrum-half Bobbie Goulding was dropped due to suspension, ^[5] and Widnes' Welsh international Jonathan Davies (who had spent part of 1991 playing with Sydney club Canterbury-Bankstown) withdrew from the squad due to injury. ^[6] Aston, Hulme, Sampson, McNamara, Myers and Harrison were called up during the tour to replace injured players. ^[2]

Hull F.C. winger Paul Eastwood was the leading point scorer on tour with 58 from 3 tries and 23 goals (he was also the leading goal kicker on tour). Wigan winger Martin Offiah, who before the tour was the undisputed "fastest player in rugby league", was the leading try scorer with 7. ^[2]

The coach was former Great Britain international Mal Reilly, marking his fourth Lions tour after appearing as a player on the successful 1970 tour and coaching the 1988 and 1990 touring teams. The assistant coach was Widnes coach and the Rugby Football League's Director of Coaching Phil Larder. The team manager was RFL and Wigan President Maurice Lindsay. ^[7] Ellery Hanley was the tour captain, but due to injury only played in one game on tour. Garry Schofield was subsequently named the Test captain while Featherstone Rovers halfback Deryck Fox was the team captain when either Hanley or Schofield weren't playing. ^[2]

Name	Club	Apps	Tests	Tries	Goals	Drop goals	Points	Notes
Mark Aston	Sheffield Eagles	4	0	0	0	0	0
Denis Betts	Wigan	11	6	2	0	0	8
Paul Broadbent	Sheffield Eagles	2	0	0	0	0	0
Phil Clarke	Wigan	9	6	3	0	0	12
Gary Connolly	St Helens	13	4	3	0	0	12
Neil Cowie	Wigan	5	0	0	0	0	0
Lee Crooks	Castleford	7	2	0	1	0	2
Martin Dermott	Wigan	8	4	0	0	0	0
John Devereux	Widnes	9	1	2	1	0	10
Paul Eastwood	Hull	9	5	4	23	0	62
Shaun Edwards	Wigan	10	6	4	0	0	16
Kevin Ellis	Warrington	8	0	3	0	1	13
Karl Fairbank	Bradford Northern	11	2	3	0	0	12
Deryck Fox	Featherstone Rovers	9	0	0	14	0	28
Andy Gregory	Wigan	5	1	0	0	0	0
Graeme Hallas	Hull Kingston Rovers	8	0	2	1	0	10
Steve Hampson	Wigan	7	1	1	0	0	4
Ellery Hanley	Leeds	1	0	0	0	0	0
Karl Harrison	Halifax	8	4	0	0	0	0
Les Holliday	Widnes	3	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Hulme	Widnes	8	3	0	0	0	0
Alan Hunte	St Helens	9	0	6	0	0	24
Lee Jackson	Hull	8	2	1	0	0	4
Michael Jackson	Wakefield Trinity	8	2	0	0	0	0
Paul Loughlin	St Helens	5	2	0	7	0	14
Ian Lucas	Wigan	3	1	0	0	0	0
Joe Lydon	Wigan	11	5	3	0	1	13
Billy McGinty	Wigan	9	4	1	0	0	4
Steve McNamara	Hull	4	0	1	0	0	4
David Myers	Wigan	4	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Newlove	Featherstone Rovers	12	5	3	0	0	12
Sonny Nickle	St Helens	3	1	0	0	0	0
Martin Offiah	Wigan	7	6	7	0	0	28
Andy Platt	Wigan	9	6	2	0	0	8
Daryl Powell	Sheffield Eagles	9	6	0	0	0	0
Dean Sampson	Castleford	2	0	0	0	0	0
Garry Schofield	Leeds	9	6	3	0	2	14
Kelvin Skerrett	Wigan	9	5	1	0	0	4
Graham Steadman	Castleford	8	5	2	4	0	16

Papua New Guinea

The first country the touring Lions visited was Papua New Guinea.

	Highlands Zone	15 – 24	Great Britain	Danny Leahy Oval, Goroka
	Tries: P. Singapar, Gigmai Ongugo Goals: Gigmai Ongugo (2) A.Tete		Tries: Garry Schofield (2), Paul Eastwood, Denis Betts Goals: Paul Loughlin (4)	Attendance: 7,000

---

	Islands Zone	22 – 38	Great Britain	Queen Elizabeth Park, Rabaul
	Tries: J. Alunga (2), W. Langa Goals: N. Eremas (4)		Tries: Karl Fairbank (2), Graeme Hallas, Kevin Ellis, Alan Hunte, Joe Lydon, Kelvin Skerrett Goals: Graham Steadman (3) Deryck Fox (2)	Attendance: 5,000

This match saw the most points scored of any match on the tour. ^[2]

---

31 May 1992

Papua New Guinea	14 – 20	Great Britain
Tries: Matthew Elara Kini Tani Richard Wagambi Goals: Aquila Emil	[8]	Tries: Martin Offiah (2) Paul Eastwood Phil Clarke Goals: Paul Loughlin (2)

Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby Attendance: 7,294 Referee: Eddie Ward

Papua New Guinea

Great Britain

FB 1 Phillip Boge RW 2 Joshua Kouoru CE 3 Richard Wagambie CE 4 August Joseph LW 5 Kini Tani FE 6 Aquila Emil HB 7 Ngala Lapan (c) PR 8 Ben Biri HK 9 Michael Matmillo PR 10 Kera Ngaffin SR 11 Bobby Ako SR 12 Joe Gispe LK 13 Matthew Elara Substitutions: IC 14 Korul Sinemau IC 15 Michael Angara IC 16 S Kapan IC 17 Nande Yer Coach:

FB 1 Steve Hampson RW 2 Paul Eastwood CE 3 Garry Schofield (c) CE 4 Paul Loughlin LW 5 Martin Offiah SO 6 Daryl Powell SH 7 Shaun Edwards PR 8 Lee Crooks HK 9 Martin Dermott PR 10 Andy Platt SR 11 Denis Betts SR 12 Karl Fairbank LF 13 Phil Clarke Substitutions: IC 14 Joe Lydon IC 15 Kelvin Skerrett IC 16 Paul Newlove IC 17 Sonny Nickle Coach: Mal Reilly

Australia

The Lions next traveled to Australia to contest The Ashes series. The Ashes series attracted 103,419 fans across the three tests, including the first ever Ashes test played in Melbourne. This was the largest Ashes attendance in Australia since 133,791 had attended the 1974 Ashes series and easily eclipsed the 66,792 of 1979, the 75,480 of 1984 and the 67,554 who attended the 1988 series.

The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. For the first time an Ashes test was played outside of the traditional rugby league states of New South Wales and Queensland.

Sydney	Melbourne	Brisbane
Sydney Football Stadium	Princes Park	Lang Park
Capacity: 42,500	Capacity: 32,000	Capacity: 32,500

---

Tuesday, 2 June	Queensland Residents	10 – 14	Great Britain	Townsville Sports Reserve, Townsville
	Tries: Peter Hamilton (1) Goals: Gerard Kerr (3/5)		Tries: Graeme Hallas (1) Billy McGinty (1) Shaun Edwards (1) Goals: John Devereux (1/4) Joe Lydon (0/1) Shaun Edwards (0/1)	Attendance: 4,181 Referee: John Willey

Queensland

Great Britain

FB 1 Brett Schultz RW 2 Troy White CE 3 Peter Hamilton CE 4 Ken Robertson LW 5 Gerard Kerr FE 6 Jason Hetherington HB 7 Craig Grauf (c) PR 8 Eric Kennedy HK 9 Kevin Marty PR 10 Bradley Pike SR 11 Steele Retchless SR 12 Matt Clifford LK 13 Craig Spark Substitutions: IC 14 Paul Fisher IC 15 Neil Smith IC 16 Steve Mills IC 17 Steven Bella Coach: Ross O'Reilly

FB 1 Joe Lydon RW 2 Graeme Hallas RC 3 Gary Connolly LC 4 Kevin Ellis LW 5 Alan Hunte SO 6 Shaun Edwards SH 7 Andy Gregory (c) PR 8 Ian Lucas HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Neil Cowie SR 11 Karl Fairbank SR 12 John Devereux LF 13 Billy McGinty Substitutions: IC 14 Deryck Fox IC 15 Kelvin Skerrett IC 16 Paul Newlove IC 17 Denis Betts Coach: Mal Reilly

---

Saturday, 6 June	Canberra Raiders	12 – 24	Great Britain	Bruce Stadium, Canberra
	Tries: Jason Croker, Michael Spinks Goals: Ricky Stuart (1) Adam Friend (1)	[9]	Tries: Andy Platt (2), Paul Eastwood, Alan Hunte, Paul Newlove Goals: Paul Loughlin (1) Graham Steadman (1)	Attendance: 4,728 Referee: Greg McCallum

Canberra Raiders

Great Britain

FB 1 Brett Mullins RW 2 Sean Hoppe CE 3 Brendan Norton CE 4 Scott Gale LW 5 Jason Croker FE 6 Chris O'Sullivan HB 7 Ricky Stuart (c) PR 8 Darrell McDonald HK 9 Steve Stone PR 10 David Woods SR 11 Ian Graham SR 12 Gary Coyne LK 13 Craig Bellamy Substitutions: IC 14 Adam Friend IC 15 James Hunt IC 16 Ken Nagas IC 17 Michael Spinks Coach: Tim Sheens

FB 1 Graham Steadman RW 2 Paul Eastwood CE 3 Paul Newlove CE 4 Paul Loughlin LW 5 Alan Hunte SO 6 Garry Schofield (c) SH 7 Andy Gregory PR 8 Kelvin Skerrett HK 9 Martin Dermott PR 10 Andy Platt SR 11 Denis Betts SR 12 Michael Jackson LF 13 Phil Clarke Substitutions: IC 14 Les Holliday IC 15 Deryck Fox IC 16 IC 17 Gary Connolly Coach: Mal Reilly

In what can only be described as bad scheduling, the Lions faced the Canberra Raiders on a Saturday night with the Raiders due to play a club game against Parramatta the next afternoon. This saw Raiders coach Tim Sheens not playing the likes of Australian test players Mal Meninga, Bradley Clyde, Steve Walters and Laurie Daley, as well as David Furner, Phil Blake, Darren Fritz, Brett Hetherington and Paul Osborne. It also saw Canberra go into the match with 7 players on the bench, though Sheens would only use the regulation 4. Andy Gregory served notice of his form by leading the Lions to a 20-6 half time lead, though he aggravated a groin injury when he put in a grubber kick for one of Andy Platt's two tries late in the first half and with the first test less than a week away did not return for the second half.

---

Monday, 8 June	Illawarra Steelers	10 – 11	Great Britain	Steelers Stadium, Wollongong
	Tries: Ryan Girdler (1) Aaron Whittaker (1) Goals: Ryan Girdler (1/2)		Tries: Graeme Hallas (1) Shaun Edwards (1) Goals: John Devereux (1/2) Field Goals: Kevin Ellis (1/1) Shaun Edwards (0/1)	Attendance: 10,021 Referee: Graham Annesley

Illawarra Steelers

Great Britain

FB 1 Brett Docherty RW 2 Brendan O'Meara CE 3 Ryan Girdler CE 4 Paul McGregor LW 14 Jonathan Britten FE 6 Aaron Whittaker HB 15 Mick Neil PR 8 Steve Waddell HK 9 Dean Schifilliti PR 12 Craig Teitzel SR 16 Dave Gallagher SR 11 John Cross (c) LK 13 Ian Russell Substitutions: IC 10 David Walsh IC 17 Neil Piccinelli IC 18 Bill Dunn IC 19 Andrew Pauls Coach: Graham Murray

FB 1 Steve Hampson RW 2 John Devereux CE 3 Gary Connolly CE 4 Daryl Powell LW 5 Graeme Hallas SO 6 Kevin Ellis SH 7 Shaun Edwards (c) PR 8 Ian Lucas HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Lee Crooks SR 11 Karl Fairbank SR 12 Les Holliday LF 13 Billy McGinty Substitutions: IC 14 Alan Hunte IC 15 Michael Jackson IC 16 Deryck Fox IC 17 Neil Cowie Coach: Mal Reilly

With the first test only three days after the game, Steelers coach Graham Murray was without the services of goal kicking Australian test winger Rod Wishart. The Steelers, in their first and only game against an international touring side, almost pulled off an upset until a late Kevin Ellis field goal sealed a tense 11–10 win for the tourists.

---

The Ashes series

The 1992 Ashes series was the final Ashes series to date played in Australia and attracted 103,459 spectators over the three tests. This compared favourably to the 75,480 aggregate of the 1984 Ashes series in Australia and the 67,554 aggregate of the 1988 series in Australia. A large number of English fans followed their team on the tour, but with Great Britain's wins in the final test of 1988 and the first test of the 1990 series, public interest had risen with Australia, although still winning, proving less dominant than during the 1980s.

After 4 of the previous 5 Ashes series had been controlled by French referees (Julien Rascagneres in 1982 and 1986, Francois Desplas in 1988 and Alain Sablayrolles in 1990 – none of whom spoke any English), which had brought numerous complaints from both sides regarding their incompetency, the Rugby League International Federation, ARL and RFL agreed to the use of New Zealand referee Dennis Hale (who had been a touch judge in the 1988 Rugby League World Cup final) for all three tests.

First Test

With Ellery Hanley out injured, Mal Reilly appointed five-eighth Garry Schofield as British captain for the first test. The Australians stuck with most of those who had won the 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series against New Zealand, with only winger Michael Hancock in for an injured Willie Carne, prop Glenn Lazarus (for Craig Salvatori) and second rowers Paul Sironen and Bob Lindner returning to the side with Newcastle Knights prop forward Paul Harragon making his test debut. Peter Jackson was also re-called to the side after Dale Shearer who had been selected in the centres had been ruled out with injury. Shearer, who had been widely tipped never to play test football again after a poor Game 1 against New Zealand the previous year, had starred at fullback for Queensland in the State of Origin series and was selected in the centres for all three tests, but was an injury withdrawal on each occasion. Jackson's recall at five-eighth saw Laurie Daley moved to the centres.

Friday, 12 June

Australia	22 – 6	Great Britain
Tries: Mal Meninga (2) Paul Sironen Michael Hancock Goals: Rod Wishart (3/6)	[10]	Tries: Joe Lydon Goals: Lee Crooks (1/2)

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 40,141 Referee: Dennis Hale Player of the Match: Bradley Clyde

Australia	Position	Great Britain
Andrew Ettingshausen	FB	Graham Steadman
Rod Wishart	WG	Paul Newlove
Mal Meninga (c)	CE	Daryl Powell
Laurie Daley	CE	Paul Loughlin
Michael Hancock	WG	Martin Offiah
Peter Jackson	FE/SO	Garry Schofield (c)
Allan Langer	HB/SH	Andy Gregory
Paul Harragon	PR	Kelvin Skerrett
Steve Walters	HK	Martin Dermott
Glenn Lazarus	PR	Lee Crooks
Paul Sironen	SR	Denis Betts
Bob Lindner	SR	Andy Platt
Bradley Clyde	LF	Phil Clarke
David Gillespie	Res.	Joe Lydon
Brad Mackay	Res.	Shaun Edwards
Brad Fittler	Res.	Ian Lucas
Kevin Walters	Res.	Michael Jackson
Bob Fulton	Coach	Mal Reilly

Lions winger Martin Offiah made two clean breaks down his left wing in the first half after poor Australian kicks and defence had given him two opportunities to showcase his speed, but he was put into touch by Australian fullback Andrew Ettingshausen on both occasions when only about 15 metres from scoring (despite being probably the quickest player in the Australian team, ET later admitted that had he needed to chase him, Offiah would have had too much pace). The first break came from a sweeping backline movement which saw Offiah into open space. He easily outpaced Allan Langer, but Ettingshausen's desperate push was enough for him to put a foot into touch. On the second occasion, a poor mid-field kick from Langer and poor defence from both Mal Meninga and Rod Wishart who attempted a two-man tackle on Offiah, only to collide with each other and fall off. This again saw him into open space with again only Ettinghausen to beat, but the Australian fullback was equal to the task and easily bundled the flying winger into touch.

Man of the match Bradley Clyde and Kangaroos captain Mal Meninga, with two tries, had a night to remember, leading the home side to a 22-6 win. The Lions only try came midway through the second half to replacement back Joe Lydon who put in a clever grubber behind Hancock who couldn't turn and chase in time which saw Lydon score in the corner. ^[11]

The attendance of 40,141 at the Football Stadium was the largest crowd for an Australia vs Great Britain test in Sydney since 55,505 saw the final test of the 1974 Ashes series at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was also the first test match played since Australia defeated France in front of 50,077 at the Sydney Cricket Ground during 1977 Rugby League World Cup to attract a crowd of over 40,000 in Sydney.

---

Tuesday 16 June	NSW Country	6 – 24	Great Britain	Pioneer Oval, Parkes
	Tries: John Connolly Goals: Brian Quinton (1)		Tries: Gary Connolly, Paul Eastwood, Graham Steadman Goals: Paul Eastwood (6)	Attendance: 8,014 Referee: Steve Albert

NSW Country

Great Britain

FB 1 Paul Beath RW 2 Scott Roskell CE 3 John Connelly CE 4 David Krause LW 5 Brian Quinton FE 6 Michael Twigg HB 7 Tony Price PR 8 Troy Wilson HK 9 Trevor Crow (c) PR 10 Kevin Marr SR 11 Graeme Tutt SR 12 Andrew Stephan LK 13 Alex Corvo Substitutions: IC 14 John Crooks IC 15 Steve Linnane IC 16 Craig Breen IC 17 Mark Oldfield Coach: Frank Fish

FB 1 Steve Hampson RW 2 Paul Eastwood CE 3 John Devereux CE 4 Gary Connolly LW 5 Alan Hunte SO 6 Kevin Ellis SH 7 Deryck Fox (c) PR 8 Neil Cowie HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Karl Fairbank SR 11 Les Holliday SR 12 Paul Hulme LF 13 Billy McGinty Substitutions: IC 14 Graham Steadman IC 15 Paul Loughlin IC 16 Andy Gregory IC 17 Joe Lydon Coach: Mal Reilly

---

Friday, 19 June	Parramatta Eels	22 – 16	Great Britain	Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
	Tries: Mark Laurie (1) Michael Buettner (1) Scott Mahon (1) Stu Galbraith (1) Goals: Michael Buettner (3/4)		Tries: Martin Offiah (2) Shaun Edwards (1) Goals: Paul Eastwood (2/3) Sin Bin: Shaun Edwards (1)	Attendance: 18,220 Referee: Eddie Ward

Parramatta Eels

Great Britain

FB 2 Danny Crnkovich RW 15 Michael Erickson CE 14 Scott Mahon CE 4 Michael Buettner LW 5 Lee Oudenryn FE 6 Brett Kenny (c) HB 7 Stu Galbraith PR 8 John Fearnley HK 9 Shane Flanagan PR 10 Greg Drake SR 11 Cameron Blair SR 12 Chris King LK 13 Mark Laurie Substitutions: IC 16 Mark Horo IC 17 Phil Tiernan IC 18 Ryan Schofield IC 19 Robert Muchmore Coach: Mick Cronin

FB 1 Gary Connolly RW 2 Paul Eastwood CE 3 Daryl Powell CE 4 Paul Newlove LW 5 Martin Offiah SO 6 Garry Schofield (c) SH 7 Shaun Edwards PR 8 Karl Harrison HK 9 Martin Dermott PR 10 Andy Platt SR 11 Denis Betts SR 12 Paul Hulme LF 13 Phil Clarke Substitutions: IC 15 Lee Crooks IC 17 Karl Fairbank IC IC Coach: Mal Reilly

Lions winger Martin Offiah, generally regarded at the time as the fastest player in rugby league, participated in a highly publicised 100 metre 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's fastest player standing took a beating when Oudenryn (a former soccer player who had only played 5 games of first grade before the Lions game) won by a yard. Rumours soon surfaced (allegedly started by former Kangaroos hooker Benny Elias) that with Offiah the odds-on favourite, a few of his Lions teammates had heavily backed the Eels flyer to win and that Offiah had tanked so they could collect. Offiah 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 50-metre chase. ^[12] The match against Parramatta also saw the largest non-test crowd of the Lions tour with 18,220 in attendance. In what was another piece of bad scheduling, this game on a Friday night was played only two days before the Eels were due to play a club game against Manly Warringah.

---

Tuesday, 23 June	Newcastle Knights	0 – 22	Great Britain	Marathon Stadium, Newcastle
	Tries: Goals:		Tries: Alan Hunte (2) Joe Lydon (1) Karl Fairbank (1) Goals: Deryck Fox (3/3) John Devereux (0/2)	Attendance: 9,758 Referee: Bill Harrigan

Newcastle Knights

Great Britain

FB 1 Robbie O'Davis RW 2 Tony Herman CE 3 John Schuster CE 4 David Smith LW 5 Shane Mackley FE 6 Michael Hagan (c) HB 7 Matthew Rodwell PR 8 Mark Sargeant HK 9 Max Chapman PR 10 Sam Stewart SR 11 Glenn Miller SR 12 David Mullane LK 13 Marc Glanville Substitutions: IC 14 Robbie McCormack IC 15 Steve Fulmer IC 16 Wayne Richards IC 17 Steve Crowe Coach: David Waite

FB 1 Joe Lydon LW 2 Alan Hunte CE 3 Gary Connolly CE 4 John Devereux RW 5 Graeme Hallas SO 6 Kevin Ellis SH 7 Deryck Fox PR 8 Karl Harrison HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Paul Broadbent SR 11 Michael Jackson SR 12 Steve McNamara LF 13 Ellery Hanley (c) Substitutions: IC 14 Mark Aston IC 15 Paul Hulme IC 16 David Myers IC 17 Karl Fairbank Coach: Mal Reilly

Against a strong Newcastle side that was missing only Australian test front rower Paul Harragon, the Lions achieved their only clean sheet of the tour with a 22–0 win at the Marathon Stadium. Winger Alan Hunte, reportedly the second fastest player in the squad behind only Martin Offiah, grabbed 2 tries in the win.

---

Second Test

For the second test Britain fielded an all-Wigan forward pack, ^[13] and with Andy Gregory injured, Shaun Edwards came in at scrum half-back for his first start against the Australians in test football. The Australians went in with an almost unchanged side, though David Gillespie came into the front row with Glenn Lazarus moving to the bench and Chris Johns came into the side for Brad Fittler who was unavailable for personal reasons (Fittler's Penrith Panthers teammate Ben Alexander, the younger brother of Penrith captain and former Australian test halfback Greg Alexander, was killed in a motor vehicle accident 5 days prior to the test).

The match, played at the Princes Park Australian rules football ground under temporary lighting, was the first ever Ashes test in Australia played in Melbourne. The cold, wet conditions suited the Lions who levelled the series with a resounding 33-10 win after going into half-time with a 22-0 lead in front of 31,005 fans.

Friday, 26 June

Australia	10 – 33	Great Britain
Tries: Bob Lindner Chris Johns Goal: Mal Meninga (1)	[14]	Tries: Phil Clarke Paul Newlove Garry Schofield Graham Steadman Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (6/7) Field goal: Garry Schofield

Princes Park, Melbourne Attendance: 31,005 Referee: Dennis Hale Player of the Match: Garry Schofield

Australia	Position	Great Britain
Andrew Ettingshausen	FB	Graham Steadman
Rod Wishart	WG	Paul Eastwood
Laurie Daley	CE	Daryl Powell
Mal Meninga (c)	CE	Paul Newlove
Michael Hancock	WG	Martin Offiah
Peter Jackson	FE/SO	Garry Schofield (c)
Allan Langer	HB/SH	Shaun Edwards
David Gillespie	PR	Kelvin Skerrett
Steve Walters	HK	Martin Dermott
Paul Harragon	PR	Andy Platt
Paul Sironen	SR	Denis Betts
Bob Lindner	SR	Billy McGinty
Bradley Clyde	LF	Phil Clarke
Brad Mackay	Res.	Joe Lydon
Glenn Lazarus	Res.	Paul Hulme
Kevin Walters	Res.	Gary Connolly
Chris Johns	Res.	Karl Harrison
Bob Fulton	Coach	Mal Reilly

The second test, played on a cold and wet night at Melbourne's Princes Park, saw Australian captain Mal Meninga equal Reg Gasnier's record of 36 tests for Australia. ^[15] It turned out that the conditions (as well as the slippery surface), suited the Lions with many claiming it was more like English weather than Australian.

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 Harragon 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. ^[16] Next, Garry Schofield scored a brilliant individual try when he chipped ahead from about fifteen metres out and after running into Australian second rower Paul Sironon, then beat the Australian defence to dive on it after Andrew Ettingshausen went what television commentator Graeme Hughes called "ice skating" on the slippery in-goal surface. Great Britain thus went into the break leading 22 - 0. ^[17]

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 Chris Johns (who had come on to the wing to replace an injured Rod Wishart) 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 outpaced Andrew Ettingshausen down the right sideline to score in the corner, sealing the match for the tourists. ^[18] 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 ^[19] and Australia's second-largest ever losing margin ^[20]

---

Tuesday, 30 June	Gold Coast Seagulls	10 – 28	Great Britain	Seagulls Stadium, Tweed Heads
	Tries: Ray Herring (2) Goals: Wayne Bartrim (1/2)		Tries: Gary Connolly (2) John Devereux (1) Steve McNamara (1) Steve Hampson (1) Goals: Deryck Fox (4/6)	Attendance: 9,753 Referee: David Manson

Gold Coast Seagulls

Great Britain

FB 1 Danny Peacock RW 2 Clinton Mohr CE 3 Terry Cook CE 16 Adrian Vowles LW 5 David Bouveng FE 4 Mathew Donovan HB 7 Ali Davys PR 8 Ian Stains HK 9 Ray Herring (c) PR 10 Keith Neller SR 11 Paul Galea SR 12 Mike McLean LK 13 Wayne Bartrim Substitutions: IC 14 Kevin Campion IC 15 Robin Thorne IC 17 Scott Sattler IC 19 Jamie Goddard Coach: Wally Lewis

FB 1 Steve Hampson LW 2 Alan Hunte CE 3 John Devereux CE 4 Gary Connolly RW 5 Graeme Hallas SO 6 Kevin Ellis SH 7 Deryck Fox (c) PR 8 Lee Crooks HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Karl Fairbank SR 11 Steve McNamara SR 12 Paul Hulme LF 13 Mark Aston Substitutions: IC 14 David Myers IC 15 Karl Harrison IC 16 Michael Jackson IC 17 Paul Broadbent Coach: Mal Reilly

Former Australian test skipper, Gold Coast captain/coach Wally Lewis, was a late withdrawal for the Seagulls with a hamstring injury. ^[21]

---

Third Test

The third and final test was allocated points for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup.

By playing in this, his 37th test match, Australian captain Mal Meninga became his country's most-capped test player, breaking the record of former Australian captain Reg Gasnier who was on hand to congratulate Meninga on his achievement. Meninga also equalled Keith Holman's record for most tests against Great Britain (11). ^[22] His try and four goals also brought his total of points scored in Anglo-Australian test matches to 108, overtaking Neil Fox's record.

Friday, 3 July

Australia	16 – 10	Great Britain
Tries: Laurie Daley Mal Meninga Goals: Mal Meninga (4)	[23]	Tries: Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (3)

Lang Park, Brisbane Attendance: 32,313 Referee: Dennis Hale Player of the Match: Paul Sironen

Australia	Position	Great Britain
Andrew Ettingshausen	FB	Graham Steadman
Willie Carne	WG	Paul Eastwood
Mal Meninga (c)	CE	Daryl Powell
Brad Fittler	CE	Paul Newlove
Michael Hancock	WG	Martin Offiah
Laurie Daley	FE/SO	Garry Schofield (c)
Allan Langer	HB/SH	Shaun Edwards
Paul Harragon	PR	Kelvin Skerrett
Steve Walters	HK	Martin Dermott
Glenn Lazarus	PR	Andy Platt
Paul Sironen	SR	Denis Betts
Bob Lindner	SR	Billy McGinty
Bradley Clyde	LF	Phil Clarke
David Gillespie	Res.	Paul Hulme
Kevin Walters	Res.	Karl Harrison
Chris Johns	Res.	Gary Connolly
John Cartwright	Res.	Joe Lydon
Bob Fulton	Coach	Mal Reilly

The third test at Lang Park in Brisbane was played in warm, dry conditions in total contrast to the second test. Mal Meninga (4) and Paul Eastwood (2) traded goals for the only scores in the first half. Lions captain Garry Schofield had the best scoring opportunity of the first half when put into a gap only 10 metres out from the Australian line, but the pass from Paul Newlove was called forward by referee Dennis Hale. Late in the half a fight erupted with rival hookers Steve Walters (Aust) and Martin Dermott (GB) trading blows. Meninga then kicked a penalty goal to give the home side an 8-4 lead at half time.

Laurie Daley scored the first try of the game midway through the second half. Andrew Ettingshausen played the ball only 5 metres out from the Lions line and Brad Fittler, back in the side after missing the Melbourne test, ran infield from dummy half. He stepped back inside and popped a pass to Daley who juggled the ball, but managed to get through the tackle of Schofield and Shaun Edwards to get it down for a try amidst howls of protests from Phil Clarke who was claiming a knock on. Meninga missed the difficult conversion but the Aussies led 12-4. Then with 15 minutes remaining, Meninga put the Aussies further ahead with a try from a Laurie Daley kick. Meninga won the race to the ball despite a number of Lions converging before powering through the tackle of Edwards and Denis Betts to plant the ball down and give the Aussies a match winning 16-4 lead. Martin Offiah finally showed his speed to give the Lions some hope in the last 5 minutes, After Dermott hit Meninga in a side on tackle which caused the Australian captain to spill the ball, Offiah toed ahead a loose ball 30 metres out from his line before regathering and racing 50 metres to score under the posts with only Kevin Walters in pursuit. Eastwood converted to see the Lions trim the lead to 16-10, but that was as close as they got as the Australian's held out Great Britain to retain The Ashes that they had held since 1974.

Australian forward Brad Clyde was awarded with the Harry Sunderland Medal for the Player of the Series. ^[24]

The Ashes series was televised in Australia by Seven Network with commentary provided by Graeme Hughes, Pat Welsh and former Australian captain Wally Lewis.

New Zealand

See also: 1992 New Zealand rugby league season

Wednesday, 8 July	Auckland	8 – 14	Great Britain	Carlaw Park, Auckland
	Tries: D. Macintosh Goals: D. Macintosh (2)		Tries: Alan Hunte, Kevin Ellis Goals: Deryck Fox (3)	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Jim Stokes

This was Great Britain's first win over the Auckland representative side since 1979, Auckland had played five with three wins, one loss and one draw against both Great Britain and Australian touring sides since then. ^[2]

---

First Test

Sunday, 12 July

New Zealand	15 – 14	Great Britain
Tries: Tony Kemp Richie Blackmore Goals: Matthew Ridge (2/3) Gavin Hill (1/1) Field goals: Daryl Halligan (1)	[25]	Tries: Shaun Edwards Phil Clarke Goals: Paul Eastwood (3/3)

Palmerston North Showgrounds, Palmerston North Attendance: 11,548 Referee: Bill Harrigan Player of the Match: Gary Freeman

New Zealand

Great Britain

FB 1 Matthew Ridge RW 2 Sean Hoppe RC 3 Kevin Iro LC 4 Tony Kemp LW 5 Ritchie Blackmore FE 6 Dean Clark HB 7 Gary Freeman (c) PR 8 Brent Stuart HK 9 Duane Mann PR 10 Brent Todd SR 11 Gavin Hill SR 12 Quentin Pongia LF 13 Brendon Tuuta Substitutions: IC 14 Daryl Halligan IC 15 Mike Kuiti IC 16 Tea Ropati IC 17 Mark Woods Coach: Howie Tamati

FB 1 Graham Steadman RW 2 Paul Eastwood RC 3 Daryl Powell LC 4 Gary Connolly LW 5 Martin Offiah SO 6 Garry Schofield (c) SH 7 Shaun Edwards PR 8 Kelvin Skerrett HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Andy Platt SR 11 Denis Betts SR 12 Billy McGinty LK 13 Phil Clarke Substitutions: IC 14 Joe Lydon IC 15 Paul Hulme IC 16 Karl Harrison IC 17 Coach: Mal Reilly

---

	Canterbury	6 – 17	Great Britain	Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch
	Tries: Maea David Goals: Mike Culley		Tries: Paul Newlove, Kevin Ellis, Alan Hunte Goals: Deryck Fox (3) Field Goals: Joe Lydon (1)	Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Des O'Sullivan

---

Second Test

Great Britain's victory in Auckland ensured that they would face Australia in the World Cup Final in October later in the year.

Sunday, 19 July

New Zealand	16 – 19	Great Britain
Tries: Gary Freeman Sean Hoppe Brent Todd Goals: Matthew Ridge (2)	[26]	Tries: Lee Jackson Denis Betts Martin Offiah Goals: Paul Eastwood (3) Field Goals: Garry Schofield (1)

Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 10,233 Referee: Bill Harrigan Player of the Match: Garry Schofield

New Zealand

Great Britain

FB 1 Matthew Ridge RW 2 Sean Hoppe RC 3 Kevin Iro LC 4 Tony Kemp LW 5 Ritchie Blackmore FE 6 Dean Clark HB 7 Gary Freeman (c) PR 8 Brent Stuart HK 9 Duane Mann PR 10 Brent Todd SR 11 Gavin Hill SR 12 Quentin Pongia LF 13 Brendon Tuuta Substitutions: IC 14 Daryl Halligan IC 15 Mike Kuiti IC 16 Tea Ropati IC 17 Mark Woods Coach: Howie Tamati

FB 1 Graham Steadman RW 2 Paul Eastwood RC 3 Daryl Powell LC 4 Gary Connolly LW 5 Martin Offiah SO 6 Garry Schofield (c) SH 7 Shaun Edwards PR 8 Karl Harrison HK 9 Lee Jackson PR 10 Andy Platt SR 11 Denis Betts SR 12 Billy McGinty LK 13 Phil Clarke Substitutions: IC 14 Paul Newlove IC 15 Michael Jackson IC 16 John Devereux IC 17 Karl Fairbank Coach: Mal Reilly

References

1. Great Britain's 1992 Tour Of Australasia
2. Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1992 New Zealand Rugby League, 1992. p.p.52-73
3. Fitzpatrick, Paul (7 April 1992). "Wigan dominate tour party" . The Guardian. p. 19 – via ProQuest.
4. Fitzpatrick, Paul (31 March 1992). "Gregory set to tell Reilly he will tour" . The Guardian. p. 19 – via ProQuest.
5. "Goulding dropped from GB tour after being sent off and suspended" . The Guardian. 18 May 1992. p. 15 – via ProQuest.
6. Fitzpatrick, Paul (25 April 1992). "Monie thinking positive before Wigan's final" . The Guardian. p. 15 – via ProQuest.
7. Pramberg, Bernie (27 June 1992). "Roos 'relented'". The Sun-Herald . Retrieved 27 March 2011.
8. Papua New Guinea vs Great Britain
9. Sarno, Tony (7 June 1992). "Copycat Lions shot Mettle in Canberra". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 27 March 2011.
10. 1st Ashes Test
11. Australia vs Great Britain, First Test 1992
12. Proszenko, Adrian (16 May 2010). "Race lines up NRL's quick men". The Sydney Morning Herald . Australia: Fairfax. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
13. French, Ray (24 April 2003). "Greatest upsets". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
14. 2nd Ashes Test
15. Clarkson, Alan (27 June 1992). "2 Test Changes likely". The Sun-Herald . Retrieved 27 March 2011.
16. John, MacDonald (26 June 1992). "Lions shock Australia to level series". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 27 March 2011.
17. "Lions even the score". The Sydney Morning Herald . 26 June 1992. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
18. de la Rivière, Richard. "1992 Australia v Great Britain, 2nd Test". Thirteen. richarddelariviere.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
19. "Ashes battles of the past". BBC Sport. 16 October 2001. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
20. "Australian Rugby League ("Kangaroos") Records". RL1908.com. Sean Fagan . Retrieved 27 March 2011.
21. AFP (1 July 1992). "British Lions clinch tenth Victory". New Straits Times . Retrieved 10 April 2011.
22. Gallaway, Jack (2003). Origin: Rugby League's Greatest Contest 1980 - 2002. Australia: University of Queensland Press. pp. 177–78. ISBN   0-7022-3383-8 . Retrieved 28 March 2011.
23. 3rd Ashes Test
24. "ACT Sport Hall of Fame Inductees". actsport.com.au. ACT Sport. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
25. 1st Test - New Zealand vs Great Britain
26. 2nd Test - New Zealand vs Great Britain

External links

• New Zealand vs Great Britain 1992 at rugbyleagueproject.org