The 1979 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 16th tour of Australasia and took place from May to August 1979. A total of 27 matches were played against local club and representative sides during the tour, including a three match Test match series against Australia and New Zealand respectively.

Touring squad

In March 1979, a 30-man squad was selected for the tour, with Doug Laughton appointed as captain.[1] The squad included Widnes prop Jim Mills, who was banned from playing in New Zealand due to an incident in 1975 when Mills played for Wales against New Zealand.[2] Despite an appeal to overturn the ban, the International Board confirmed the ban would be upheld.[3]

After the squad was selected, John Bevan and Stuart Wright were forced to withdraw due to injury, and were replaced by Roy Mathias and David Barends.[4] Ken Kelly also suffered an injury shortly before the tour departed, and was replaced by John Holmes.[5]

Name Position Club Apps Tests Tries Goals Drop goals Points Notes
Mick Adams Forward Widnes 16 5 0 8 1 17
David Barends Back Bradford Northern 16 2 10 0 0 30
John Burke Forward Wakefield Trinity 9 0 0 0 0 0 [a]
Len Casey Forward Bradford Northern 14 5 4 0 0 12
Steve Evans Back Featherstone Rovers 19 6 16 0 0 48
George Fairbairn Back Wigan 10 5 3 18 1 46 [b]
Peter Glynn Back St Helens 15 0 6 0 0 18
Jeff Grayshon Forward Bradford Northern 14 5 2 0 0 6
Phil Hogan Forward Hull Kingston Rovers 14 4 5 0 0 15
John Holmes Back Leeds 13 6 1 2 0 7
Eric Hughes Back Widnes 17 6 8 0 0 24
Melvyn James Forward St Helens 13 0 3 0 0 9
John Joyner Back Castleford 14 6 6 0 0 18
Doug Laughton (c) Forward Widnes 5 1 0 0 0 0
Graham Liptrot Forward St Helens 11 0 1 0 0 3
Brian Lockwood Forward Hull Kingston Rovers 12 1 1 0 0 3
Tommy Martyn Forward Warrington 5 0 3 0 0 9 [b]
Roy Mathias Back St Helens 17 1 10 0 0 30
Jim Mills Forward Widnes 5 1 2 0 0 6 [a]
Roger Millward Back Hull Kingston Rovers 3 0 0 4 0 8 [c]
Keith Mumby Back Bradford Northern 13 0 1 8 0 19
Steve Nash Back Salford 6 0 2 0 0 6
George Nicholls Forward St Helens 13 6 2 0 0 6
Steve Norton Forward Hull 9 2 0 0 0 0
Alan Redfearn Back Bradford Northern 10 1 1 0 0 3
Trevor Skerrett Forward Wakefield Trinity 12 4 1 0 0 3
Mike Smith Back Hull Kingston Rovers 11 3 4 0 0 12
Gary Stephens Back Castleford 15 5 6 0 0 18
Charlie Stone Forward Hull 12 0 0 0 0 0
David Topliss Back Wakefield Trinity 7 1 2 0 0 6 [c]
David Ward Forward Leeds 11 6 0 0 0 0
David Watkinson Forward Hull Kingston Rovers 12 1 2 0 0 6
John Woods Back Leigh 17 4 12 67 1 171

Results

Australia

25 May 1979
North Queensland 5 – 29 Great Britain
27 May 1979
Central Queensland 11 – 20 Great Britain
30 May 1979
Wide Bay 7 – 27 Great Britain
2 June 1979
North Coast 6 – 33 Great Britain
5 June 1979
Northern Division 11 – 20 Great Britain
8 June 1979
Queensland 19 – 25 Great Britain
10 June 1979
Toowoomba 19 – 16 Great Britain

First Test

16 June 1979
Australia 35 – 0 Great Britain
Tries: Boustead (2), Price (2), Corowa
Goals: Cronin (10)
 [8]
Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 23,051
Referee: Eddie Ward
Player of the Match: Ray Price
18 June 1979
Brisbane 7 – 10 Great Britain
20 June 1979
Southern Division 10 – 10 Great Britain
24 June 1979
Newcastle 12 – 25 Great Britain
26 June 1979
Riverina 10 – 37 Great Britain

Second Test

30 June 1979
Australia 24 – 16 Great Britain
Tries: Cronin (2), Reddy, Rogers
Goals: Cronin (6)
 [9]
 Tries: Hughes, Joyner
Goals: Woods (5)
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 26,857
Referee: Greg Hartley
Player of the Match: Rod Reddy
1 July 1979
Illawarra 13 – 18 Great Britain
4 July 1979
Western Division 12 – 19 Great Britain
7 July 1979
New South Wales 17 – 19 Great Britain
8 July 1979
Monaro 7 – 21 Great Britain

Third Test

14 July 1979
Australia 28 – 2 Great Britain
Tries: Boyd, Eadie, Price, Reddy
Goals: Cronin (8)
 [10]
 Goals: Fairbairn
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 16,844
Referee: Eddie Ward
Player of the Match: Ray Price

New Zealand

17 July 1979
Maoris 13 – 15 Great Britain

First Test

21 July 1979
New Zealand 8 – 16 Great Britain
Tries: Ah Kuoi, Uluave
Goals: Collicoat
 [11]
 Tries: Evans, Fairbairn, Hughes, Smith
Goals: Fairbairn (2)
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: John Percival
22 July 1979
Northern District 5 – 58 Great Britain
25 July 1979
Central District 5 – 14 Great Britain
29 July 1979
Wellington 3 – 39 Great Britain

Second Test

5 August 1979
New Zealand 7 – 22 Great Britain
Tries: Filipaina
Goals: Filipaina (2)
 [12]
 Tries: Casey, Evans, Grayshon, Hughes
Goals: Fairbairn (5)
Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: John Percival
7 August 1979
West Coast 0 – 19 Great Britain

Third Test

11 August 1979
New Zealand 18 – 11 Great Britain
Tries: Fisher, Graham, Leuluai, O'Hara
Goals: Filipaina (3)
 [13]
 Tries: Hughes, Smith, Stephens
Goals: Fairbairn
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Kevin Steel
13 August 1979
Auckland 10 – 18 Great Britain

Notes

  1. ^ a b John Burke was called up as a replacement for Jim Mills due to injury.[6]
  2. ^ a b George Fairbairn was called up as a replacement for Tommy Martyn due to injury.[6]
  3. ^ a b David Topliss was called up as a replacement for Roger Millward due to injury.[7]

References

  1. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (28 March 1979). "Dyl left out of overseas tour". The Guardian. London. p. 27. ProQuest 186084158.
  2. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (29 March 1979). "New Zealand adamant on Mills ban". The Guardian. London. p. 27.
  3. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (14 June 1979). "Mills tour ban stands". The Guardian. London. p. 24. ProQuest 186063885.
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Paul (11 May 1979). "Replacements have right credentials". The Guardian. London. p. 26. ProQuest 186162353.
  5. ^ "Holmes called up for tour". The Guardian. London. 21 May 1979. p. 28. ProQuest 186186261.
  6. ^ a b "Burke and Fairbairn face instant action on tour". The Guardian. London. 22 June 1979. p. 25. ProQuest 186129790.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Edward (28 June 1979). "Hogan is out". The Guardian. London. p. 22. ProQuest 186193946.
  8. ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 2". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  10. ^ "Ashes Series 1979 Series - Game 3". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  11. ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1979 Series - Game 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  12. ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1979 Series - Game 2". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. ^ "New Zealand vs Great Britain 1984 Series - Game 3". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
Categories