1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The 1973 Kangaroo Tour was the thirteenth Kangaroo Tour, and saw the Australian national rugby league team travel to Europe and play nineteen 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 1967-68 and the next was staged in 1978.

Due to the advent of the Jet Age which had made international travel times much shorter (a Jumbo Jet airplane could travel between Sydney and London in a day compared to the weeks it took a ship at sea), and with a slimed down tour itinerary (the 1973 Kangaroos played 19 games compared to the 27 played by the 1967-68 Kangaroos), this was the first Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France to be held inside of a single calendar year.

The squad's leadership The team was captain-coached by Graeme Langlands making his third Kangaroo Tour. Managers of the team were Albert Bishop and Charlie Gibson with Alf Richards as the team trainer.

Touring squad The following players were in the touring squad. Player Club Position(s) Tests Games Tries Goals F/Goals Points Arthur Beetson (vc) Eastern Suburbs Roosters 5 16 3 0 0 9 Ray Branighan Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 4 13 7 2 0 25 Mick Cronin Gerringong Lions 2 12 7 28 0 77 Graham Eadie Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2 10 4 9 0 30 Bob Fulton Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 5 14 20 0 1 61 Ted Goodwin St George Dragons 3 10 7 0 0 21 Bill Hamilton Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 0 8 1 0 0 3 John Lang Eastern Suburbs Tigers (Qld) 1 7 2 0 0 6 Graeme Langlands (c) St George Dragons 1 8 4 27 0 66 Ken Maddison Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 4 13 6 0 0 18 Bob McCarthy (vc) South Sydney Rabbitohs 2 8 4 0 0 12 John O'Neill Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 1 6 0 0 0 0 Bob O'Reilly Parramatta Eels 4 13 0 0 0 0 Warren Orr Wests Panthers (Qld) 0 6 4 0 0 12 Tim Pickup North Sydney Bears 4 12 2 0 0 6 Greg Pierce Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1 8 1 0 0 3 Terry Randall Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 0 5 1 0 0 3 Tom Raudonikis (vc) Western Suburbs Magpies 4 10 3 0 0 9 Steve Rogers Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 7 2 0 0 6 Paul Sait South Sydney Rabbitohs 4 13 2 0 0 6 Geoff Starling Balmain Tigers 5 13 8 0 0 24 Gary Stevens South Sydney Rabbitohs 3 8 1 0 0 3 David Waite Wests Wollongong 4 12 4 0 0 12 Elwyn Walters South Sydney Rabbitohs 4 15 2 0 0 6 Dennis Ward Western Suburbs Rosellas 0 8 1 0 0 3 Lionel Williamson Newtown Bluebags 3 9 0 0 0 0 1973 NSWRFL Premiers Manly-Warringah provided a record 6 players to the Kangaroos while the team they defeated in the Grand Final Cronulla-Sutherland, provided 3 players. Surprisingly, no players were selected from either of the 1973 Brisbane Rugby League Grand Finalists, winners Fortitude Valley or runners up Redcliffe.

Of the 26 player squad, 21 were from New South Wales and 5 from Queensland, with 3 of the Queenslanders picked Sydney teams (team vice captain Arthur Beetson (Easts), Souths hooker Elwyn Walters and Newtown winger Lionel Williamson). Brisbane Easts hooker John Lang and Brisbane Wests winger Warren Orr were the only players picked from Queensland based clubs.

Great Britain The Ashes series against Great Britain saw an aggregate crowd of 36,567 attending the Test series

Test Venues The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues.

London Leeds Warrington Wembley Headingley Wilderspool Capacity: 100,000 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 15,000

The Ashes series

First Test In the first rugby league international played at Wembley since 1963, the Lions shocked the then unbeaten Australian's 21–12 in front of just 9,874 fans. The match had been moved to Wembley from the Central Park ground in Wigan at the request of the Australian team management.

FB 1 Paul CharltonRW 2 Clive Sullivan (c)RC 3 Syd HynesLC 4 Chris HeskethLW 5 John AtkinsonSO 6 David ToplissSH 7 Steve NashPR 8 Terry ClawsonHK 9 Colin ClarkePR 10 Brian LockwoodSR 11 Phil LoweSR 12 George NichollsLK 13 Ray BattenSubstitutions:IC 14IC 15Coach: Jim Challinor FB 1 Graeme Langlands (c)RW 2 Ray BranighanRC 3 Bob FultonLC 4 Geoff StarlingLW 5 Ted GoodwinFE 6 Tim PickupHB 7 Tommy RaudonikisPR 8 Bob O'ReillyHK 9 Elwyn WaltersPR 10 Arthur BeetsonSR 11 Bob McCarthySR 12 Ken MaddisonLF 13 Paul SaitSubstitutions:IC 14IC 15Coach: Graeme Langlands

Second Test The second test at Headingley in Leeds saw the Australian's tie the series at one game all with a 14–6 win in front of the tours largest attendance of 16,674.

FB 1 Paul CharltonRW 2 Clive Sullivan (c)RC 3 Syd HynesLC 4 Chris HeskethLW 5 John AtkinsonSO 6 David ToplissSH 7 Steve NashPR 8 Terry ClawsonHK 9 Colin ClarkePR 10 Brian LockwoodSR 11 Phil LoweSR 12 John MantleLK 13 Ray BattenSubstitutions:IC 14 David EckersleyIC 15 Colin DixonCoach: Jim Challinor FB 1 Graham EadieRW 2 Lionel WilliamsonRC 3 Geoff StarlingLC 4 Ray BranighanLW 5 Ted GoodwinFE 6 Bob FultonHB 7 Tommy RaudonikisPR 8 Bob O'ReillyHK 9 Elwyn WaltersPR 10 Arthur BeetsonSR 11 Bob McCarthy (c)SR 12 Gary StevensLF 13 Paul SaitSubstitutions:IC 14 Ken MaddisonIC 15Coach: Graeme Langlands

Kangaroos captain-coach Graeme Langlands was ruled out of the second test with a broken hand. To replace him at fullback, Langlands selected Manly-Warringah's 19 year old dual premiership winning fullback Graham Eadie to make his test debut (Eadie, known affectionately as "Wombat", would turn 20 the next day). Eadie was also handed the goal kicking duties on the day and despite a very strong wind making conditions tricky for kickers, kicked 5 goals which proved vital in the Kangaroos 14–6 win over the Lions to keep The Ashes series alive.

After conceding 4 tries in the first test loss at Wembley, the Kangaroos kept their line intact with the Lions only scores coming from 3 goals by prop forward Terry Clawson.

Third Test The Kangaroos won back The Ashes with a hard-fought 15–5 win in trying conditions at Warrington. The pitch at Wilderspool was frozen which suited the Australians who were used to playing on hard grounds at home.

FB 1 Paul CharltonRW 2 Alan SmithRC 3 Syd HynesLC 4 Chris HeskethLW 5 Clive Sullivan (c)SO 6 David EckersleySH 7 Roger MillwardPR 8 Terry ClawsonHK 9 Colin ClarkePR 10 Mick HarrisonSR 11 George NichollsSR 12 Phil LoweLK 13 Doug LaughtonSubstitutions:IC 14 David WatkinsIC 15 Colin DixonCoach: Jim Challinor FB 1 Graham EadieRW 2 Lionel WilliamsonRC 3 Geoff StarlingLC 4 Ray BranighanLW 5 David WaiteFE 6 Bob FultonHB 7 Tommy Raudonikis (c)PR 8 Bob O'ReillyHK 9 Elwyn WaltersPR 10 Arthur BeetsonSR 11 Ken MaddisonSR 12 Gary StevensLF 13 Paul SaitSubstitutions:IC 14 Tim PickupIC 15Coach: Graeme Langlands

With coach Graeme Langlands still out with a broken hand and looking on from the sidelines, the Kangaroos wrapped up the Ashes with a 15–5 win on the frozen ground at Wilderspool. Man of the match Ken Maddison crossed for two tries while Warrington born Bob Fulton, centre Geoff Starling and hooker Elwyn Walters also crossed for tries. For the Lions, their only score came from a try and goal from Hull Kingston Rovers halfback Roger Millward.

France

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF" | Date | Opponent | Score | Ground | Referee | Crowd | Report |- bgcolor=pink | 9 December | France | 9 – 21 | Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan | G. Jameau (FRA) | 5,109

|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF" | 12 December | France XIII | 12 – 24 | Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux | | 2,523

|- bgcolor=pink | 16 December | France | 3 – 14 | Stade des Minimes, Toulouse | M. Caillol (FRA) | 7,060

French Tests

First test

FB 1Maurice de MatosRW 2Serge MarsolanRC 3Michel MolinierLC 4André RuizLW 5Jean-Claude MartySO 6Patrick RivesSH 7Roger Garrigue (c)PR 8Christian CarréHK 9Jacques FrancPR 10Charles ThénégalSR 11Jean-Jacques CologniSR 12Jean-Paul SauretLK 13Georges BonetSubstitutions:IC 14Marius FrattiniIC 15Serge GleyzesCoach: FB 1 Ray BranighanRW 2 Lionel WilliamsonRC 3 Bob FultonLC 4 Michael CroninLW 5 David WaiteFE 6 Tim PickupHB 7 Tommy Raudonikis (c)PR 8 Arthur BeetsonHK 9 John LangPR 10 John O'NeillSR 11 Greg PierceSR 12 Elwyn WaltersLF 13 Geoff StarlingSubstitutions:IC 14 Ted GoodwinIC 15Coach: Graeme Langlands

Second Test Arthur Beetson became the first aboriginal player to captain Australia in a rugby league Test match.

FB 1José CalleRW 2Serge MarsolanRC 3Michel MolinierLC 4André RuizLW 5Jean-Claude MartySO 6Michel MazaréSH 7Roger Garrigue (c)PR 8Victor SerranoHK 9Jacques FrancPR 10Christian CarréSR 11Jean-Paul SauretSR 12Jean-Jacques CologniLK 13Serge GleyzesSubstitutions:IC 14Georges BonetIC 15Lambert BrunetCoach: FB 1 Ray BranighanRW 2 Ted GoodwinRC 3 Michael CroninLC 4 Geoff StarlingLW 5 David WaiteFE 6 Bob FultonHB 7 Tim PickupPR 8 Bob O'ReillyHK 9 Elwyn WaltersPR 10 Arthur Beetson (c)SR 11 Ken MaddisonSR 12 Gary StevensLF 13 Paul SaitSubstitutions:IC 14IC 15Coach: Graeme Langlands

References

External links 1973 Kangaroo Tour at Rugby League Project