The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever

Kangaroo tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...

. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, ''The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first Te ...

. Coached by

Arthur Hennessy Arthur Stephen "Ash" Hennessy (24 September 1876 – 19 September 1959) was an Australian pioneer rugby league identity. He was a seminal figure in the creation of the South Sydney Rabbitohs for whom he played and later coached. He was a state an ...

and captained by Les Cubitt, the Kangaroos travelled on the RMS ''Tahiti'' to England for best-of-three series of

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

es against Great Britain for the Ashes. The tour took place during the

1921–22 Northern Rugby Football Union season The 1921–22 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 27th season of rugby league football. Season summary Featherstone Rovers joined the competition this season. In November, winger Harold Buck became rugby league's first £1,000 transfer ...

and also featured matches against several of the clubs in that competition as well as other representative teams. The tour also involved some degree of player misbehaviour, with one young footballer almost sent home from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

because of all the broken glasses following a drinking session on board the team's ship.

Touring squad

During 1921 the New Zealand side toured Australia, playing matches against

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, which served as selection trials for the upcoming 'Australasian' team's tour, for which only one New Zealander,

Bert Laing Henry Bircher "Bert" LaingLAING, Henry Bircher (Bert) 1 ...

, selected. The team wore the sky blue jersey of New South Wales and the only non-New South Welsh player to appear in a test was Queenslander Billy Richards in the third.

Billy Cann Wiliam A. Cann (1882–1958) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s who later wrote for ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. A New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales state and Australia national rugby league tea ...

was co-manager of the Australasian touring squad along with Souths' secretary, George Ball. Secretary of the

Queensland Rugby League The Queensland Rugby Football League QRL Constitution, 2009: 3 (QRL QRL Constitution, 2009: 2) is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL Commission) and selects the membe ...

, and football journalist

Harry Sunderland Harry Sunderland (23 November 1889 – 15 January 1964) was an Australian rugby league football administrator and journalist. Sunderland was born in Gympie, Queensland in 1889. From 1913 to 1922, Sunderland was the Queensland Rugby League's ...

also accompanied the team. On this tour

Sandy Pearce :''Sid Pearce directs here, for his son, the rugby league footballer of the same name, see Joe Pearce'' Sidney Charles Pearce (born 30 May 1883 and died 14 November 1930 Double Bay, New South Wales), better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Austral ...

at 38 years of age became the oldest Australian international player.

New South Wales

Early in the 1921 NSWRFL season, players who were selected had to leave their clubs for the tour. All but one of the League's nine teams (

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

) were represented in the touring squad: *

Cec Blinkhorn Cyril "Cec" Blinkhorn (18 April 1892 – 8 April 1977) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played in the NSWRFL premiership for the North Sydney and South Sydney clubs, and also represented New Sout ...

, three-quarter back for North Sydney *

Frank Burge Frank Burge (14 August 1894 – 5 July 1958) was one of the greatest forwards in the history of rugby league in Australia. Later Burge became one of the game’s finest coaches. His club career was with Glebe and the St. George Dragons. He repr ...

, forward for

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

Harry Caples Harry Caples (1898–1933) was an Australian representative rugby league player. His club football was played with the Eastern Suburbs club. Club career A former schoolboy star, Caples attended St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill before being g ...

, half back for

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

* George Carstairs, back for

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

* Jimmy Craig, three-quarter back for Balmain *(c) Les Cubitt, three-quarter back for

* Charles Fraser, back for Balmain *

Bert Gray Albert Gray (23 September 1900 – 16 December 1969) was a Welsh international footballer who played as goalkeeper for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s, including Oldham Athletic, Manchester City, Tranmere Rovers and Chester. For his coun ...

, forward for

Harold Horder Harold Norman Horder (23 February 1894 – 21 August 1978) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a national and state representative player whose club career was with South Sydney and North Sydney between 1912 and 1924. Regarded as on ...

, three-quarter back for North Sydney *

Clarrie Ives J.C. 'Clarrie' Ives (1890 – 25 February 1956) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played for the North Sydney Bears, North Sydney club in the NSWRFL. Playing career A tough prop-forward, Ives started his first grade career with Nor ...

, forward for North Sydney * Albert Johnston, half back for

Reg Latta Reginald Augustine 'Whip' Latta (1897–1970) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s who also became a coach. An Australia national and New South Wales state representative forward, he playe ...

, forward for Balmain * Ted McGrath, forward for South Sydney *

Rex Norman Rex Norman (1891–1961) was an Australian rugby league footballer and cricketer, who represented Australasia in rugby league and New South Wales in both sports. Rugby league career Norman played 13 seasons in first grade in the NSWRFL, play ...

, three-quarter back for

, forward for

* Herman Peters, three-quarter back for North Sydney *

Clarrie Prentice Clarence Warwick Prentice (1 July 1891 – 10 March 1948) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who represented his country at both sports - a dual-code rugby international. He is the younger brother of fellow Wests player W ...

, forward for Western Suburbs * Felix Ryan, forward for Newtown * Bill Schultz, forward for Balmain *

Duncan Thompson Duncan Fulton Thompson MBE (14 March 1895 – 17 May 1980) was an Australian veteran of both WWI and WWII and a rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He was wounded on active service in WWI and has been named amongst the nation's ...

, half back for North Sydney * Dick Townsend, forward for Newtown * Dick Vest, three-quarter back for Western Suburbs *

Jack Watkins Jack Cosgrove "Bluey" Watkins (1893-1974) was an Australian rugby league footballer. Career He played , with seven test matches for his country, including the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. He is listed on the ''Australian Players ...

, forward for

Queensland

* Neville Broadfoot, three-quarter back for Queensland *

Edwin Brown Edwin Stanley "Nigger" Brown (1898–1972) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1910s and 1920s. A Queensland state and Australian international representative centre, he played club rugby in Toowoomba for Newtown. Brown, ...

, three-quarter back for Newtown (Toowoomba) *

Norm Potter Norm Potter (1893–1951) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer in the 1910s and '20s. A Queensland state and Australia national representative front-row forward, he was one of Queensland's early stalwart star players, making ...

, forward for Queensland * Bill Richards, forward for Western Suburbs (

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

)

New Zealand

The sole New Zealand player that accompanied the Australians on tour has been listed in the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

's Kangaroos players register. *

Bert Laing Henry Bircher "Bert" LaingLAING, Henry Bircher (Bert) 1 ...

, half back for Auckland

Matches

Before sailing for England the team stopped in New Zealand for an exhibition match at the

Basin Reserve The Basin Reserve (commonly known as "The Basin") is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand. It has been used for Test matches, and is the main home ground for the Wellington Firebirds first-class team. The Basin Reserve is the only cricke ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. Also during the tour, the

Northern Rugby Football Union Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

tried to arrange a match in Paris, but opposition from the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

-aligned

French Rugby Federation The French Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby (''FFR'')) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the France national rugby union team, French national team and the National Rugby League (Franc ...

made it impossible. After arriving in England, the Kangaroos played four matches against local clubs before the first Ashes test, winning all of them with dominant margins: ---- ---- ----

First Ashes test

The Kangaroos' winning streak came to an end when they played against England. Australasia led 5–3 at the break and the match seemed to be theirs when Frank Burge scored a late try, but it was disallowed by referee Frank Renton. Thus, a sole second-half try from the British close to full-time was enough for them to win it. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- At halftime York led 4 – 3 in a game that "was characterised by rough and scrambling play, minor injuries being numerous."

Second Ashes test

In the second Test the scores were 2-all at half-time, but after that the Australian backline of Horder, Carstairs, Vest and Blinkhorn cut loose. The Kangaroos scored 4 tries to nil, the win setting up the third and final Test as the Ashes decider. This was also the last Test in the international career of Sandy Pearce and made him the oldest ever Kangaroo. ---- The Kangaroos played sixteen more tour matches between the second and third Tests: Up to and including the final Kangaroo Tour which included matches against English club sides in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, this would be the highest ever score by the Kangaroos. The closest The Kangaroos ever came to this score was an 80–2 win over the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

in 1994. ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Among those present for this match was the UK's

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, J. H. Whitley. The half-time score was 18 – 3 in favour of the visitors, who were without Dick Vest due to ill health. ---- ----

Third Ashes test

The decider was played on a heavy, snow-bound field, much to the dismay of the fleet-footed Kangaroos. Early in the match the Australians were reduced to twelve men when Chook Fraser suffered a broken leg. In what was described as "a bruising encounter", Herman Hilton took a pass from his captain, the "prince of centres", Harold Wagstaff to dive over, taking two defenders over the try-line with him. The final score was 6 – 0 in favour of the home side. By winning this third and deciding test of the series, Britain claimed

. ---- ---- By the end of the tour, Australian three-quarter,

, had scored 39 tries in 29 matches, which still stands as the record for most tries scored on a Kangaroo tour and will most likely never be beaten. Other winger,

scored 35, and forward

was not far behind with 33 tries from 23 games. The team travelled back to Australia on the ''Orvieto'', arriving in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in February 1922. Upon their return to Sydney a large dinner was held for the tourists by the

New South Wales Rugby Football League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

, which was attended by the likes of Sir Joynton Smith, to celebrate the players' courageous effort and the fact that this was the first team to return to Sydney with a profit.

References

External links