The 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the second ever British national rugby league team or 'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

national sides, as well as several local teams. The tour repeated the promotional and financial success of the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia and became famous for the third and deciding

Ashes Ashes may refer to: *Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), a ...

test, known as the " Rorke's Drift Test" due to a backs-to-the wall British victory against all odds.

Touring squad

At the 1913–14 Northern Rugby Football Union season's conclusion, the following

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

squad was assembled by the Northern Rugby Football Union to represent it on the tour of Australasia. The Union's tour manager was John Clifford.

Australia

The first leg of the tour was Australia, where the game of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

football was in its seventh year since splitting away from

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

in 1908. the tourists ventured to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and Bathurst, as well as Sydney,

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 ...

and Newcastle. The Australian team was captained in all three

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

by North Sydney skipper

Sid Deane Sid Deane (1885–1967) was a foundation Australian rugby league player. He was a centre for the Australia national team. He played in five Tests between 1908 and 1914. In 1914 he became the ninth Australian national captain and the first fro ...

Test venues

The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. All three tests took place in Sydney.

---- South Australia: J. Lawson, R. Cooksley, O. Howard, E. Dutton, P. Knowles, W. Oldfield, M. Moran, C. Fincham, J. Sorensen, F. Stewart, J. Carr, A. Shuttleworth, P. Jackson. Res – L. Scott Northern Union: Alf Wood (c),

Jack Robinson Jack Robinson may refer to: Sportspeople * Jack Robinson (catcher) (1880–1921), American baseball player * Jack Robinson (footballer, born 1870) (1870–1931), England, Derby County and Southampton football goalkeeper *Jack Robinson (footballer, ...

, William Davies,

Bert Jenkins Thomas Bertie "Bert" Jenkins (first ¼ 1885 – 4 February 1943) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Troedyrhiw RFC and Mountain ...

, Frank Williams,

Fred Smith Fred, Frederic, or Frederick Smith may refer to: In literature *Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (1907–1975), British peer and biographer *Frederick Smith, 3rd Earl of Birkenhead (1936–1985), British peer and author * Frederick E. Smith ...

, Jack O'Garra, James Clampitt, Billy Jarman,

Arthur Johnson Arthur Johnson may refer to: Sports *Arthur Johnson (athletic director), athletic director for Temple Owls *Arthur Johnson (boxer) (born 1966), U.S. Olympic boxer * Arthur Johnson (rugby league), Widnes and Great Britain 1908/09 - 1922/23 *Arthur J ...

, Dave Holland, Percy Coldrick,

John Smales John "Jack" Smales (first ¼ 1888 – fourth ¼ 1930) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played at representative level for Great Britain (non- test matches), and Yorkshire, and a ...

---- Metropolis:

Howard Hallett Howard Hallett (1890–1970) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach for South Sydney of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. Hallett primarily played at . He represented for New South Wales and Australia and is considered ...

, Harold Horder,

(c), Bill Kelly, Wally Messenger, Ray Norman, Arthur Halloway, Jack Watkins,

Sid 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 ...

Con Sullivan Con Sullivan (1886–1964) was a New Zealand international rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s and 1910s for various Australasian representative sides. Playing career Sullivan started his career playing rugby in Wellington where h ...

Paddy McCue Patrick Aloysius McCue (24 June 1883 – 10 September 1962) was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league footballer. He was a dual-code rugby international and an Olympic gold medallist. Rugby union career A for ...

, Ed Courtney, Frank Burge Northern Union: Alf Wood, Frank Williams, William Davies (c),

Stuart Prosser William Stuart Prosser (1887 – 12 March 1939) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Pontypool RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for ...

Johnny Rogers John Bernard Rogers Bakker (born December 30, 1963) is a Spanish-American former professional basketball player. Rogers played college basketball at Stanford University and at the University of California, Irvine. Listed at a height of 6'10" and ...

Joseph Guerin Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, James Clampitt, Walter Roman, Billy Jarman, Dave Holland,

---- NSW:

, Harold Horder,

(c), Bill Kelly, Wally Messenger, Ray Norman, Arthur Halloway, Jack Watkins,

, Ed Courtney, Frank Burge. Res – Charles Fraser Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, William Davies, Harold Wagstaff (c),

, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall,

, Percy Coldrick, Douglas Clark,

, Billy Jarman, Dave Holland,

Jack Chilcott John Chilcott (19 August 1885 – 1 July 1973) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. As a Northern Union international he played in the sensational Test Match against Australia on 2 July 191 ...

---- Queensland: Mick Bolewski (c), Herbert McCabe, Walter Bolewski,

Henry Bolewski Henry 'Harry' Bolewski (; 1890−1976) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach of the early 20th century. A Queensland state and Australia national representative goal-kicking back-line player, he played his club football in Brisbane ...

William Beavis William D. Beavis is professor and GF Sprague Chair for Population Genetics in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. His research focuses on statistical genetics and ways to optimize plant breeding. He is known for discovering wha ...

Daniel Rowley Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength ...

, Evan Lewis,

Jack Egan Jack Egan may refer to: * Jack Egan (boxer) (1878–1950), American boxer * Johnny Egan (Australian footballer) (born 1898), Australian footballer * Jack Egan (Cork hurler) (1904–1984), Irish hurler * Jack Egan (Kilkenny hurler) (1921–1994), Ir ...

Thomas Dean Thomas or Tom(my) Dean or Deen may refer to: *Thomas Dean (cricketer, born 1920) (1920–2004), English cricketer *Tom Dean (Gloucestershire cricketer) (1881–1964), cricketer who played once for Gloucestershire in 1908 *Tom Dean (artist), Canadian ...

, Harold Bawden, Charles Scott, William Pritchard, James Adams Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Frank Williams, Harold Wagstaff (c), William Davies, Alfred Francis,

, Jack O'Garra,

, Douglas Clark, Fred Longstaff, Dick Ramsdale,

---- Northern Union: Billy Jarman, Stan Moorhouse, Harold Wagstaff (c), Billy Hall, Alfred Francis,

, James Clampitt, Walter Roman, Percy Coldrick, Fred Longstaff ---- Queensland: Mick Bolewski (c), Herbert McCabe, John Birkett,

, Thomas Hennessy, Evan Lewis,

, Peter Olsen, Charles Scott, William Pritchard,

Don Jeffrey Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Frank Williams, Harold Wagstaff (c),

, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall,

, Percy Coldrick, Douglas Clark, Fred Longstaff, Dick Ramsdale, Billy Jarman,

---- Newcastle: J. Maloney (c), P. Scully, W. Coleman, E. Brien, G. Johns, J. Coleman, F. Bell, F. Grahame, H. Williams,

Stan Carpenter Stan or STAN may refer to: People * Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name ** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy * Stan (surname), a Romanian surname * Stan! (born 1964), American author, ...

, J. Quinn,

Arthur Baber Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, C. Perkins Northern Union: Alf Wood, Alfred Francis, Harold Wagstaff (c), William Davies,

, Jack O'Garra, Walter Roman, James Clampitt,

, Dave Holland,

----

First test

Future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee Harold Horder was selected to make his Test debut for this match. On the other wing was the only Queenslander selected in the home side,

. Also selected to debut for his adopted country was New Zealander, Bill Kelly, after whom the trophy contested in the ANZAC Test would be named. The first test of the 1914 Ashes series was played in Sydney before a crowd of around 40,000. Leeds forward Billy Jarman, making his debut for Great Britain missed a conversion attempt from in front of the posts. Henry Bolewski was the only

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_ ...

player selected in the Australian side. ----

Second test

After being humiliated in the first Test, the Australians bounced back to narrowly win the second 12–7 at the Sydney Cricket Ground with Charles Fraser and Frank Burge scoring and Wally Messenger kicking 3 goals. ---- Western Districts: E. Hawke, A. Bassett, A. Dawson, H. Gunn, E. Lockhard, R. Trefrey, Edward Coyne, D. Gander, Arch Moncreiff (c), D. Reece, P. Smith, R. Murphy, D. Haynes Northern Union: Alf Wood (c), Frank Williams, Billy Hall, William Davies, Jack O'Garra,

, Walter Roman, James Clampitt,

, Billy Jarman,

----

Third test

The third and deciding Ashes test had originally been scheduled for Melbourne in August, but the New South Wales Rugby Football League unilaterally rescheduled it for Sydney on 4 July to maximise profits. Melbourne had to wait another 78 years until they hosted their first test, in the Ashes Series of 1992. The British protested that it would be their third test match in seven days and several of their first team were out with injuries, but the NSWRFL got its way. The tourists were instructed by the Northern Union officials to play and do their duty for England. Within the first minutes of the match, Great Britain were down a man due to an injury to Frank Williams. Forward Arthur 'Chick' Johnson, the Widnes club's first international representative, was shifted to the wing to take Williams' place. At half time the British were leading 9–3. Ten minutes into the second half, they had lost Douglas Clark and Billy Hall to injuries so were reduced to ten men. 'Chick' Johnson, playing out of position on the wing, then used the unorthodox method of dribbling the ball ahead with his feet to score a try. This lifted his teammates in defence and the British managed to win 14–6. ---- NSW: George Challis, Tom Leggo, Bob Tidyman, Charles Fraser, George Bain,

Les Cubitt Les Cubitt (31 October 1892 – 10 November 1968) was an Australian representative rugby league player, a , or whose club career was with Eastern Suburbs and the Glebe. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th centur ...

, Arthur Halloway (c), Bob Williams,

, Ed Courtney, Bob Craig, Albert Burge, Frank Burge. Res – Northern Union: Alf Wood, Stan Moorhouse, Harold Wagstaff (c),

, William Davies, Billy Hall,

, Percy Coldrick, James Clampitt, Dick Ramsdale, Fred Longstaff,

This game was played on the return leg from

----

New Zealand

Originally scheduled to take place during the Ashes series, the New Zealand leg was postponed until afterwards. Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Joseph Houghton, Billy Hall, William Davies, Jack O'Garra,

, Billy Jarman,

, Walter Roman, James Clampitt ---- ---- ---- Auckland:

Tom Cross Thomas or Tom Cross may refer to: * Thomas Cross (engraver), 17th-century English engraver and music publisher * Tom Cross (film editor), American television and film editor * Tom Cross (politician) (born 1958), Republican member of the Illinois ...

, Charles Woolley, Karl Ifwersen, Edward Fox,

Thomas McClymont Thomas Allen "Scotty" McClymont (5 January 1892 – 18 December 1974) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s, and coached in the 1920s through to the 1950s. He represented New Zealand. Early years Thomas M ...

Arthur Hardgrave Arthur Hardgrave (1882-1953) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. His son Roy Hardgrave also played for New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand as well as a very ...

Charles Webb Charles or Charlie Webb may refer to: *The Somerton Man, who has supposedly been identified as a man going by this name *Charles Webb (author) (1939–2020), American author *Charles Webb (architect) (1821–1898), architect working in Victoria, Au ...

Charlie Savory Charles Savory (23 March 1889 – 8 May 1915) was a New Zealand international rugby league footballer and champion boxer who died in the First World War. An Australasian and New Zealand international representative forward, Savory was one of ...

, Joe Bennett, Stan Walters, Bob Mitchell, Harold Hayward, Jim Clark Northern Union: Alf Wood, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall,

, William Davies,

, Dick Ramsdale,

, Fred Longstaff, Percy Coldrick, Dave Holland Northern Union defeated Auckland 34–12 in front of 13,000 fans. The gate earned the Auckland Rugby League NZ£650. ---- Northern Union: Alf Wood, Stan Moorhouse, Harold Wagstaff (c),

, William Davies, Jack O'Garra,

, Dick Ramsdale,

, James Clampitt, Fred Longstaff, Percy Coldrick, Walter Roman ---- New Zealand lost the sole Test match 13–16. Billy Wilson scored two tries,

Vic Banks William Thomas Victor Banks (9 February 1889 – 12 October 1972) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played at representative level for New Zealand ( Heritage № 108), and Hawke's Bay, as a forward ...

scored one and Karl Ifwersen kicked two goals.New Zealand vs England 1914
''rugbyleagueproject.org'' ----

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1914 Great Britain Lions Tour Of Australia And New Zealand Great Britain national rugby league team tours Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand Rugby league tours of Australia Rugby league tours of New Zealand