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 Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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 rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

football was in its seventh year since splitting away from

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

in 1908. the tourists ventured to

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Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and Bathurst, as well as

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. The Australian team was captained in all three Ashes

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) ...

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

skipper Sid Deane.

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, William Davies, Bert Jenkins, Frank Williams, Fred Smith, Jack O'Garra, James Clampitt, Billy Jarman, Arthur Johnson, Dave Holland, Percy Coldrick, John Smales ---- Metropolis: Howard Hallett, Harold Horder, Sid Deane (c), Bill Kelly, Wally Messenger, Ray Norman, Arthur Halloway, Jack Watkins, Sid Pearce, Con Sullivan, Paddy McCue, Ed Courtney, Frank Burge Northern Union: Alf Wood, Frank Williams, William Davies (c), Bert Jenkins, Jack Robinson, Stuart Prosser, Johnny Rogers, Joseph Guerin, James Clampitt, Walter Roman, Billy Jarman, Dave Holland, John Smales ---- NSW: Howard Hallett, Harold Horder, Sid Deane (c), Bill Kelly, Wally Messenger, Ray Norman, Arthur Halloway, Jack Watkins, Sid Pearce, Con Sullivan, Paddy McCue, Ed Courtney, Frank Burge. Res – Charles Fraser Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, William Davies,

Harold Wagstaff Harold Wagstaff (9 May 1891 – 19 July 1939), also known by the nickname of "Waggy", was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s. He played as a and was nicknamed the ''Prince of Centres''. A ca ...

(c), Bert Jenkins, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall, Johnny Rogers, Percy Coldrick, Douglas Clark, Arthur Johnson, Billy Jarman, Dave Holland, Jack Chilcott ---- Queensland: Mick Bolewski (c), Herbert McCabe, Walter Bolewski, Henry Bolewski, William Beavis, Daniel Rowley, Evan Lewis, Jack Egan, Thomas Dean, Harold Bawden, Charles Scott, William Pritchard, James Adams Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Frank Williams,

(c), William Davies, Alfred Francis, Fred Smith, Jack O'Garra, Joseph Guerin, Douglas Clark, Fred Longstaff, Dick Ramsdale, John Smales, Jack Chilcott ---- Northern Union: Billy Jarman, Stan Moorhouse,

(c), Billy Hall, Alfred Francis, Stuart Prosser, Fred Smith, Arthur Johnson, Joseph Guerin, James Clampitt, Walter Roman, Percy Coldrick, Fred Longstaff ---- Queensland: Mick Bolewski (c), Herbert McCabe, John Birkett, Henry Bolewski, William Beavis, Thomas Hennessy, Evan Lewis, Jack Egan, Thomas Dean, Peter Olsen, Charles Scott, William Pritchard, Don Jeffrey Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Frank Williams,

(c), Bert Jenkins, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall, Johnny Rogers, Percy Coldrick, Douglas Clark, Fred Longstaff, Dick Ramsdale, Billy Jarman, Jack Chilcott ---- Newcastle: J. Maloney (c), P. Scully, W. Coleman, E. Brien, G. Johns, J. Coleman, F. Bell, F. Grahame, H. Williams, Stan Carpenter, J. Quinn, Arthur Baber, C. Perkins Northern Union: Alf Wood, Alfred Francis,

(c), William Davies, Jack Robinson, Fred Smith, Jack O'Garra, Walter Roman, James Clampitt, Joseph Guerin, Dave Holland, John Smales, Arthur Johnson ----

First test

Future

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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, Henry Bolewski. 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

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 Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

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, Stuart Prosser, Johnny Rogers, Walter Roman, James Clampitt, Joseph Guerin, John Smales, Billy Jarman, Arthur Johnson ----

Third test

The third and deciding Ashes test had originally been scheduled for Melbourne in August, but the

New South Wales Rugby Football League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

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, Arthur Halloway (c), Bob Williams, Sid Pearce, Ed Courtney, Bob Craig, Albert Burge, Frank Burge. Res – Northern Union: Alf Wood, Stan Moorhouse,

(c), Bert Jenkins, William Davies, Billy Hall, Johnny Rogers, Percy Coldrick, James Clampitt, Dick Ramsdale, Fred Longstaff, Jack Chilcott, Arthur Johnson 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, Stuart Prosser, Fred Smith, Joseph Guerin, Billy Jarman, Jack Chilcott, John Smales, Walter Roman, James Clampitt ---- ---- ---- Auckland: Tom Cross, Charles Woolley, Karl Ifwersen, Edward Fox, Thomas McClymont, Arthur Hardgrave, Charles Webb, Charlie Savory, Joe Bennett, Stan Walters, Bob Mitchell, Harold Hayward,

Jim Clark James Clark (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British racing driver from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Clark won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with Lotus, and—at the time of his death—held the ...

Northern Union: Alf Wood, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall, Bert Jenkins, William Davies, Johnny Rogers, Fred Smith, Dick Ramsdale, Arthur Johnson, Jack Chilcott, 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 The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

NZ£650. ---- Northern Union: Alf Wood, Stan Moorhouse,

(c), Bert Jenkins, William Davies, Jack O'Garra, Stuart Prosser, Dick Ramsdale, Joseph Guerin, James Clampitt, Fred Longstaff, Percy Coldrick, Walter Roman ---- New Zealand lost the sole Test match 13–16. Billy Wilson scored two tries, Vic Banks 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

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...