1958 Great Britain Lions tour

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1958 Great Britain Lions tour
ManagerB. Manson &
Tom Mitchell
Coach(es)Jim Brough
Tour captain(s)Alan Prescott
Top point scorer(s)Eric Fraser 238
Top try scorer(s)Mick Sullivan 38
Top test point scorer(s)Eric Fraser 44
Top test try scorer(s)Mick Sullivan 8
Summary
P W D L
Total
30 27 01 02
Test match
05 03 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
3 2 0 1
 New Zealand
2 1 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tour1954
Next tour

The 1958 Great Britain Lions tour was the Great Britain national rugby league team's 11th tour of Australia and New Zealand and took place from May to November 1958. The Lions played 26 games on tour including the three test Ashes series against Australia and two tests against New Zealand.[1]

The Great Britain squad was coached by Jim Brough. The team captain was Alan Prescott from St Helens while Phil Jackson from Barrow was the tour vice-captain. The team managers were Mr B. Manson and Tom Mitchell.

The tour saw a record AU£78,417 in gate receipts with the Lions taking home a profit in excess of £40,000.

Touring squad[]

During the tour, players used numbers 1–26 in positional order, with full-backs as numbers 1 and 2. The Rugby League News published a photo of the touring squad and pen pictures of some players in two groups: one, and two.

Player Pos. Age
[nb 1] 		Weight Club Tests
on
Tour 		Games
in
Aus 		Games
in
NZ
[nb 2] 		Tries
in
Aus 		Goals
in
Aus 		FG Points
in
Aus 		Total
Points
Alvin Ackerley Hooker 30 14 st. 0 lb. (89 kg) Faxcolours.svg Halifax 1 12 1 0 0 3
Harry Archer Stand-off 23 13 st. 12 lb. (88 kg) Workingtoncolours.svg Workington 0 7 0 0 0 0
Eric Ashton Centre 23 13 st. 12 lb. (88 kg) Wigancolours.svg Wigan 4 13 20 13 0 86 116
Dave Bolton Fullback, Stand-off 21 11 st. 6 lb. (73 kg) Wigancolours.svg Wigan 2 8 6 0 0 18
Frank Carlton Wing 22 11 st. 10 lb. (74 kg) Saintscolours.svg St Helens 1 6 16 0 0 48
Jim Challinor Wing, Centre 23 13 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) Wolvescolours.svg Warrington 2 9 7 0 0 21
Alan Davies Centre, Stand-off 25 13 st. 8 lb. (86 kg) Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham 4 15 11 0 0 33
Brian Edgar Prop, Second-row 22 14 st. 4 lb. (91 kg) Workingtoncolours.svg Workington 2 11 3 0 0 9
Eric Fraser Fullback 27 13 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) Wolvescolours.svg Warrington 5 13 5 82 0 179 238
Dennis Goodwin Centre, Prop, Second-row 28 15 st. 0 lb. (95 kg) Barrowcolours.svg Barrow 2 8 2 0 0 6
Tommy Harris Hooker 30 13 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) Hullcolours.svg Hull 4 10 3 0 0 9
Dick Huddart Second-row 21 14 st. 4 lb. (91 kg) Haven colours.svg Whitehaven 4 17 15 0 0 45
Ken Jackson Prop 29 14 st. 10 lb. (93 kg) Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham 0 6 0 0 0 0
Phil Jackson (vc) Centre, Stand-off 25 14 st. 12 lb. (94 kg) Barrowcolours.svg Barrow 3 9 4 0 0 12
Vince Karalius Second-row, Loose forward 25 14 st. 6 lb. (92 kg) Saintscolours.svg St Helens 4 11 2 0 0 6
Mick Martyn Second-row 22 14 st. 4 lb. (91 kg) Leigh colours.svg Leigh 1 12 15 0 0 45
Brian McTigue Centre, Prop 27 14 st. 4 lb. (91 kg) Wigancolours.svg Wigan 4 12 3 11 0 31
Glyn Moses Fullback 30 13 st. 0 lb. (83 kg) Saintscolours.svg St Helens 0 12 1 0 0 3
Alex Murphy Scrum-half, Centre 19 11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg) Saintscolours.svg St Helens 4 15 15 3 0 51
Frank Pitchford Scrum-half 24 11 st. 0 lb. (70 kg) Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham 1 8 7 0 0 21
Alan Prescott (c) Centre, Wing, Loose forward 30 15 st. 10 lb. (100 kg) Saintscolours.svg St Helens 2 9 0 0 0 0
Ike Southward Wing 23 12 st. 0 lb. (76 kg) Workingtoncolours.svg Workington 4 12 13 20 0 79 165
Mick Sullivan Wing 24 11 st. 12 lb. (75 kg) Wigancolours.svg Wigan 5 12 20 0 0 60 114
Abe Terry Prop 24 16 st. 0 lb. (102 kg) Saintscolours.svg St Helens 2 10 2 0 0 6
Johnny Whiteley Second-row, Loose forward 27 14 st. 8 lb. (93 kg) Hullcolours.svg Hull 4 10 7 0 0 21
William Wookey Wing 22 14 st. 0 lb. (89 kg) Workingtoncolours.svg Workington 0 7 6 0 0 18
  1. ^ Age as given in the Rugby League News for the first match against Sydney
  2. ^ Other than the Test Matches, team lists for the tour matches in New Zealand not available to the author at the time of page creation.

Australian leg[]

Test venues[]

The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. As per normal to maximise the gate, two tests were played at the 70,000 capacity Sydney Cricket Ground.

Sydney Brisbane
Sydney Cricket Ground Brisbane Exhibition Ground
Capacity: 70,000 Capacity: 35,000
Sydney Showground and Cricket Ground 1936 (14019783946).jpg Queensland State Archives 5506 Aerial view of the grand parade of livestock at the Royal National Show Brisbane c 1958.png
18 May Southern Districts Illawarra colours.svg 18–36 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Wollongong Showground, Wollongong  
Result[2]
21 May Western Districts Canberra colours.svg 24–24 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Wade Park, Orange  
Scorers[3]
24 May Newcastle Newcastle foundation colours.svg 16–35 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Newcastle Sportsground, Newcastle  
Attendance: 21,126
28 May Northern NSW Balmain colours.svg 17–27 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Scully Park, Tamworth  
Scorers[4]
31 May Sydney City colours.svg 15–20 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney  
Program Attendance: 48,692
Referee: Darcy Lawler
4 June Riverina Western Suburbs colours.svg 10–29 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Leeton  
Attendance: 6,000
7 June New South Wales New South Wales colours.svg 10–19 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney  
Program Attendance: 52,963
Referee: Col Pearce

The final match before the first Test was often viewed by the home side as a chance to soften up the tourists and that was certainly the case in a violent clash which saw four players dismissed by referee Col Pearce – Vince Karalius (Great Britain); Greg Hawick, Rex Mossop and Peter Dimond (NSW).

The Ashes[]

The three Ashes series tests drew an aggregate attendance of 171,060.

1st Test[]

Saturday 14 June
Australia  25–8  Great Britain
Tries:
Brian Carlson
Ross Kite
Rex Mossop
Kel O'Shea
Norm Provan
Goals:
Gordon Clifford (5) 		Database[5]
Program 		Tries:
Dave Bolton
Ike Southward



Goals:
Ike Southward (1)
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 68,777
Referee: Darcy Lawler Australia
Australia
Great Britain
FB 1 Newtown colours.svg Gordon Clifford
WG 2 Newcastle colours.svg Ross Kite
CE 3 Western Suburbs colours.svg Harry Wells
CE 4 North Sydney colours.svg Brian Carlson
WG 5 South Sydney colours.svg Ian Moir
FE 6 Newtown colours.svg Tony Brown
HB 7 Western Suburbs colours.svg Keith Holman
PR 13 Balmain colours.svg Bill Marsh
HK 12 St. George colours.svg Ken Kearney
PR 11 Canterbury colours.svg Brian Davies (c)
SR 10 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Rex Mossop
SR 9 St. George colours.svg Norm Provan
LF 8 Western Suburbs colours.svg Kel O'Shea
Coach:
Australia Norm Robinson
FB 9 Wolvescolours.svg Eric Fraser
WG 22 Workingtoncolours.svg Ike Southward
CE 14 Barrowcolours.svg Phil Jackson
CE 7 Oldhamcolours.svg Alan Davies
WG 23 Wigancolours.svg Mick Sullivan
SO 4 Wigancolours.svg Dave Bolton
SH 19 Saintscolours.svg Alex Murphy
PR 21 Saintscolours.svg Alan Prescott (c)
HK 11 Hullcolours.svg Tommy Harris
PR 24 Saintscolours.svg Abe Terry
SR 8 Workingtoncolours.svg Brian Edgar
SR 16 Leigh colours.svg Mick Martyn
LF 25 Hullcolours.svg Johnny Whiteley
Coach:
England Jim Brough

After going through the tour undefeated before the test, the Lions ran into a hungry Australian side who led 10–0 after just 10 minutes and led 18–0 at halftime in front of 68,777 fans at the SCG.

16 June Brisbane Saintscolours.svg 29–34 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane  

Referee: Jack Casey
21 June Queensland Queensland colours.svg 29–34 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane  

Player of the Match: Brian Davies Queensland colours.svg
22 June Central Division Central Comets colours.svg 19–61 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Browne Park, Rockhampton  
Result[6]
26 June Wide Bay St. George colours.svg 25–50 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Bundaberg  
28 June Far North Queensland Cairns Cyclones Colours.svg 8–78 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Cairns  
28 June North Queensland North Queensland colours.svg 17–78 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Townsville  

Lions test fullback Eric Fraser kicked 15 goals from 18 attempts in the match. Dick Huddart crossed for 4 tries while Eric Ashton and Mick Martyn each scored 3 tries.

2nd Test[]

Saturday 5 July
Australia  18–25  Great Britain
Tries:
Brian Carlson
Peter Dimond
Keith Holman
Bill Marsh
Goals:
Gordon Clifford (3) 		Database[7]
Team[8] 		Tries:
Ike Southward (2)
Jim Challinor
Alex Murphy
Mick Sullivan
Goals:
Eric Fraser (5)
Brisbane Exhibition Ground, Brisbane
Attendance: 33,563
Referee: Darcy Lawler Australia
Player of the Match: Alex Murphy Great Britain colours.svg
Australia
Great Britain
FB 1 Newtown colours.svg Gordon Clifford
WG 2 Western Suburbs colours.svg Peter Dimond
CE 3 North Sydney colours.svg Brian Carlson
CE 4 Newcastle colours.svg Greg Hawick
WG 5 Newcastle colours.svg Ross Kite
FE 6 Newtown colours.svg Tony Brown
HB 7 Western Suburbs colours.svg Keith Holman
PR 13 Balmain colours.svg Bill Marsh
HK 12 St. George colours.svg Ken Kearney
PR 11 Canterbury colours.svg Brian Davies (c)
SR 10 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Rex Mossop
SR 9 St. George colours.svg Norm Provan
LF 8 Western Suburbs colours.svg Kel O'Shea
Coach:
Australia Norm Robinson
FB 9 Wolvescolours.svg Eric Fraser
WG 22 Workingtoncolours.svg Ike Southward
CE 3 Wigancolours.svg Eric Ashton
CE 6 Oldhamcolours.svg Jim Challinor
WG 23 Wigancolours.svg Mick Sullivan
SO 4 Wigancolours.svg Dave Bolton
SH 19 Saintscolours.svg Alex Murphy
PR 17 Wigancolours.svg Brian McTigue
HK 11 Hullcolours.svg Tommy Harris
PR 21 Saintscolours.svg Alan Prescott (c)
SR 25 Hullcolours.svg Johnny Whiteley
SR 12 Haven colours.svg Dick Huddart
LF 15 Saintscolours.svg Vince Karalius
Coach:
England Jim Brough

Inspired by captain Alan Prescott who played on until the end despite breaking his right arm in just the 3rd minute of the game, Great Britain leveled the series at 1–all with a 25–18 win over Australia in Brisbane. The injury ended Prescott's tour as a player. At half time, Prescott was offered a pain killing injection but refused, telling team manager Tom Mitchell "I just can’t got off, Tom. We would be two men short. We have got to win, so I had better help the boys". Great Britain also lost Dave Bolton with a broken collar bone after just 17 minutes.

With Vince Karalius and Brian McTigue providing the muscle and teenage scrum-half Alex Murphy providing the class, the Lions had the measure of Australia this day.

9 July Toowoomba Toowoomba Clydesdales colours.svg 19–36 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Toowoomba Athletic Oval, Cairns  
Attendance: 7,500
13 July NSW North Coast Balmain colours.svg 15–56 Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Oakes Oval, Lismore  
Attendance: 5,541

3rd Test[]

Former Australian captain Ken Kearney played his 31st and last test.

Saturday 19 July
Australia  17–40  Great Britain
Tries:
Greg Hawick
Keith Holman
Norm Provan



Goals:
Gordon Clifford (4) 		Database[9]
Program
Scorers[10] 		Tries:
Mick Sullivan (3)
Alan Davies
Alex Murphy
Ike Southward
Abe Terry
Johnny Whiteley
Goals:
Eric Fraser (8)
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 68,720
Referee: Jack Casey Australia
Player of the Match: Alex Murphy Great Britain colours.svg
Australia
Great Britain
FB 1 Newtown colours.svg Gordon Clifford
WG 2 South Sydney colours.svg Ian Moir
CE 3 North Sydney colours.svg Brian Carlson
CE 4 Western Suburbs colours.svg Harry Wells
WG 5 Western Suburbs colours.svg Peter Dimond
FE 6 Newcastle colours.svg Greg Hawick
HB 7 Western Suburbs colours.svg Keith Holman
PR 13 Balmain colours.svg Bill Marsh
HK 12 St. George colours.svg Ken Kearney
PR 11 Canterbury colours.svg Brian Davies (c)
SR 10 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Rex Mossop
SR 9 St. George colours.svg Norm Provan
LF 8 Western Suburbs colours.svg Kel O'Shea
Coach:
Australia Norm Robinson
FB 9 Wolvescolours.svg Eric Fraser
WG 22 Workingtoncolours.svg Ike Southward
CE 3 Wigancolours.svg Eric Ashton
CE 6 Oldhamcolours.svg Alan Davies
WG 23 Wigancolours.svg Mick Sullivan
SO 4 Barrowcolours.svg Phil Jackson (c)
SH 19 Saintscolours.svg Alex Murphy
PR 17 Saintscolours.svg Abe Terry
HK 11 Hullcolours.svg Tommy Harris
PR 24 Wigancolours.svg Brian McTigue
SR 25 Hullcolours.svg Johnny Whiteley
SR 12 Haven colours.svg Dick Huddart
LF 15 Saintscolours.svg Vince Karalius
Coach:
England Jim Brough

Great Britain wrapped up The Ashes with a comprehensive 40–17 win over Australia in front of another 68,000+ crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground. As he had done in the second test in Brisbane, 19 year old St Helens scrum-half Alex Murphy tormented the home side and was awarded the Man of the Match. Following the game, Lions players chaired injured captain Alan Prescott (carrying The Ashes cup) on a lap of honour of the ground.

The following matches took place after the New Zealand leg of the tour.

14 August Representative Colts City colours.svg v Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney  
Program

In this game against the NSWRFL's Representative Colts (U/21), future Australian captain Reg Gasnier played his first game against Great Britain.

17 August Coalfields v Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Maitland Showground, Maitland  
23 August Western Australia Castleford colours.svg v Great Britain colours.svg Great Britain Claremont Showground, Perth  

New Zealand[]

1st Test[]

Saturday 26 July
New Zealand  15–10  Great Britain
Tries:
Rex Percy (2)
Tom Hadfield
Goals:
Cyril Eastlake (3) 		[11] Tries:
Phil Jackson
Mick Sullivan
Goals:
Eric Fraser (2)
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Vic Belsham New Zealand
New Zealand
Great Britain
FB 1 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Cyril Eastlake
WG 2 Wellington colours.svg Tom Hadfield
CE 3 New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg Reese Griffiths
CE 4 Canterbury colours.svg George Turner
WG 5 Australian colours.svg Neville Denton
FE 6 New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg George Menzies
HB 7 Castleford colours.svg Keith Roberts
PR 13 Cronulla colours.svg Joe Rātima
HK 12 Western Reds colours.svg Jock Butterfield
PR 11 Northern Raiders colors.png Henry Maxwell
SR 10 Adelaide colours.svg Cliff Johnson (c)
SR 9 Adelaide colours.svg Trevor Kilkelly
LF 8 Cronulla colours.svg Rex Percy
Coach:
New Zealand Travers Hardwick
FB 9 Wolvescolours.svg Eric Fraser
WG 5 Saintscolours.svg Frank Carlton
CE 3 Wigancolours.svg Eric Ashton
CE 6 Oldhamcolours.svg Alan Davies
WG 23 Wigancolours.svg Mick Sullivan
SO 4 Barrowcolours.svg Phil Jackson (c)
SH 20 Oldhamcolours.svg Frank Pitchford
PR 17 Wigancolours.svg Brian McTigue
HK 1 Faxcolours.svg Alvin Ackerley
PR 10 Barrowcolours.svg Dennis Goodwin
SR 8 Haven colours.svg Dick Huddart
SR 25 Hullcolours.svg Johnny Whiteley
LF 15 Saintscolours.svg Vince Karalius
Coach:
England Jim Brough

Just a week after their Ashes triumph over Australia, Great Britain were brought back down to earth by a committed New Zealand side 15–10 at Carlaw Park in Auckland.

2nd Test[]

Saturday 9 August
New Zealand  15–32  Great Britain
Tries:
Tom Hadfield
Rex Percy
Keith Roberts
Goals:
Cyril Eastlake (3) 		[12] Tries:
Mick Sullivan (3)
Eric Ashton (2)
Alex Murphy
Goals:
Eric Fraser (7)
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Vic Belsham New Zealand
New Zealand
Great Britain
FB 1 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Cyril Eastlake
WG 2 Wellington colours.svg Tom Hadfield
CE 3 New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg Reese Griffiths
CE 4 Canterbury colours.svg George Turner
WG 5 Australian colours.svg Neville Denton
FE 6 New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg George Menzies
HB 7 Castleford colours.svg Keith Roberts
PR 13 Cronulla colours.svg Joe Rātima
HK 12 Western Reds colours.svg Jock Butterfield
PR 11 Northern Raiders colors.png Henry Maxwell
SR 10 Adelaide colours.svg Trevor Kilkelly
SR 9 Adelaide colours.svg Cliff Johnson (c)
LF 8 Cronulla colours.svg Rex Percy
Coach:
New Zealand Travers Hardwick
FB 9 Wolvescolours.svg Eric Fraser
WG 5 Workingtoncolours.svg Ike Southward
CE 3 Wigancolours.svg Eric Ashton (c)
CE 6 Oldhamcolours.svg Jim Challinor
WG 23 Wigancolours.svg Mick Sullivan
SO 6 Oldhamcolours.svg Alan Davies
SH 19 Saintscolours.svg Alex Murphy
PR 8 Workingtoncolours.svg Brian Edgar
HK 11 Hullcolours.svg Tommy Harris
PR 17 Wigancolours.svg Brian McTigue
SR 8 Haven colours.svg Dick Huddart
SR 10 Barrowcolours.svg Dennis Goodwin
LF 15 Saintscolours.svg Vince Karalius
Coach:
England Jim Brough

With Alex Murphy returning from injury, Great Britain outclassed New Zealand 32–15 in front of 25,000 at Carlaw Park.

References[]

  1. ^ 1958 Great Britain Lions tour at Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "English League Team Wins At Wollongong". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 19 May 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  3. ^ "West Holds U.K. Side To Draw". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 22 May 1958. p. 24. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Englishmen Challenged". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 29 May 1958. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  5. ^ 1st Ashes Test
  6. ^ "England Has Easiest Win Of Tour". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 23 June 1958. p. 9. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  7. ^ 2nd Ashes Test
  8. ^ "Hawick Chosen To Play In Second Test". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 30 June 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. ^ 3rd Ashes Test
  10. ^ "England Wins Test With Record Score". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 21 July 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. ^ 1st Test – New Zealand vs Great Britain
  12. ^ 2nd Test – New Zealand vs Great Britain
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