1956 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia
| 1956 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Ron McGregor | ||||
| Coach(es) | Bill Telford | ||||
| Tour captain(s) | Tommy Baxter | ||||
| Top point scorer(s) | Des White 88 | ||||
| Top try scorer(s) | Rex Percy 12 | ||||
| Top test point scorer(s) | Des White 10 | ||||
| Top test try scorer(s) | Vern Bakalich 2 | ||||
| Summary |
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| Total |
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| Test match |
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| Opponent |
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| Tour chronology | |||||
| Previous tour | 1952 by 1955 by 1955-56 to | ||||
| Next tour | 1956 by 1958 by 1959 by | ||||
The 1956 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia was the eighteenth tour by New Zealand's national rugby league team, and the thirteenth tour to visit Australia. The fifteen-match tour included three Test Matches.
The touring team began with a pair of wins but then lost the next two, against Newcastle and the First Test in Sydney. Five strong performances in Queensland followed, with wins by wide margins in high-scoring matches. In contrast, the Second Test was a low-scoring match, Australia winning 8 to 2 to secure their first Trans-Tasman series win since 1935. New Zealand lost the Third Test, and thus the series three-nil, and also the two tour matches that followed.
Leadership
The team was captained by Tommy Baxter.[1]
The touring team was managed by Ron McGregor.[2]
Squad
The Rugby League News published a Team Photo, Player Details (Occupation, Age, Height and Weight) and pen portraits of the tourists: Backs and Forwards which listed their provincial team.
| Player | Pos. | Age[3] | Weight | Province | Tests on Tour |
Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Ackland | Centre | 21 | 13. 4 (84) | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Vern Bakalich | Wing | 26 | 12. 2 (77) | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | |
| Tommy Baxter | Centre | 26 | 12. 12 (82) | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Sel Belsham | Halfback | 25 | 11. 2 (71) | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| John Bond | Prop, Second-row | 24 | 14. 8 (93) | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Ossie Butt | Prop, Second-row | 22 | 14. 4 (91) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jock Butterfield | Hooker, Second-row | 24 | 14. 0 (89) | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Pat Creedy | Fullback | 28 | 12. 5 (78) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 11 | |
| Cyril Eastlake | Utility Back | 25 | 11. 7 (73) | 3 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 18 | |
| Arnold Green | Wing, Centre | 22 | 10. 11 (68) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | |
| Reese Griffiths | Wing, Centre | 18 | 12. 3 (78) | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Tom Hadfield | Wing, Centre | 21 | 12. 0 (76) | 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Cliff Johnson | Second-row | 27 | 15. 2 (96) | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| John Lasher | Hooker | 23 | 12. 12 (82) | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Duncan MacRae | Prop | 22 | 15. 4 (97) | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Henry Maxwell | Prop | 24 | 15. 10 (100) | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| George Menzies | Five-eighth | 25 | 11. 5 (72) | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Gordon Moncur | Wing | 23 | 11. 2 (71) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Frank Mulcare | Lock | 27 | 13. 0 (83) | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Mauriohooho Murray | Second-row | 23 | 14. 5 (91) | 0 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
| Rex Percy | Lock | 22 | 13. 7 (86) | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 36 | |
| Jim Riddell | Second-row | 26 | 13. 8 (86) | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Keith Roberts | Halfback | 24 | 11. 12 (75) | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |
| Bill Sorensen | Five-eighth, Centre | 24 | 13. 4 (84) | 3 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 40 | |
| Des White | Fullback | 29 | 11. 13 (76) | 3 | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 88 | |
| John Yates | Prop, Second-row | 25 | 15. 2 (96) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Matches
| May 30 | Western Division |
16–19 | Lithgow | ||
| Tries: 2 Laurie Bennett Alex Whitby Goals: 5 Barry Russell (5) |
Result[4] |
Tries: 5 Vern Bakalich (2) Ron Ackland Jock Butterfield Frank Mulcare Goals: 2 Pat Creedy (2) |
Attendance: 6,620 Gate: AU£ 1,062 Referee: Eric McIlhatton |
|
Western NSW: FB: Barry Russell (age 22), WG: William Miller (23) ( |
| June 2 | New South Wales |
17–26 | Sydney Cricket Ground | ||
| Tries: 3 Don Adams Graham Laird Peter O'Connor Goals: 4 Ron Willey (4) |
Program Database |
Tries: 4 Bill Sorensen (3) Frank Mulcare Goals: 7 Des White (7) |
Attendance: 35,492 Gate: AU£ 5,008 Referee: C. Brown |
|
New South Wales: FB: Ron Willey (age 28) ( |
| June 4 | Newcastle |
20–5 | Newcastle Sports Ground | ||
| Tries: 4 Fred Brown Doug Hawke Don Adams Brian Carlson Goals: 4 Russ Naughton (4) |
Result[5] |
Tries: 1 Henry Maxwell Goals: 1 Des White |
Attendance: 12,500 Gate: AU£ 2,247 Referee: G. Hallwood |
|
Newcastle: FB: Russ Naughton ( |
1st Test
June 9
2.30pm |
| Australia |
12–9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 4 Don Adams (2) Dick Poole Ian Moir Goals: 0 |
Program Result[6][7] Database |
Tries: 3 Sel Belsham Vern Bakalich Bill Sorensen Goals: 0 |
Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 46,766 Gate: AU£ 15,905 Referee: John Casey |
|
Australia: FB: Ken McCrohon (23) ( |
| June 11 | Brisbane |
8–26 | Brisbane Exhibition Ground | ||
| Night game |
Tries: 2 J. Duncan (2) Goals: 1 Brian Davies |
Result[8] |
Tries: 6 Bill Sorensen Tom Hadfield Cyril Eastlake John Yates Arnold Green Pat Creedy Goals: 4 Bill Sorensen (2) Pat Creedy (2) |
Attendance: 14,367 Gate: AU£ 2,020 Referee: John Casey |
|
Brisbane: FB: Ken McCrohon ( |
| June 13 | Toowoomba |
25–33 | Toowoomba | ||
| Tries: 5 Leo Johnson Athol Halpin Des McGovern Tom Payne Bob Buckley Goals: 5 Don Furner (5) |
Result[9] |
Tries: 7 Rex Percy (2) Ron Ackland (2) Tom Hadfield Bill Sorensen Henry Maxwell Goals: 6 Des White (6) |
Attendance: 6,142 Gate: AU£ 1,327 Referee: Frank Ballard |
|
Toowoomba: FB: Athol Halpin ( |
| June 16 | Queensland |
26–40 | Brisbane | ||
| Tries: 6 Des McGovern Alex Watson Bob Buckley Tom Tyquin Don Furner Gary Parcell Goals: 4 Cyril Connell Jr (3) Don Furner |
Database |
Tries: 8 George Menzies (2) Vern Bakalich Tom Hadfield Tommy Baxter Frank Mulcare Mauriohooho Murray Ron Ackland Goals: 8 Des White (8) |
Attendance: 28,261 Gate: AU£ 4,138 Referee: John Casey |
|
Queensland: FB: Ken McCrohon (age 23) ( |
| June 17 | Central Queensland |
22–60 | Rockhampton | ||
| Tries: 6 G. Little (2) Allan Rycen Ollie Smith Bob Banks P. Millroy Goals: 2 Ken Jenkins (2) |
Tries: 14 Rex Percy (6) Reese Griffiths (3) Vern Bakalich (2) Bill Sorensen Tom Hadfield Mauriohooho Murray Goals: 9 Des White (9) |
Attendance: 5,800 Gate: AU£ 1,451 Referee: N. Castley |
|
Central Queensland: FB: Ray Robinson ( |
| June 20 | North Queensland |
8–53 | Townsville | ||
| Tries: 2 Danny Clifford Ken Woodward Goals: 1 Albert Roberts |
Tries: 15 Keith Roberts (4) John Lasher (3) Arnold Green (2) Bill Sorensen (2) Gordon Moncur Reese Griffiths Henry Maxwell Cyril Eastlake Goals: 4 Bill Sorensen (3) Cyril Eastlake |
Attendance: 4,000 Gate: AU£ 963 Referee: H. Gilbert |
|
North Queensland: FB: Bevan Hoyle (Townsville), WG: Albert Roberts (Townsville), CE: Len Blaik (Townsville), CE: Ron Tait ( |
2nd Test
June 23
|
| Australia |
8–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 2 Dick Poole Alex Watson Goals: 1 Gordon Clifford |
Result[10] Database |
Tries: 0 Goals: 1 Des White |
Brisbane
Attendance: 28,361 Gate: AU£ 9,827 Referee: Darcy Lawler |
|
Australia: FB: Gordon Clifford ( |
| June 24 | Wide Bay |
5–29 | Maryborough | ||
| Tries: 1 L. Hooper Goals: 1 A. Brunkie |
Tries: 7 Arnold Green (3) John Bond (2) Keith Roberts Rex Percy Goals: 4 Des White (4) |
Attendance: 1,326 Gate: AU£ 349 Referee: Vic Vercoe |
|
Wide Bay: FB: A. Brunkie, WG: L. Kavanagh, CE: W. Beck, CE: P. Clarke, WG: W. Hannen, FE: B. Sherwood, HB: G. Norris, LK: L. Hooper, SR: R. Marles, SR: T. Drysdale, PR: R. King, HK: Keith Weston, PR: M. Ziebath. |
| June 27 | Northern Division |
14–15 | Narrabri | ||
| Tries: 4 J. Gurd (2) C. Kelly A. Collinson Goals: 1 C. Robinson |
Tries: 3 Rex Percy (2) Bill Sorensen Goals: 3 Cyril Eastlake (3) |
Attendance: 2,040 Gate: AU£ 566 Referee: K. Hilton |
|
Northern NSW: FB: C. Robinson, WG: J. Gurd, CE: R. Lumsden (Urunga), CE: J. Daly, WG: J. Wood, FE: A. Davidson, HB: C. Kelly, LK: G. Smith, SR: Arthur Collinson (Port Macquarie), SR: Guy Brazier (Dorrigo), PR: Lloyd Hudson ( |
3rd Test
June 30
2.30pm |
| Australia |
31–14 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 7 Don Adams (3) Alex Watson (2) Keith Holman Darcy Henry Goals: 5 Norm Pope (5) |
Program Database |
Tries: 2 Vern Bakalich Cliff Johnson Goals: 4 Des White (4) |
Sydney
Attendance: 46,735 Gate: AU£ 14,806 Referee: Darcy Lawler |
|
Australia: FB: Norm Pope (24) ( |
| July 1 | Southern Division |
25–10 | Wollongong | ||
| Tries: 5 L. Johnson M. Grenfell D. Spence J. Lumsden M. Graham Goals: 5 D. Russell (5) |
Result[11] |
Tries: 2 Rex Percy Mauriohooho Murray Goals: 2 Cyril Eastlake (2) |
Attendance: 6,804 Gate: AU£ 1,016 Referee: Jerry Lane |
|
Southern Division: FB: Darcy Russell ( |
| July 4 | Southern NSW | 16–11 | Cootamundra | ||
| Tries: 4 D. Goldspink (2) Burns B. Clay Goals: 2 J. O'Connell (2) |
Result[12] |
Tries: 1 Arnold Green Goals: 4 Des White (4) |
Attendance: 6,000 Gate: AU£ 322 Referee: H. T. Grew |
|
Southern NSW: FB: J. O'Connell, WG: D. Goldspink, CE: W. Garvin, CE: Brian Clay ( |
Sources
| Acronym | Item | Years | Database App | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Online Access | ||||
| RLN | Rugby League News | 1920-1973 | Trove | Match Program in Sydney, Team Lists, Team Photos, Articles |
| RLP | Rugby League Project | 1907–present | RLP Website | Test Match teams & scorers. |
| CQH | The Central Queensland Herald | 1930-1956 | Trove | Short match reports. |
| CT | The Canberra Times | 1926-1995 | Trove | Short match reports. |
| Offline Resources | ||||
| EECYB | E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Year Book | 1946-1978 | Copies at State Library of NSW |
Teams, Point Scorers, Report. 1953 Yearbook covers the 1952 tour. |
| QRLG | Queensland Rugby League Gazette | 1950-1955 | Copies at State Library of Qld |
Program for matches in Brisbane. Collection is predominantly of representative matches. |
| RRLG | Rockhampton Rugby League Gazette | 1951-1968 | Copies at State Library of Qld |
Program for matches in Rockhampton. Collection includes club as well as Rockhampton and Central Queensland representative matches. |
| - | Ipswich Versus International Teams[13] | 1913-1975 | Copies at SLQ & NLA |
Match Report, Given Names & Club of Ipswich Players |
| - | The Bulimba Cup Era[14] | 1925-1972 | Copies at SLQ & NLA |
Clubs of Ipswich, Toowoomba and Brisbane players. This book includes Bulimba Cup match reports and team lists. |
| - | A History of Mackay Rugby League[15] | 1919-2015 | Author's Website | Given Names & Club of Mackay Players |
| - | More Than The Foley Shield[16] | 1908-2014 | Author's Website | Match report, team photos. Given Names & Club of North Queensland Players |
References
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (19 May 1956). "Kiwi Leader". The Rugby League News. 37 (9). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-759209000. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (26 May 1956). "Kiwi Manager". The Rugby League News. 37 (11). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-759212259. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ Age as given in the ‘’Rugby League News’’ for the first match against New South Wales
- ^ "N.Z. League Team Wins At Lithgow". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 31 May 1956. p. 7. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Newcastle Defeats Kiwis". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 7 Jun 1956. p. 18. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Australia Wins League Test". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 14 Jun 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Football Flashes". St. George Call. Kogarah: National Library of Australia. 14 Jun 1956. p. 7. Retrieved 15 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Kiwis Beat Brisbane". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 14 Jul 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Kiwis Defeat Toowoomba". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 14 Jul 1956. p. 7. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Australia Wins Rugby League Test Series". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 28 Jun 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Kiwis Defeated At Wollongong". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 2 Jul 1956. p. 10. Retrieved 15 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Kiwis Beaten At Cootamundra". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 5 Jul 1956. p. 16. Retrieved 14 Feb 2021.
- ^ Christison, J.E. (2012). Ipswich Versus International Teams. J.E. Christison. ISBN 978-0-98060-74-2-0.
- ^ Christison, J.E. (2012). Ipswich Rugby League - The Bulimba Cup Era. J.E. Christison. ISBN 978-0-98060-74-0-6.
- ^ Price, Tony (2015). A History of Mackay Rugby League. CPX Printing and Logistics. ISBN 978-0-646-94056-4.
- ^ Price, Tony (2014). More Than The Foley Shield - A History of Rugby League in Queensland. CPX Printing and Logistics. ISBN 978-0-646-92820-3.