86 kangaroo tour

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The unbeatables: 1986 kangaroo tour 30-year anniversary.

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Thirty years ago this month, the 1986 Australian team left to tour England and France, captained by Wally Lewis and coached by Don Furner.

They were following in the footsteps of the 1982 team, who had become the first ever Australian team to go through the tour undefeated. The 1986 team repeated the feat, winning all 20 matches on the two-month tour, including three Test matches against Great Britain and two against France.

Over the years, comparisons between both teams have inevitably been made. Because they were only four years apart, it’s a fair comparison, and five players went on both tours – Brett Kenny, Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga, Gene Miles and Peter Sterling.

In 1986, 28 players were in the squad, with 20 playing in at least one of the five Test matches. A sign of the strength of the 1986 team was that Mal Meninga was a bench player in two of the three Ashes Tests against Great Britain, and was picked out of position in the second row for the third.

Below is a list of all players used across the five Test matches on both the 1986 and 1982 tours.

1986 Fullback: Garry Jack Wingers: Michael O’Connor, Dale Shearer, Les Kiss Centres: Brett Kenny, Gene Miles Five-eighth: Wally Lewis Halfback: Peter Sterling Lock: Bob Lindner Second rowers: Bryan Niebling, Noel Cleal, Steve Folkes Props: Greg Dowling, Steve Roach, Paul Dunn Hooker: Royce Simmons

Reserves: Terry Lamb, Mal Meninga (also started one Test against Great Britain in the second row), Les Davidson, Paul Sironen. Note that only two reserves were allowed in the 1980s era and once a player was replaced, that was the end of their match.

1982 In 1982, there were also 28 players in the squad, with 19 playing in at least one of the five Test matches. The team was captained by Max Krilich and coached by Frank Stanton.

Fullback: Greg Brentnall Wingers: Eric Grothe, Kerry Boustead, John Ribot Centres: Mal Meninga, Steve Rogers Five-eighth: Brett Kenny Halfback: Peter Sterling Locks: Ray Price, Wayne Pearce (also played two Tests in the second row) Second rowers: Rod Reddy, Paul McCabe Props: Les Boyd, Craig Young, Rod Morris Hooker: Max Krilich

Reserves: Wally Lewis (also started one Test against France), Ray Brown, Steve Ella

There is no doubt there were both champion teams, but for those that remember getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Tests on those legendary tours, which team would put your money on in a fantasy match up?

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1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team (known as the Winfield Kangaroos due to sponsorship) plays a number of tour matches against British and French teams, in addition to the Test matches . The next Kangaroo tour was staged in 1990.

Papua New Guinea

Great britain, test venues, 1st ashes test, 2nd ashes test, 3rd ashes test, second test, external links.

Australia continued its dominance, easily winning both Test series against Great Britain and France as well as defeating Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on the way to England, going through the entire tour undefeated in a repeat of the 1982 Invincibles' tour which saw the 1986 team became known as "The Unbeatables". In twenty matches they scored 136 tries and conceded only 16, posting 738 points for and 126 against. [1] Terry Lamb became the first player to appear in every match on a Kangaroo Tour.

The team was coached by 1956/57 Kangaroo tourist Don Furner , who also coached the Canberra Raiders in the NSWRL that year. The squad was captained by Queensland captain Wally Lewis , the first time a Queensland based player had captained a Kangaroo tour since Tom Gorman led the 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain . Peter Sterling was named as the tour's vice-captain, while the tour managers were Gordon Treichel and John Fleming.

National Panasonic put up AU$ 5,000 worth of products for the Australian player who voted as player of the tour. Team sponsor Winfield also put up $1,000 for the Australian player judged the player of the match for each Test match played on the tour.

Of the 28 players selected to go on the tour 23 were from clubs of the New South Wales Rugby League and 5 were from clubs of the Brisbane Rugby League . This was the last time players from the Queensland-based competition were selected for a Kangaroo tour.

There were a couple of notable omissions from the touring team. Parramatta Eels test winger Eric Grothe had originally been selected in the side and even had pre-tour publicity photos taken with the rest of the team. However he was ruled out late with the recurrence of a knee injury and his place was taken by young Penrith halfback Greg Alexander . The other was regular Australian vice-captain Wayne Pearce who had ruptured his Anterior cruciate ligament during the 1986 Trans-Tasman Test series against New Zealand in July. Despite an intense rehabilitation program, and being passed as fit by his surgeon, Dr Merv Cross, Pearce was ruled out of the tour by team medico Dr Bill Monoghan after a pre-tour team physical conducted at Redfern Oval in Sydney .

Surprisingly, the 1986 NSWRL Winfield Cup premiers Parramatta only supplied two players to the Kangaroos squad (vice-captain Peter Sterling and Brett Kenny ). Conversely, the 1986 Brisbane premiers Wynnum-Manly supplied four players to the squad (captain Wally Lewis , Greg Dowling , Bob Lindner and Gene Miles ). With the exception of Dowling who did not play the pre-tour test against Papua New Guinea , all six 1986 premiership winners played in each test on the tour.

NOTE: Statistics only show games in Great Britain and France and do not include the test against Papua New Guinea

The touring side was represented by 18 New South Welshmen (N) and 10 Queenslanders (Q).

• Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (5): Paul Dunn (N), Steve Folkes (N), Terry Lamb (N), Paul Langmack (N), Chris Mortimer (N)
• Balmain Tigers (4): Ben Elias (N), Garry Jack (N), Steve Roach (N), Paul Sironen (N)
• Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (4): Noel Cleal (N), Phil Daley (N), Des Halser (N), Dale Shearer (Q)
• Wynnum-Manly Seagulls (4): Wally Lewis (captain) (Q), Greg Dowling (Q), Bob Lindner (Q), Gene Miles (Q)
• Canberra Raiders (2): Gary Belcher (Q), Mal Meninga (Q)
• North Sydney Bears (2): Martin Bella (Q), Les Kiss (Q)
• Parramatta Eels (2): Peter Sterling (N) (vice-captain), Brett Kenny (N)
• Penrith Panthers (2): Greg Alexander (N), Royce Simmons (N)
• Redcliffe Dolphins (1): Bryan Niebling (Q)
• South Sydney Rabbitohs (1): Les Davidson (N)
• St George Dragons (1): Michael O'Connor (N)

Before flying to England, the Kangaroos played their second ever Test against Papua New Guinea at the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby on 4 October. In front of 17,000 fans (still the record attendance for the venue as of 2017), the Wally Lewis led Kangaroos defeated the Kumuls 62–12. Reserve Australian forward Paul Sironen made his test debut in the game. This was the first of three test matches on the tour that counted towards the ongoing 1985-1988 Rugby League World Cup

The Kangaroos played 13 games in England , including the three Ashes tests against Great Britain. Australia kept alive its streak of not having lost to an English club or provincial team since 1978 . The English leg of the tour drew a total of 212,068 fans to the 13 games (including the three tests).

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

The Kangaroos led 16–2 at half time in front of 30,622 fans (the record for a Wigan vs Australia match on a Kangaroo Tour) in the tour opener at Wigan (10,000 more than would attend the dead rubber 3rd test at the same ground some 6 weeks later). A fightback in the second half by the home side saw them close the game to just 8 points at full time. [4]

The attendance at this game (30,622) was the largest crowd the Kangaroos had played in front of in England since 30,604 attended the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley on the 1978 Kangaroo tour . It was also the highest ever tour game attendance against Wigan beating the 28,554 who attended the match at Central Park between Wigan and the 1948–49 Kangaroos captained by Clive Churchill .

All of Hull KR's points were scored by Australian's. Former Wests , Manly and Illawarra back John Dorahy kicked 3 goals for the Robins while 1978 and 1982 Kangaroo tourist and 25 test veteran Kerry Boustead scored the only try for the home team with all 10 points coming in the first half. For the Kangaroos, Terry Lamb crossed for 5 of the teams 9 tries. Australian halfback Des Hasler broke his hand in the first half and was replaced by Greg Alexander. Hasler's injury would keep him out of action for a month and he would not return to the field until the 11th game of the tour against Hull F.C. at The Boulevard .

For the match at Craven Park, Kangaroo tour broadcaster Network Ten had to hire extra lighting to bring the lights up to broadcasting standard. It would become a common theme and problem during tour games for Ten with all bar the Ashes tests and the games against Wigan, Leeds and Hull F.C. being played at night at grounds where the lighting was usually not up to broadcast standard. [6]

Leeds were unlucky not to be awarded a try midway through the second half after it appeared that replacement forward Trevor Skerrett had managed to get the ball down after good lead up work by former Great Britain international Jeff Greyshon. However an un-sighted referee Whitfield ruled that Skerrett had been held up in-goal. Leeds only other scoring opportunity came in the first half but young winger David Creasser missed a relatively simple penalty kick from in front of the posts. Leeds' centre pairing for the game were Cronulla-Sutherland imports Andrew Ettingshausen and Mark McGaw who would play against Leeds for Australia on the 1990 Kangaroo tour . [8]

The Kangaroos only match against a full county lineup was played in front of the English leg's smallest crowd of just 4,233 at Craven Park in Barrow-in-Furness. As of 2017 this would be the 11th last game the Kangaroos played at the home of the Barrow club.

The crowd of 50,583 for the first Test at the Old Trafford ground in Manchester , set a record for an international match on British soil, beating the previous record of 42,685 for an England vs New Zealand test at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford in 1947. [10] [11] The Ashes series against Great Britain saw an aggregate Ashes series crowd of 101,560 attending the three Tests, though this fell short of the record aggregate attendance of 114,883 set during the 1948–49 Kangaroo tour . [12] [13]

The Kangaroos began their Ashes defence in a blaze of glory. Wet and windy conditions were the order of the day at Old Trafford as Gene Miles (who completely out-played Ellery Hanley) and Michael O'Connor crossed for 3 tries each. O'Connor also contributed 5 goals in the tricky conditions for a personal haul of 22 points as the Australian's took a 1–0 series lead with a convincing 38–16 win. Although soundly beaten, the Lions gave their fans something to cheer in the second half by providing something of a fightback, culminating in Joe Lydon sprinting 60 metres and out-pacing Garry Jack to score in the corner. Lydon's try created Ashes history as it was the first time in 97 tests between the two sides that a British fullback had scored a try.

This game saw Don Furner play a couple of players out of position with Brett Kenny and Noel Cleal on the wings.

With the exception of Mal Meninga on the wing in place of a resting Michael O'Connor (Meninga had played for St Helens in 1984–85 and remained a crowd favourite at Knowsley Road), the Kangaroos played with the expected 2nd Test line up. Dale Shearer had replaced the injured Les Kiss on the wing and highlighted his return to the top side with a 70-metre intercept try in the first half that in effect gave a clean bill of health to a previously injured groin muscle.

Steve Roach's tour effectively ended after dislocating his elbow during the match which would see Don Furner use Paul Dunn in the front row for the second test.

Oldham put up a spirited display against the Kangaroos before going down by the closest score of the tour, 22–16. This would be the last time the touring Kangaroos would play Oldham.

Great Britain coach Maurice Bamford surprisingly made only one change to the team that had lost heavily in Manchester. Centre Ellery Hanley was ruled out through injury and replaced by St. Helens winger Barry Ledger , with Tony Marchant moving from the wing to partner Garry Schofield in the centres. Bamford came in for heavy criticism from former Great Britain and England internationals for his selections. For the Kangaroos, Dale Shearer made his return to the Test team replacing the injured Les Kiss on the wing, while Canterbury-Bankstown forward Paul Dunn returned to the team in the front row replacing Steve Roach who had dislocated his elbow in the win over St. Helens .

After an even start, during which the Lions had made a couple of line breaks that had the Australian defence scrambling, the Kangaroos ran riot in the second Test, wrapping up The Ashes with a six tries to one, 34–4 win in front of 30,808 at Elland Road . The Lions only try came late in the game. Australia led 34-0 when Kangaroos fullback Garry Jack , who had scored two tries, pushed a pass 10 metres from his line to Michael O'Connor . The Aussie winger dropped the ball (which was bullet like and at his knees) and it was pounced upon by Schofield who scored only 15 metres wide of the posts. Lee Crooks missed the relatively easy conversion of his team's only try, summing up the Lions day. Such was the Kangaroos dominance that this was the only kick at goal the Lions managed throughout the match.

Bob Lindner scored the opening try of the game after backing up a strong burst up the middle by Noel Cleal . O'Connor converted the try and was also next to score after taking a cut-out pass from Peter Sterling near his own quarter line. After racing around the Lions defence, O'Connor kicked ahead as Joe Lydon loomed and easily won the 55 metre race to the ball for the try. He converted his own try to give Australia a 12–0 lead which they took into half time. The floodgates opened in the second though and the Kangaroos blew the Lions away with a powerful performance. Two tries to Garry Jack and one each to Wally Lewis and Brett Kenny saw Australia leading 34-0 before Schofield's try at least gave the crowd something to cheer. Before Kenny's try with the score at 28–0, the crowd, far from impressed with the Lions performance, had even begun to chant "What a load of rubbish" (clearly audible on the television coverage) and were actually applauding the Kangaroos open style of play.

In his television commentary of the game, former Australian dual-rugby international and 1959-60 Kangaroo tour vice-captain Rex Mossop summed up the game when calling Brett Kenny's try, stating that "Australia carved them up. They've decimated, dissected and absolutely diabolically destroyed this Great Britain side today" .

Kangaroos second rower Noel Cleal broke his arm in the game against Hull which ended his tour. Peter Sterling, who had played for Hull during the 1984–85 English season and led them to the Challenge Cup Final, was given the honour of captaining the Kangaroos against his former club. After breaking his thumb during the first half of the second tour game against Hull Kingston Rovers at Craven Park , Des Hasler returned to the side off the bench and scored two tries.

This match was played in heavy rain and fog. The match saw the most even spread of Australia's "Kangaroos" and "Emu's" (midweek) teams on the tour with 7 non-test and 8 test players in the selected XV.

This match also counted as part of the 1985–88 Rugby League World Cup and was the only match of the series played at a regular rugby league ground, the first two Tests having been played in soccer stadiums to take advantage of the greater spectator capacity. It was also the last Ashes Test in England played at a club home ground until the 2001 Kangaroo tour .

The only Australian team change from the second Test win was Mal Meninga coming off the bench into the second row to replace the injured Noel Cleal (broken arm) with South Sydney forward Les Davidson named on the bench in his Test debut. With the loss of Cleal, Australian coach Don Furner was mulling over whom to replace him with when team captain Wally Lewis suggested moving Meninga to the back row, reasoning that there would be little disruption to the team as both Mal and "Crusher" Cleal were roughly the same size and were fast, skilled players who played a similar style of game. After heavy criticism of his selections for the first two tests from a number of former Great Britain internationals, Maurice Bamford made five changes to the Lions with the recall of halfback Andy Gregory , centre David Stephenson , winger John Basnett and back rowers Chris Burton and Harry Pinner .

As with the 1982 Ashes series, the third Test was the most genuinely contested of the Tests played, with the Lions putting in a much improved performance. Centre Gene Miles opened the scoring in the early minutes of the game, with lock forward Bob Lindner also scoring soon after. Successful conversions by Michael O'Connor saw the Kangaroos lead 12-0 after just 15 minutes and another rout looked on the cards. However, the Lions dug deep and tries to Garry Schofield either side of half time saw the game tied at 12-all with the Lions looking like winners for the first time in the series. The game was in the balance until French referee Julien Rascagneres awarded a penalty try to Australian winger Dale Shearer after he was illegally tackled by his opposite John Basnett when both were chasing the ball which Shearer had kicked downfield. A penalty goal to Joe Lydon and a field goal by Schofield reduced the deficit to 18–15, but Wally Lewis then put the result beyond doubt with a try after bamboozling the Lions defence with two dummies near the sideline before racing around to score beside the posts.

Australia's win over France in the final match of the tour, which counted as part of the ongoing 1985-88 World Cup tournament, was a record margin for a Test match. [28] [29]

Leading Try Scorer

• 19 by Terry Lamb

Leading Point Scorer

• 170 by Michael O'Connor (13 tries, 59 goals)

Largest Attendance

• 50,583 - First test vs Great Britain at Old Trafford

Largest Club Game Attendance

• 30,662 - Australia vs Wigan at Central Park

Related Research Articles

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• ↑ 1986 Papua New Guinea vs Australia
• ↑ Wigan vs Australia
• ↑ 1986 Kangaroo Tour - Wigan vs Australia (full game)
• ↑ Hull KR vs Australia
• ↑ 1986 Kangaroo Tour - Hull KR vs Australia (full game)
• ↑ Leeds vs Australia
• ↑ 1986 Leeds vs Australia highlights
• ↑ Cumbria vs Australia
• ↑ 1947 England vs New Zealand at Rugby League Project
• ↑ Rugby league
• ↑ McGregor, Adrian (1991). Simply The Best: The 1990 Kangaroos . Qld: University of Queensland Press. p.   227 Tour Statistics. ISBN   0-7022-2370-0 .
• ↑ 1948/49 Ashes series at Rugby League Project
• ↑ 1st Test - Great Britain vs Australia
• ↑ Halifax vs Australia
• ↑ St Helens vs Australia
• ↑ Oldham vs Australia
• ↑ 2nd Test - Great Britain vs Australia
• ↑ Widnes vs Australia
• ↑ Hull vs Australia
• ↑ Bradford Northern vs Australia
• ↑ 3rd Test - Great Britain vs Australia
• ↑ 1st Test - France vs Australia
• ↑ Le Pontet XIII vs Australia
• ↑ Midi-Pyrénées vs Australia
• ↑ France B vs Australia
• ↑ Aquitaine vs Australia
• ↑ "Unbeaten Kangaroos the 'Best Ever' " . The Sydney Morning Herald . Fairfax Digital. 1986-12-15. p.   39 . Retrieved 2009-10-06 .
• ↑ 1986 Kangaroo tour results at Rugby League Project
• ↑ 2nd Test - France vs Australia
• 1986 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France at rl1908.com
• 1986 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France at rlhalloffame.org.uk
• Ashes Series 1986 at rugbyleagueproject.com
• 1986 Kangaroos at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
• Invincibles Again: 1986 Kangaroo Tour highlights Pt.1
• Invincibles Again: 1986 Kangaroo Tour highlights Pt.2

From the archives: 1986 Kangaroo Tour

As this weekend’s england vs australia four nations test approaches, we re-visit how three rugby league legends discussed the 1986 kangaroo tour of great britain and france in their various books published in the years immediately following the tour..

Old sports books are a treasure trove of players’ thoughts and feelings about all sorts of stuff. A popular subject for rugby league player/authors a few decades back was the famous 1986 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France.

Like most old-school rugby league fans, the author of this online article has over the years accumulated a fine collection of rugby league books, dating back to the explosion in the genre in the 1980s. To this day such books can still be found at garage sales, one-buck-bins and can be bought online for almost nothing.

It’s 30 years since the ’86 Kangaroos flew over and backed-up the achievements of coach Frank Stanton and captain Max Krilich’s legendary 1982 “Invincibles”. The 1986 squad needed a nickname of its own. One was thought up pretty much straight after the Kangaroos had won their last game against France: “The Unbeatables.” In 20 matches they scored 136 tries and conceded only 16. Youngster Terry Lamb played every game on the 1986 Tour. He’d likely laugh at modern players’ complaints about being overworked. Anyway, here are a few stories found within the pages of three all-time classic rugby league books discussing life on the 1986 Kangaroo Tour.  

WALLY LEWIS Wally, Gene Miles, Steve Roach and Royce Simmons had pooled their resources and bought and ancient yellow Saab. It cost them 200 pounds and Wally took a gang for a run to his old lodgings at Wakefield Trinity. The car seemed very sluggish, until Wally added up the weight of the seven players on board – Miles, Kenny, Kiss, Sironen, Simmons, Roach and Wally: around 660kg, two-thirds of a tonne of prime beef.

WALLY’S DIARY - 23 October: “Trained twice. Dinner at Pizza Hut. Car wouldn’t start on way home. Had to push it. Picked up ‘Gorky Park’ video, but video wouldn’t work. Folkes cleaned heads with aftershave lotion. Video chewed up 20 feet of tape. Alas no more videos. Down to the casino instead. Peter Sterling led the charge, won 1000 pounds. Geno won 750, Royce Simmons lost 20.” King Wally , by Adrian McGregor, 1987, Queensland University Press

PETER STERLING "The First Test of ’86, at Old Trafford, was a sensational occasion. It was the day I almost wore the boots of the Great Manchester United soccer player Bryan Robson in a rugby league Test! As I went to put my boots on for the match, I noticed they were an odd pair; one was laced one way and the other completely differently. One of the boots was a size too big – and I couldn’t have played in it. I had a problem – so they took me into the Manchester United boot room, an amazing place containing more football boots than you’ve ever seen in your life. There, I tried on a pair of Bryan Robson’s boots, and, as with Cinderella, they fitted perfectly! But when I went back into the Aussie change room, Michael O’Connor realised he had the same problem as me – two different boots. So we swapped boots, and Robson’s boots missed their chance of playing rugby league." Sterlo – The Story Of A Champion, with Ian Heads, 1989, Lester-Townsend Publishing

GREG ALEXANDER "The wonderful record of the ’86 Kangaroos can never be denied, but it must be kept in perspective. It has to be said that the opposition was not of a high standard. The Poms had some fine individual players in Hanley, Ward, Lydon, Gregory, Schofield and so on – but the teams we faced were generally disorganised in attack and had no idea in defence. If individual brilliance failed against us, the Englishmen would usually resort to niggling tactics to try to put us off our game." Five-Star Brandy , with Larry Writer, 1991, Ironbark Press

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1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The 1986 Kangaroo tour was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour where the Australian side plays a number of tour matches against British and French rugby league teams, in addition to the Test matches . The next Kangaroo tour was staged in 1990.

Australia continued its dominance, winning both Test series against Great Britain and France , going through the entire tour undefeated in a repeat of the 1982 Invincibles' tour . The 1986 team became known as "The Unbeatables". In twenty matches they scored 136 tries and conceded only 16, posting 738 points for and 126 against. [1] Terry Lamb became the first player to appear in every match on a Kangaroo Tour.

The team was coached by 1956/57 Kangaroo tourist Don Furner , who also coached the Canberra Raiders in the NSWRL that year. The squad was captained by Queensland captain Wally Lewis , the first time a Queensland based player had captained a Kangaroo tour since Tom Gorman led the 1929/30 tour. Peter Sterling was named as the tours vice-captain, while the tour managers were Gordon Treichel and John Fleming.

• 3 Papua New Guinea
• 4.1.1 First Test
• 4.1.2 Second Test
• 4.1.3 Third Test
• 5.1.1 First Test
• 5.1.2 Second Test
• 6 Statistics
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Of the 28 players selected to go on the tour 23 were from clubs of the New South Wales Rugby League and 5 were from clubs of the Brisbane Rugby League . This was the last time players from the Queensland based competition were selected for a Kangaroo tour.

There were a couple of notable omissions from the touring team. Parramatta Eels test winger Eric Grothe had originally been selected in the side and even had pre-tour publicity photos taken with the rest of the team. However he was ruled out late with the recurrence of a knee injury and his place was taken by young Penrith halfback Greg Alexander . The other was regular Australian vice-captain Wayne Pearce who had ruptured his Anterior cruciate ligament during the third test against New Zealand in July. Despite an intense rehabilitation program, and being passed as fit by his surgeon, Dr Merv Cross, Pearce was ruled out of the tour by team medico Dr Bill Monoghan after a pre-tour team physical conducted at Redfern Oval in Sydney .

Surprisingly, the 1986 NSWRL Winfield Cup premiers Parramatta only supplied two players to the Kangaroos squad (vice-captain Peter Sterling and Brett Kenny ). Conversely, the 1986 Brisbane premiers Wynnum-Manly supplied four players to the squad (captain Wally Lewis , Greg Dowling , Bob Lindner and Gene Miles ). With the exception of Dowling who did not play the pre-tour test against Papua New Guinea , all six 1986 premiership winners played in each test on the tour.

NOTE: Statistics only show games in Great Britain and France and do not include the test against Papua New Guinea

The touring side was represented by 18 New South Welshmen (N) and 10 Queenslanders (Q).

• Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (5): Paul Dunn (N), Steve Folkes (N), Terry Lamb (N), Paul Langmack (N), Chris Mortimer (N)
• Balmain Tigers (4): Ben Elias (N), Garry Jack (N), Steve Roach (N), Paul Sironen (N)
• Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (4): Noel Cleal (N), Phil Daley (N), Des Halser (N), Dale Shearer (Q)
• Wynnum-Manly Seagulls (4): Wally Lewis (captain) (Q), Greg Dowling (Q), Bob Lindner (Q), Gene Miles (Q)
• Canberra Raiders (2): Gary Belcher (Q), Mal Meninga (Q)
• North Sydney Bears (2): Martin Bella (Q), Les Kiss (Q)
• Parramatta Eels (2): Peter Sterling (N) (vice-captain), Brett Kenny (N)
• Penrith Panthers (2): Greg Alexander (N), Royce Simmons (N)
• Redcliffe Dolphins (1): Bryan Niebling (Q)
• South Sydney Rabbitohs (1): Les Davidson (N)
• St George Dragons (1): Michael O'Connor (N)

Papua New Guinea

Before flying to England, the Kangaroos played their second ever Test against Papua New Guinea at the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby on 4 October. In front of 17,000 fans (still the record attendance for the venue as of 2015), the Kangaroos led by Wally Lewis defeated the Kumuls 62–12. Reserve Australian forward Paul Sironen made his test debut in the game.

Great Britain

The Kangaroos played 13 games in England , including the three Ashes tests against Great Britain. Australia kept alive its streak of not having lost to an English club or provincial team since 1978 . The English leg of the tour drew a total of 212,068 fans to the 13 games (including the three tests).

Wigan : Steve Hampson , Dean Bell , David Stephenson , Joe Lydon , Henderson Gill , Shaun Edwards , Mike Ford , Graeme West (c), Martin Dermott , Brian Case , Ian Roberts , Ian Potter , Andy Goodway . Res – Nicholas Du Toit , Rob Louw . Coach – Graham Lowe

Australia : Garry Jack , Les Kiss , Gene Miles , Brett Kenny , Michael O'Connor , Wally Lewis (c), Peter Sterling , Steve Roach , Royce Simmons , Bryan Niebling , Paul Sironen , Noel Cleal , Bob Lindner . Res – Terry Lamb , Les Davidson

The Kangaroos led 16-2 at half time in front of over 30,000 fans in the tour opener at Wigan (more than 10,000 than would attend the dead rubber 3rd test at the same ground some 6 weeks later). A fightback in the second half by the home side saw them close the game to just 8 points at full time.

The attendance at this game (30,622) was the largest crowd the Kangaroos had played in front of in England since 30,604 attended the 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley on the 1978 Kangaroo tour .

Hull Kingston Rovers : George Fairbairn , Garry Clark , John Dorahy , Kerry Boustead , David Laws , Mike Smith , Wayne Parker , Mark Broadhurst , Chris Rudd , Asuquo Ema , Andy Kelly , Des Harrison , Paul Speckman . Res – Ray Stead , Dave Busby . Coach – Roger Millward

Australia : Gary Belcher , Chris Mortimer , Gene Miles , Mal Meninga , Dale Shearer , Terry Lamb , Des Hasler , Greg Dowling , Ben Elias (c), Martin Bella , Steve Folkes , Paul Dunn , Paul Langmack . Res – Greg Alexander , Les Davidson

All of Hull KR's points were scored by Australian's. Former Wests , Manly and Illawarra back John Dorahy kicked 3 goals for the Robins while 1978 and 1982 Kangaroo tourist and 25 test veteran Kerry Boustead scored the only try for the home team with all 10 points coming in the first half. For the Kangaroos, Terry Lamb crossed for 5 of the teams 9 tries.

Leeds : Paul Gill , David Creasser , Andrew Ettingshausen , Mark McGaw , Norman Francis , John Holmes , Andy Gascoigne , Jeff Grayshon , Bob Morris , Peter Smith , Phil Owen , Gary Price , David Heron (c). Res – Paul Medley , Trevor Skerrett . Coach – Peter Fox

Australia : Garry Jack , Les Kiss , Brett Kenny , Gene Miles , Michael O'Connor , Wally Lewis (c), Peter Sterling , Steve Roach , Royce Simmons , Bryan Niebling , Paul Sironen , Noel Cleal , Bob Lindner . Res – Terry Lamb , Greg Dowling

Leeds were unlucky not to be awarded a try midway through the second half after it appeared that replacement forward Trevor Skerrett had managed to get the ball down after good lead up work by Jeff Greyshon. However an un-sighted referee Whitfield ruled that Skerrett had been held up in-goal. Leeds only other scoring opportunity came in the first half but young winger David Creasser missed a relatively simple penalty kick from in front of the posts. [2]

Cumbria : Gary Smith , Michael James , Kevin Pape , Tony Kay , David Beck , Graeme Cameron , David Cairns , David Kendall , Colin Falcon , Jeff Simpson , Stephen Mossop , Les Holliday , Milton Huddart . Res – Norman Lofthouse , Bill Pattison

Australia : Gary Belcher , Dale Shearer , Chris Mortimer , Mal Meninga , Michael O'Connor , Terry Lamb , Greg Alexander , Phil Daley , Ben Elias (c), Martin Bella , Paul Dunn , Les Davidson , Paul Langmack . Res – Paul Sironen

The Ashes series

The crowd of 50,583 for the first Test at the Old Trafford ground in Manchester , set a record for an international match on British soil, beating the previous record of 42,685 for an England vs New Zealand test at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford in 1947. [3] [4] The Ashes series against Great Britain saw an aggregate Ashes series crowd of 101,560 attending the three Tests, though this fell short of the record aggregate attendance of 114,883 set during the 1948–49 Kangaroo tour . [5] [6]

The Kangaroos began their Ashes defence in a blaze of glory. Wet and windy conditions were the order of the day at Old Trafford as Gene Miles (who completely out-played Ellery Hanley) and Michael O'Connor crossed for 3 tries each. O'Connor also contributed 5 goals in the tricky conditions for a personal haul of 22 points as the Australian's took a 1-0 series lead with a convincing 38-16 win. Although soundly beaten, the Lions gave their fans something to cheer in the second half by providing something of a fightback, culminating in Joe Lydon sprinting 60 metres and out-pacing Garry Jack to score in the corner.

Halifax : Graham Eadie , Scott Wilson , Colin Whitfield , Chris Anderson (c), Steve Smith , Neil Hague , Gary Stephens , Keith Neller , Chris Preece , Brian Juliff , Peter Bell , Paul Dixon , Grant Rix . Res – Eddie Riddlesden . Coach – Chris Anderson

Australia : Gary Belcher , Brett Kenny , Chris Mortimer , Mal Meninga , Noel Cleal , Terry Lamb , Greg Alexander , Paul Dunn , Ben Elias (c), Martin Bella , Paul Sironen , Les Davidson , Paul Langmack . Res – Michael O'Connor

St Helens : Phil Veivers , Barry Ledger , Paul Loughlin , Steve Halliwell , Kevin McCormack , Brett Clark , Neil Holding (c), Tony Burke , Graham Liptrot , Paul Forber , Roy Heggerty , Andy Platt , Chris Arkwright . Res – Shaun Allen , Paul Round . Coach – Alex Murphy

Australia : Garry Jack , Dale Shearer , Brett Kenny , Gene Miles , Mal Meninga , Wally Lewis (c), Peter Sterling , Greg Dowling , Royce Simmons , Steve Roach , Noel Cleal , Bryan Neibling , Bob Lindner . Res – Terry Lamb , Paul Dunn

With the exception of Mal Meninga on the wing in place of a resting Michael O'Connor (Meninga had played for St Helens in 1984–85 and remained a crowd favourite at Knowsley Road), the Kangaroos played with the expected 2nd Test line up. Dale Shearer had replaced the injured Les Kiss on the wing and highlighted his return to the top side with a 70 metre intercept try in the first half that in effect gave a clean bill of health to a previously injured groin muscle.

Steve Roach's tour effectively ended after dislocating his elbow during the match.

Oldham : Jeff Edwards , Paul Sherman , Des Foy , Gary Warnecke , Hussein M'Barki , David Topliss (c), Ray Ashton , Bruce Clark , Terry Flanagan , Neil Clawson , David Hobbs , Mick Worrall , Stuart Raper . Res – Colin Hawkyard , Tony Nadiole . Coach – Frank Myler

Australia : Gary Belcher , Dale Shearer , Chris Mortimer , Mal Meninga , Michael O'Connor , Terry Lamb , Greg Alexander , Phil Daley , Ben Elias (c), Martin Bella , Steve Folkes , Les Davidson , Paul Langmack . Res – Paul Sironen

Second Test

Great Britain coach Maurice Bamford surprisingly made only one change to the team that had lost heavily in Manchester. Centre Ellery Hanley was ruled out through injury and replaced by St Helens winger Barry Ledger , with Tony Marchant moving from the wing to partner Garry Schofield in the centres. Bamford came in for heavy criticism from former Great Britain and England internationals for his selections. For the Kangaroos, Dale Shearer made his return to the Test team replacing the injured Les Kiss on the wing, while Canterbury-Bankstown forward Paul Dunn returned to the team in the front row replacing Steve Roach who had dislocated his elbow in the win over St Helens .

After an even start, during which the Lions had made a couple of line breaks that had the Australian defence scrambling, the Kangaroos ran riot in the second Test, wrapping up The Ashes with a six tries to one, 34-4 win in front of 30,808 at Elland Road . The Lions only try came late in the game. Australia led 34-0 when Kangaroos fullback Garry Jack , who had scored two tries, pushed a pass 10 metres from his line to Michael O'Connor . The Aussie winger dropped the ball (which was bullet like and at his knees) and it was pounced upon by Schofield who scored only 15 metres wide of the posts. Lee Crooks missed the relatively easy conversion of his teams only try, summing up the Lions day. Such was the Kangaroos dominance that this was the only kick at goal the Lions managed throughout the match.

Bob Lindner scored the opening try of the game after backing up a strong burst up the middle by Noel Cleal . O'Connor converted the try and was also next to score after taking a cut-out pass from Peter Sterling near his own quarter line. After racing around the Lions defence, O'Connor kicked ahead as Joe Lydon loomed and easily won the 55 metre race to the ball for the try. He converted his own try to give Australia a 12-0 lead which they took into half time. The floodgates opened in the second though and the Kangaroos blew the Lions away with a powerful performance. Two tries to Garry Jack and one each to Wally Lewis and Brett Kenny saw Australia leading 34-0 before Schofield's try at least gave the crowd something to cheer. Before Kenny's try with the score at 28-0, the crowd, far from impressed with the Lions performance, had even begun to chant "What a load of rubbish" (clearly audible on the television coverage) and were actually applauding the Kangaroos open style of play.

In his television commentary of the game, former Australian dual-rugby international and 1959-60 Kangaroo tour vice-captain Rex Mossop summed up the game when calling Brett Kenny's try, stating that "Australia carved them up. They've decimated, dissected and absolutely diabolically destroyed this Great Britain side today" .

Widnes : Mick Burke , Dave Moran , Darren Wright , Barry Dowd , John Basnett , Tony Myler , David Hulme , Steve O'Neill , Phil McKenzie , Mike O'Neill , Richie Eyres , Paul Hulme , Harry Pinner . Coach – Doug Laughton

Australia : Gary Belcher , Dale Shearer , Chris Mortimer , Mal Meninga , Les Kiss , Terry Lamb , Greg Alexander , Les Davidson , Ben Elias (c), Martin Bella , Paul Sironen , Steve Folkes , Paul Langmack . Res – Brett Kenny , Phil Daley

Hull : Gary Kemble , Paul Eastwood , Dane O'Hara , Stewart Vass , Carl McRoid , Fred Ah Kuoi , Phil Windley , Dave Brown , Steve Crooks , Andy Dannatt , Steve Norton , Lee Crooks , Tracy Lazenby . Res – Gary Pearce , Jon Sharp . Coach – Len Casey

Australia : Garry Jack , Dale Shearer , Gene Miles , Mal Meninga , Michael O'Connor , Terry Lamb , Peter Sterling (c), Greg Dowling , Royce Simmons , Phil Daley , Noel Cleal , Bryan Neibling , Paul Langmack . Res – Des Hasler , Les Davidson

Kangaroos second rower Noel Cleal broke his arm in the game against Hull which ended his tour.

Bradford Northern : Keith Mumby , Phil Ford , Steve Donlan , Phil Hellewell , Roger Simpson , John Woods , Terry Holmes , Ian Howcroft , Gary Brentley , Mario Fenech , Dick Jasiewicz , Karl Fairbank , Mal Graham . Res - Brian Noble , Ian Sherratt . Coach - Barry Seabourne

Australia : Gary Belcher , Greg Alexander , Brett Kenny , Chris Mortimer , Dale Shearer , Wally Lewis (c), Des Hasler , Paull Dunn , Ben Elias , Martin Bella , Les Davidson , Paul Sironen , Bob Lindner . Res - Terry Lamb , Mal Meninga

This match was played in heavy rain and fog.

This match also counted as part of the 1985–88 Rugby League World Cup and was the only match of the series played at a regular rugby league ground, the first two Tests having been played in soccer stadiums to take advantage of the greater spectator capacity. It was also the last Ashes Test in England played at a club home ground until the 2001 Kangaroo tour .

The only Australian team change from the second Test win was Mal Meninga coming off the bench into the second row to replace the injured Noel Cleal (broken arm) with South Sydney forward Les Davidson named on the bench in his Test debut. With the loss of Cleal, Australian coach Don Furner was mulling over who to replace him with when team captain Wally Lewis suggested moving Meninga to the back row, reasoning that there would be little disruption to the team as both Mal and "Crusher" Cleal were roughly the same size and were fast, skilled players who played a similar style of game. After heavy criticism of his selections for the first two tests from a number of former Great Britain internationals, Maurice Bamford made five changes to the Lions with the recall of halfback Andy Gregory , centre David Stephenson , winger John Basnett and back rowers Chris Burton and Harry Pinner .

As with the 1982 Ashes series, the third Test was the most genuinely contested of the Tests played, with the Lions putting in a much improved performance. Centre Gene Miles opened the scoring in the early minutes of the game, with lock forward Bob Lindner also scoring soon after. Successful conversions by Michael O'Connor saw the Kangaroos lead 12-0 after just 15 minutes and another rout looked on the cards. However, the Lions dug deep and tries to Garry Schofield either side of half time saw the game tied at 12-all with the Lions looking like winners for the first time in the series. The game was in the balance until French referee Julien Rascagneres awarded a penalty try to Australian winger Dale Shearer after he was illegally tackled by his opposite John Basnett when both were chasing the ball which Shearer had kicked downfield. A penalty goal to Joe Lydon and a field goal by Schofield reduced the deficit to 18-15, but Wally Lewis then put the result beyond doubt with a try after bamboozling the Lions defence with two dummies near the sideline before racing around to score beside the posts.

French Tests

Australia's win over France in the final match of the tour, which counted as part of the ongoing 1985-88 World Cup tournament, was a record margin for a Test match. [10] [11]

Leading Try Scorer

• 19 by Terry Lamb

Leading Point Scorer

• 170 by Michael O'Connor (13 tries, 59 goals)

Largest Attendance

• 50,583 - First test vs Great Britain at Old Trafford

Largest Club Game Attendance

• 30,662 - Australia vs Wigan at Central Park
• ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
• ↑ 1986 Leeds vs Australia highlights
• ↑ 1947 England vs New Zealand at Rugby League Project
• ↑ Rugby league
• ↑ 1948/49 Ashes series at Rugby League Project
• ↑ 1st Ashes Test
• ↑ 2nd Ashes Test
• ↑ 3rd Ashes Test
• ↑ 1986 Kangaroo tour results at Rugby League Project

External links

• 1986 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France at rl1908.com
• 1986 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France at rlhalloffame.org.uk
• Ashes Series 1986 at rugbyleagueproject.com
• 1986 Kangaroos at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
• Invincibles Again: 1986 Kangaroo Tour highlights Pt.1
• Invincibles Again: 1986 Kangaroo Tour highlights Pt.2
• Pages with broken file links
• Australian Kangaroo Tours
• 1986 in rugby league
• 1986 in English sport
• 1986 in French sport
• 1986 in Australian rugby league
• Rugby league tours of France
• Rugby league tours of Great Britain
• Australia national rugby league team tours
• 1986 in Papua New Guinea rugby league
• Pages with script errors

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Team Sport Australia Award | 2007

Rugby League

Like Don Bradman’s cricket immortals in 1948, Wally Lewis’s 1986 Kangaroos completed a tour of England undefeated, including victories by comfortable margins in all three Tests. To ensure immortality they also chalked up two commanding victories over France.

Competition Kangaroos Test Tour

Captain Wally Lewis was Captain of the 1986 Kangaroos Rugby League Team.

Australian Rugby League’s Team of the Decade (1980s)

Ahhh, the 1980s – mullets, moustaches, tobacco sponsorship, Rex Mossop, the birth of State of Origin, Tina Turner, and Jim Comans rubbing out enforcers for 12 months.

And some of the greatest players of all time.

Our ‘Team of the 1980s’ combination features two members of Australia’s official Team of the Century and eight players named in the 100 Greatest Players in 2008 .

Such is the quality of the line-up, no room could be found for the likes of Gary Belcher, Kerry Boustead, Dale Shearer, Gene Miles, Terry Lamb, Steve Mortimer, Bob Lindner, Noel Cleal, Greg Dowling and Royce Simmons.

Fullback – Garry Jack

Garry Jack v Gary Belcher was one of the great individual rivalries of the modern era, but the Balmain champion is generally regarded as the king of the No.1s as far as the 1980s are concerned.

Tough, courageous and super-safe in defence, Jack is arguably the last of the great ‘last-line’ fullbacks. But he was no slouch in attack, emphasised by his tally of 11 tries in 21 Tests – an Australian record for a fullback until Darren Lockyer came along.

The Wollongong product debuted for Western Suburbs in 1981 but joined Balmain the following season and became a permanent fixture at the back for the burgeoning Tigers. He broke into the Origin and Test arenas in 1984, helping NSW to their first series successes in 1985-86 and claiming the Golden Boot after a starring role on the ‘Unbeatables’ Kangaroo Tour of ’86.

The blonde-haired custodian was Dally M Fullback of the Year in 1985-86 and ’88, won a World Cup final in 1988 – his last international appearance – and played a key role in the Tigers’ drive to the 1988-89 grand finals.

A poor Origin series in 1989, which ended his 17-game tenure for the Blues, saw him usurped by Belcher in the Australian side, but ‘Jimmy’ Jack’s status as one of the decade’s greats remains undimmed.

Wing – Eric Grothe

Arguably the most damaging winger in rugby league history, there’s no telling what the ‘Guru’ could have achieved if knee injuries hadn’t ruined the latter years of his highlight-stacked career.

The Parramatta junior debuted for the Eels in 1979 and made his State of Origin debut two years later, before featuring in the blue-and-golds’ maiden grand final triumph. Grothe truly took the rugby league world by storm in 1982, scoring 16 tries in 18 games as the Eels swept to another premiership, and scoring 21 tries in just 14 appearances on the ‘Invincibles’ Kangaroo Tour.

A menacing physical presence on the flank and one of the fastest players in the game, Grothe’s international career was all too brief – his last game for Australia was during the 1984 Ashes series – but it was eventful, finishing with 10 tries in just eight Tests. Injury saw him withdraw from the ’86 Kangaroo Tour squad.

He managed only 14 games or less each season from 1985 to ’89, but he added two more premiership medals to his collection in 1983 and ’86. Grothe’s unforgettable, barnstorming solo try in an SCG semi-final against Canterbury in 1983, as well as several length-of-the-field efforts, rank among the most enduring memories of the decade.

Centre – Mal Meninga

Centre colossus Meninga had already represented Queensland as a teenager by the time the 1980s rolled around, and he was a superstar of the decade from start to finish.

The Brisbane Souths powerhouse kicked seven goals in the Maroons’ euphoric upset in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980 and had racked up 18 Origin appearances by the end of the decade – despite missing the 1987-88 series due to a succession of broken arm setbacks.

A Test debut against New Zealand followed in 1982, before he scored 48 points in Australia’s Ashes series cleansweep as one of the shining stars of the undefeated Kangaroo Tour. Virtually an automatic pick for the green-and-golds when available (though Brett Kenny and Gene Miles forced him to the bench and second-row for the 1986 Kangaroo Tour Tests), ‘Big Mal’ had played 22 Tests when the 1980s came to a close.

Meninga spearheaded the Magpies’ drive to a shock BRL premiership win in 1985 before linking with Canberra, inspiring the young club to its maiden grand final in 1987 and captaining the Raiders to a stunning title triumph two years later.

Meninga’s performances for Canberra, Queensland and Australia in 1989, in the wake of four broken arms in the previous two years, saw him win the Golden Boot award. He went on to become one of the most decorated skippers of all time over the ensuing five seasons and was named as a centre in the Australian Team of the Century in 2008.

Centre – Brett Kenny

As he was for most of his Test career, brilliant Parramatta five-eighth Kenny is shunted to the centres in this line-up by Wally Lewis. But ‘Bert’s’ versatility and instinctive attacking genius saw him regarded as one of the finest to play in the centres for Australia.

He was regularly used as a centre by the Eels, though he wore the No.6 in the club’s 1981-83 and ’86 grand final victories – famously scoring two tries in each of the first three. A breath-taking ball-runner with peerless anticipation, Kenny became rugby league’s ‘intercept king’ and a prolific try-poacher, crossing for 92 tries in 188 first-grade games during the 1980s.

Kenny made his Origin and Test debuts in 1982, keeping Lewis out of the Australian line-up on that year’s Kangaroo Tour by securing the five-eighth spot. But he was used exclusively as a centre at Test level from the 1984 Ashes series until his last international appearance in 1987, including another ’Roo Tour trip in ’86.

But he featured at five-eighth in 12 of his 17 Origins for NSW, earning an 8-4 win-loss record opposite Queensland talisman Lewis and starring in the Blues’ breakthrough 1985-86 series wins. Kenny won the 1985 Golden Boot.

Wing – Michael O’Connor

A centre for all but a few games of his first-grade career, dual international Michael O’Connor snares a wing spot ahead of the likes of Kerry Boustead and Dale Shearer on the strength of his sizzling efforts on the flank at rep level.

The 13-Test Wallaby switched codes with St George in 1983 and quick found his feet, which frequently left defenders clutching at air as O’Connor established himself as one of the premiership’s most brilliant attacking players.

O’Connor scored a record 18 points on Origin debut in 1985 and was a vital component with the boot and in general play as the Blues won series in ’85-86. He earned his Test stripes against New Zealand in 1986 before top-scoring on the end-of-year Kangaroo Tour with 190 points in just 14 games, including an Ashes record 22 points (three tries, five goals) in the first Test against Great Britain.

By the end of the 1980s O’Connor had amassed 198 points in 17 Tests – 13 of those as a winger – and set a world record with 30 points in a match against Papua New Guinea.

A grand finalist with the Dragons in 1985, O’Connor was lured to Manly in ’87 and helped the club to premiership glory that year, scoring 14 points in the grand final defeat of Canberra. He scored a career-high 17 tries and 198 points – second in the premiership in both departments – in 1988, the year of his third straight Dally M Centre of the Year gong.

Five-eighth – Wally Lewis

The brilliant, abrasive ‘King’ Wally was a perpetual lightning rod for controversy, but his status as the player of the 1980s is virtually undisputed.

Lock in Queensland’s boilover victory in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980, the gifted Valleys playmaker assumed the five-eighth spot and captaincy the following season and missed just one Origin match during the decade. He won seven man-of-the-match awards and led the Maroons to six wins in the first eight three-match series.

Lewis debuted for Australia aged 21 in 1981, and although Brett Kenny kept him out of the Test side on the 1982 Kangaroo Tour, he became skipper of the national side in 1984 and led his country in 24 consecutive Tests. The undefeated 1986 Kangaroo Tour and a World Cup final triumph in 1988 were the crowning achievements of his tenure as captain.

An all-conquering 1984 season – captaining Brisbane to victory in the Panasonic Cup, leading Wynnum-Manly to a BRL premiership, skippering Queensland to Origin success and Australia to an Ashes whitewash – saw Lewis collect the first-ever Golden Boot.

Another BRL premiership followed with Wynnum-Manly in 1986, this time as captain-coach, before he became the fledgling Brisbane Broncos’ foundation skipper. Lewis’ time at the club was overshadowed by his shock sacking as skipper at the end of 1989 and a failure to lead the Broncos to the immediate success many predicted, but he nevertheless claimed the Dally M Five-eighth of the Year award in 1988 after scoring 15 tries for the newcomers.

Lewis was a prickly thorn in the side of opponents, referees, administrators, media and fans (those south of the border, at least), but the game has never produced a more influential, charismatic and captivating match-winner. Unsurprisingly, he was named at five-eighth in the Australian Team of the Century in 2008.

Halfback – Peter Sterling

If Lewis was the No.1 player of the 1980s, Peter Sterling ran a close second – with daylight third.

The Parramatta maestro won every honour the game had to offer, most of them several times over. He guided the Eels to four grand final wins in 1981-83 and ’86, claiming the inaugural Clive Churchill Medal after the latter. A four-time Dally M Halfback of the Year, he won the Dally M Medal in 1986-87, the Rothmans Medal in ’87 (and again in 1990), and the Golden Boot in ’87.

A master tactician with a flawless kicking and passing game, ‘Sterlo’ wasn’t physically gifted but nobody was quicker between the ears, while he was also a gutsy defender and a supreme competitor.

Sterling won four man-of-the-match awards in 13 Origins for NSW from 1981-88 – despite battling great rival Steve Mortimer for the No.7 jumper during the early years of his career – and was integral to the first-ever Origin cleansweep in ’86.

He played 18 Tests for Australia, playing in every Test on consecutive undefeated Kangaroo Tours in 1982 and ’86 to cement his standing as the equal of any halfback to have played the game.

Lock – Ray Price

Well-established as one of the game’s top forwards by the end of the 1970s, former Wallaby Price became an all-time rugby league great thanks to his non-stop efforts for Parramatta, NSW and Australia during the ’80s.

Price’s nickname, ‘Mr Perpetual Motion’, summed him up – one of the most relentless, courageous, determined players to lace a boot. He won four grand finals with the Eels in 1981-83 and ’86, the latter as captain in his last game before retiring, and won five straight Dally M Lock of the Year awards in his last five seasons.

He also won the Dally M and Rugby League Week Player of the Year awards in 1982 and 1985 respectively.

Already an automatic Test selection at the turn of the decade, Price played another 11 Tests – encompassing the 1982 Kangaroo Tour – before quitting representative football in 1984. He also captained NSW in three of his eight Origin appearances.

Second-row – Wayne Pearce

Price’s heir apparent in the NSW and Australian No.13 jumpers, Balmain’s Wayne Pearce epitomised the changing face of the rugby league star during the 1980s – ultra-fit, dedicated, professional and marketable.

But ‘Junior’ still possessed the old-world values of toughness, dogged determination and leading from the front. Perhaps only Price pushed through the pain barrier as often and fervently as Pearce, who played 19 Tests for Australia and 15 Origins for NSW from 1982-88.

He broke into both rep teams as a second-rower, with Price entrenched at lock, and was a breakout star on the ‘Invincibles’ Kangaroo Tour in 1982, impressing as a tireless defender and willing ball-runner who could hit a hole.

Pearce was still only 22 when he took over the Balmain captaincy in 1983, while he created history as the captain of the first Origin team to win a series 3-0 in 1986. The Rothmans Medal winner in 1985 and Dally M Lock of the Year in 1987-88, Pearce skippered his beloved Tigers to agonising back-to-back grand final defeats in 1988-89.

Second-row – Paul Vautin

Ousting the likes of Manly teammate Noel Cleal and Queensland comrade Bob Lindner for the other second-row spot is redheaded terrier ‘Fatty’ Vautin. Much like Price and Pearce, Vautin’s success did not come courtesy of overwhelming athletic gifts, but through sheer hard work and determination, and an unbreakable will to win.

Vautin was a magnificent defender, but also an underrated, skilful player in attack. The Brisbane Wests product linked with Manly in 1979 and debuted for Queensland and Australia in 1982. Though he was fated never to make a Kangaroo Tour – he was a controversial omission in ’82 and was injured for most of ’86 – he racked up 13 Tests and was vice-captain on the 1989 tour of New Zealand.

But it was in the Origin arena he is best remembered, making 22 wholehearted appearances for the Maroons (he missed just four games between 1982 and ’89) as a key part of their overwhelming success.

Part of losing grand final sides in 1982-83, Vautin assumed the Sea Eagles’ captaincy in 1985 and collected the Dally M Captain of the Year award on his way to leading the club to grand final glory in ’87. He was also Dally M Second-rower, Rep Player and Players’ Player of the Year in 1983.

An inglorious exit from Manly in 1989 and subsequent disappointing stint at Easts tainted his legacy somewhat, but Vautin deserves recognition as a true great of the eighties.

Prop – Steve Roach

There will only ever be one ‘Artie’ Beetson, a 1970s icon – but ‘Blocker’ Roach did a fair job of living up to his mantle as the game’s most dynamic prop of the 1980s. A genuine enforcer capable of busting the defensive line and putting away his supports, Roach became a cornerstone of the Balmain pack and an irresistible pick for NSW’s and Australia’s selectors.

The Wollongong junior debuted for the Tigers in 1982 and was in the NSW Origin line-up just two years later, then cracked the Australian team in 1985 after helping the Blues to a maiden series win. Injuries curtailed his 1986 Kangaroo Tour trip and wrecked his 1987 season.

Despite missing the Tigers incredible charge to the 1988 grand final through suspension – run-ins with authority were a common thread throughout his career – he was chosen in Australia’s World Cup final squad later that year.

In 1989, despite being overlooked for Jack Gibson’s Blues squad, he starred on the green-and-golds’ tour of New Zealand and won a third Dally M Prop of the Year gong, though the year was soured when he was replaced late in the Tigers’ devastating extra-time grand final loss to Canberra.

Roach was named as one of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players and at prop in NSW Country’s Team of the Century during the 2008 Centenary celebrations.

Hooker – Ben Elias

‘Balmain Benny’ helped revolutionise the hooker position during the 1980s with his livewire running from dummy-half, halfback-esque vision and skill-set, and superb kicking game – qualities that got him the nod in this composite team ahead of more traditional rakes like Royce Simmons and Greg Conescu.

The local junior debuted for the Tigers in 1982 and exploded during the ’85 season, breaking into the NSW side for their historic Origin series win and earning an Australian Test call-up against New Zealand.

Elias toured with the 1986 Kangaroos but was consigned to the second-string side by Simmons. However, he featured in Australia’s World Cup final-winning team at the end of a stellar 1988 season that included his second Dally M Hooker of the Year award, second place in the Dally M Medal, victory in the Rugby League Week Player of the Year award and a string of sizzling displays in the Tigers’ tightrope-walk through the playoffs to the grand final.

He helped Balmain to another grand final the following season after missing the representative schedule, before enhancing his legacy with several highlights for NSW and Australia during the first half of the 1990s.

Prop – Craig Young

Peter Tunks, Peter Kelly, Ian Roberts and Greg Dowling were all front-row guns during the 1980s, but ‘Albert’s’ consistently dominant performances during the first half of the decade clinched his place in this line-up.

Already a Test team staple and premiership-winning captain by the end of the 1970s – at the tender age of 23 – Young played another 11 Tests from 1980-84, including a prominent role on the 1982 ‘Invincibles’ Kangaroo Tour. He also appeared in five of the first nine Origin matches for NSW.

A fearsome ball-runner with granite-like defence and outstanding work ethic on both sides of the ball, Young was named Dally M Prop of the Year on his way to captaining St George to the 1985 grand final, a one-point loss to Canterbury’s ‘Dogs of War’.

Young also skippered the Dragons to Panasonic Cup success in 1988, his final season before hanging up the boots.

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1986 Big League no. 31, Eels v Bulldogs, Grand Final Special, Pin-Up – Kangaroo Tour 86

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Cover – Parramatta Eels v Canterbury Bulldogs, Grand Final Special, Pin-up – Kangaroo Tour 86

Condition - Magazine is in very good condition, see image

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• Daytrips out of Moscow
• Themed tours
• Customized tours
• St. Petersburg

Moscow Metro

The Moscow Metro Tour is included in most guided tours’ itineraries. Opened in 1935, under Stalin’s regime, the metro was not only meant to solve transport problems, but also was hailed as “a people’s palace”. Every station you will see during your Moscow metro tour looks like a palace room. There are bright paintings, mosaics, stained glass, bronze statues… Our Moscow metro tour includes the most impressive stations best architects and designers worked at - Ploshchad Revolutsii, Mayakovskaya, Komsomolskaya, Kievskaya, Novoslobodskaya and some others.

What is the kremlin in russia?

The guide will not only help you navigate the metro, but will also provide you with fascinating background tales for the images you see and a history of each station.

And there some stories to be told during the Moscow metro tour! The deepest station - Park Pobedy - is 84 metres under the ground with the world longest escalator of 140 meters. Parts of the so-called Metro-2, a secret strategic system of underground tunnels, was used for its construction.

During the Second World War the metro itself became a strategic asset: it was turned into the city's biggest bomb-shelter and one of the stations even became a library. 217 children were born here in 1941-1942! The metro is the most effective means of transport in the capital.

There are almost 200 stations 196 at the moment and trains run every 90 seconds! The guide of your Moscow metro tour can explain to you how to buy tickets and find your way if you plan to get around by yourself.

Moscow Metro Tour

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Moscow metro private tours.

• 2-hour tour $87:  10 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with hotel pick-up and drop-off
• 3-hour tour $137:  20 Must-See Moscow Metro stations with Russian lunch in beautifully-decorated Metro Diner + hotel pick-up and drop off. 
• Metro pass is included in the price of both tours.

Highlight of Metro Tour

• Visit 10 must-see stations of Moscow metro on 2-hr tour and 20 Metro stations on 3-hr tour, including grand Komsomolskaya station with its distinctive Baroque décor, aristocratic Mayakovskaya station with Soviet mosaics, legendary Revolution Square station with 72 bronze sculptures and more!
• Explore Museum of Moscow Metro and learn a ton of technical and historical facts;
• Listen to the secrets about the Metro-2, a secret line supposedly used by the government and KGB;
• Experience a selection of most striking features of Moscow Metro hidden from most tourists and even locals;
• Discover the underground treasure of Russian Soviet past – from mosaics to bronzes, paintings, marble arches, stained glass and even paleontological elements;
• Learn fun stories and myths about Coffee Ring, Zodiac signs of Moscow Metro and more;
• Admire Soviet-era architecture of pre- and post- World War II perious;
• Enjoy panoramic views of Sparrow Hills from Luzhniki Metro Bridge – MetroMost, the only station of Moscow Metro located over water and the highest station above ground level;
• If lucky, catch a unique «Aquarelle Train» – a wheeled picture gallery, brightly painted with images of peony, chrysanthemums, daisies, sunflowers and each car unit is unique;
• Become an expert at navigating the legendary Moscow Metro system;
• Have fun time with a very friendly local;
• + Atmospheric Metro lunch in Moscow’s the only Metro Diner (included in a 3-hr tour)

Hotel Pick-up

Metro stations:.

Komsomolskaya

Novoslobodskaya

Prospekt Mira

Belorusskaya

Mayakovskaya

Novokuznetskaya

Revolution Square

Sparrow Hills

+ for 3-hour tour

Victory Park

Slavic Boulevard

Vystavochnaya

Dostoevskaya

Elektrozavodskaya

Partizanskaya

Museum of Moscow Metro

• Drop-off  at your hotel, Novodevichy Convent, Sparrow Hills or any place you wish
• + Russian lunch  in Metro Diner with artistic metro-style interior for 3-hour tour

Fun facts from our Moscow Metro Tours:

From the very first days of its existence, the Moscow Metro was the object of civil defense, used as a bomb shelter, and designed as a defense for a possible attack on the Soviet Union.

At a depth of 50 to 120 meters lies the second, the coded system of Metro-2 of Moscow subway, which is equipped with everything you need, from food storage to the nuclear button.

According to some sources, the total length of Metro-2 reaches over 150 kilometers.

The Museum was opened on Sportivnaya metro station on November 6, 1967. It features the most interesting models of trains and stations.

Coffee Ring

The first scheme of Moscow Metro looked like a bunch of separate lines. Listen to a myth about Joseph Stalin and the main brown line of Moscow Metro.

Zodiac Metro

According to some astrologers, each of the 12 stops of the Moscow Ring Line corresponds to a particular sign of the zodiac and divides the city into astrological sector.

Astrologers believe that being in a particular zadiac sector of Moscow for a long time, you attract certain energy and events into your life.

Paleontological finds 

Red marble walls of some of the Metro stations hide in themselves petrified inhabitants of ancient seas. Try and find some!

• Every day each car in  Moscow metro passes  more than 600 km, which is the distance from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
• Moscow subway system is the  5th in the intensity  of use (after the subways of Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai).
• The interval in the movement of trains in rush hour is  90 seconds .

What you get:

• + A friend in Moscow.
• + Private & customized Moscow tour.
• + An exciting pastime, not just boring history lessons.
• + An authentic experience of local life.
• + Flexibility during the walking tour: changes can be made at any time to suit individual preferences.
• + Amazing deals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the very best cafes & restaurants. Discounts on weekdays (Mon-Fri).
• + A photo session amongst spectacular Moscow scenery that can be treasured for a lifetime.
• + Good value for souvenirs, taxis, and hotels.
• + Expert advice on what to do, where to go, and how to make the most of your time in Moscow.

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