Belle Vue (Wakefield)
Belle Vue in Wakefield, England, is the home of Wakefield Trinity rugby league team. It is beside the A638 Doncaster Road one mile south of Wakefield city centre. Wakefield Trinity played on Heath Common. In 1875/76 they moved to a ground near the Borough Market They returned to the Belle Vue area of Wakefield played on a ground behind the Alexandra Hotel near Elm Street; this is on the opposite side of the road from the present ground. It is remains unconfirmed; the confusion appears to come from the fact that Belle Vue is both an area of Wakefield and the name of the ground and people can confuse a mention of one for another. Reverend Marshall in "Football - the Rugby Union Game" wrote, "the club migrated to Belle Vue on the opposite side of the road to the present field, where the first cup ties were played. In the following year a move was made to the present field." The Cup referred to is the Yorkshire Cup, first played during the 1877/78 season. Wakefield Trinity's first Yorkshire Cup game was played on 8 December 1877 during the 1877/78 season.
If Trinity played the "first cup ties" on the Elm Street ground in 1877, the "following year" would have been 1878. However, in, "The Grounds of Rugby League" by Trevor R. Delaney gives the opening of the present ground as Easter Monday, 14 April 1879; this is based on the evidence of former Wakefield Trinity treasurer Ernest Parker, who remembered that Trinity debuted their new colours of blue and red on the same day and he was present at the match. There is no mention of the ground move in the local newspapers and Parker's recollection was many years later. D. W Armitage writing in J. C Lindley's "100 years of Rugby - the history of Wakefield Trinity 1873-1973" said "From minutes of the committee it is evident that by the time the club was about ten years old the field on which Trinity still play had been occupied and was looked upon as the permanent home." In J. C Lindley's "100 years of Rugby - the history of Wakefield Trinity 1873-1973" states "Their move to the arena which still forms their home did not come until late in 1892.
In December of that year the club agreed to lease a field adjacent to the St Catherine's School and there they made their headquarters which have remained so throughout the rest of their history." Lindley goes onto explain, "But that move of playing area caused by their inability to continue the lease on two grounds on which they had progressed, bought severe problems. Here was a "field" - an area of grass which needed fencing and developing, in direct contrast to their previous home, enclosed with two stands, on which athletics and lacrosse as well as rugby football, were given adequate facilities. In 1892 a fresh start had to be made, until such developments, athletics had to be staged on Wakefield Cricket club's ground." In 1892 newspaper reports that Trinity may "have to quit their present ground at Belle Vue at Belle Vue as it is required for building purposes." Delaney comments "Fortunately, the only development was the building of St Catherine's Road which stopped at the present turnstiles."
This however may be incorrect and the reference to the "present ground" was a reference to the Elm Street ground and the redevelopment was a reference to the building of houses on Elm Street. Lindley explains that in January 1895 "some three years after taking the lease for this Belle Vue field", the club planned ground developments and to finance these, a Limited liability company "Wakefield Trinity Athletic Company Limited", controlled by but separate from the rugby club, was formed to both by out the lease and raise finance to develop the ground. On 24 September 1898 Lord Milton, Wakefield's MP official opened the re-constituted ground, which now included a cycle track around the perimeter of the rugby field, with a game between Wakefield Trinity and Halifax. Belle Vue was the venue of the 1922–23 Challenge Cup final, in which Leeds beat Hull F. C. 28–3 in front of a crowd of 29,335, the only occasion that Belle Vue was the venue for the Challenge Cup final. The 1937–38 Rugby Football League Championship Final was due to have taken place at Belle Vue, but as both finalists Hunslet and Leeds were from Leeds, the authorities switched the match to Elland Road.
Scenes from This Sporting Life were filmed at the Belle Vue Stadium during Wakefield Trinity's third round Challenge Cup match against Wigan in 1962. In 1967, floodlights were erected for the first time, allowing games to be held on an evening. In 1986 the old wooden West Stand that had stood their since the construction of the ground in 1895 was dempolished, it was however never replaced and now houses the TV gantry. In 1992 the old floodlights that were installed in 1967 were upgraded. New changing rooms were added for the 1984/85 season in the South-East corner of the ground With Super League being founded in 1996, Wakefield Trinity, who played in the Second Division, released plans for hospitality suites to be built at the South End of the ground to meet with Super League regulations. In the early 2000s a four-storey building was completed; the capacity of the stadium was increased to 12,600 in 2008, to help with the application for a 2009 Super League licence, granted in July 2008. A roof was subsequently erected over the North Stand and a smaller roof was constructed in the South-West corner of the ground.
Wakefield Trinity have long been in negotiation with the local council to find an alternative site, as the present Belle Vue
Rugby league positions
A rugby league team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Each of the thirteen players is assigned a position with a standardised number, which reflects their role in attack and defence, although players can take up any position at any time. Players are divided into two general types and backs. Forwards are chosen for their size and strength, they are expected to run with the ball, to attack, to make tackles. Forwards are required to improve the team's field position thus creating space and time for the backs. Backs are smaller and faster, though a big, fast player can be of advantage in the backs, their roles require speed and ball-playing skills, rather than just strength, to take advantage of the field position gained by the forwards. Forwards tend to operate in the centre of the field, while backs operate nearer to the touch-lines, where more space can be found; the diagram, shows the typical positions of each player during a scrum. The laws of the game recognise standardised numbering of positions.
The starting side wear the numbers corresponding to their positions, only changing in the case of substitutions and position shifts during the game. In some competitions, such as Super League, players receive a squad number to use all season, no matter what positions they play in; the positions and the numbers are defined by the game's laws as: Backs1 Full Back 2 Right Wing Threequarter 3 Right Centre Threequarter 4 Left Centre Threequarter 5 Left Wing Threequarter 6 Stand-off Half or Five-eighth 7 Scrum Half or HalfbackForwards8 Prop 9 Hooker 10 Front Row Forward 11 Second Row Forward 12 Second Row Forward 13 Lock ForwardIn practice, the term'front row forward' is rarely used, a team has two props. The scrum half is known as the half back in Australasia, the lock forward is known as loose forward in England. There are seven backs, numbered 1 to 7. For these positions, the emphasis is on ball-handling skills; the "back-line" consists of smaller, more agile players. Numbered 1, the fullback's primary role is the last line of defence, standing behind the main line of defenders.
Defensively, fullbacks must be able to chase and tackle any player who breaks the first line of defence, must be able to catch and return kicks made by the attacking side. Their role in attack is as a support player, they are used to come into the line to create an overlap in attack. Fullbacks that feature in their respective nations' rugby league halls of fame are France's Puig Aubert, Australia's Clive Churchill and Billy Slater, Charles Fraser, Graeme Langlands and Graham Eadie, Great Britain/Wales' Jim Sullivan and New Zealand's Des White. There are four threequarters: two wingers and two centres - right wing, right centre, left centre and left wing; these players work in pairs, with one winger and one centre occupying each side of the field. Known as wingers. There are two wings in a rugby league team, numbered 2 and 5, they are positioned closest to the touch-line on each side of the field. They are among the fastest players in a team, with the speed to exploit space, created for them and finish an attacking move.
In defence their primary role is to mark their opposing wingers, they are usually required to catch and return kicks made by an attacking team dropping behind the defensive line to help the fullback. Wingers that feature in their nations' rugby league halls of fame are Great Britain's Billy Batten, Billy Boston and Clive Sullivan, Australia's Brian Bevan, John Ferguson, Ken Irvine, Harold Horder and Brian Carlson, South African Tom van Vollenhoven and France's Raymond Contrastin There are two centres and left, numbered 3 and 4 respectively, they are positioned just inside the wingers and are the second-closest players to the touch-line on each side of the field. In attack their primary role is to provide an attacking threat out wide and as such they need to be some of the fastest players on the pitch providing the pass for their winger to finish off a move. In defence, they are expected to mark their opposite centre. Centres that feature in their countries' halls of fame are France's Max Rousié, England's Eric Ashton, Harold Wagstaff and Neil Fox, Wales' Gus Risman and Australia's Reg Gasnier, H "Dally" Messenger, Dave Brown, Jim Craig, Bob Fulton and Mal Meninga.
There are two halves. Positioned more centrally in attack, beside or behind the forwards, they direct the ball and are the team's main play-makers, as such are required to be the most skillful and intelligent players on the team; these players usually perform most tactical kicking for their team. Numbered 6, the stand off or five-eighth is a strong passer and runner, while being agile; this player is referred to as "second receiver", as in attacking situations they are the second player to receive the ball and are able to initiate an attacking move. Star players of this position include Wally Lewis, Darren Lockyer, Bob Fulton, Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley and Terry Lamb Numbered 7, the scrum-half or half back is involved in directing the team's play; the position is sometimes referred to as "first receiver", as half backs are the first to receive the ball from the dummy-half after a play-the-ball. This makes them important decision-makers in attack. A rugby league forward pack consists of six players who tend to be bigger and stronger than backs, rely more on their strength and size to fulfill their roles than play-making skills.
The forwards traditionally formed and contested scrums, however in the modern game
Try
A try is a way of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area. Rugby union and league differ in defining'grounding the ball' and the'in-goal' area; the term try comes from try at goal, signifying that grounding the ball only gave the opportunity to try to score with a kick at goal. A try is analogous to a touchdown in American and Canadian football, with the major difference being that a try requires the ball be touching the ground and an attacking player, whereas a touchdown requires that the player in possession of the ball enter the end zone. In both codes of rugby, the term touch down formally refers only to grounding the ball by the defensive team in their in-goal. There are differences in the fine detail of the laws and their interpretation between the two rugby codes; these are the common aspects. The player holding the ball to score a try and the ball itself must not be in touch or touch-in-goal; the touchline, touch-in-goal lines and dead ball lines count as being'out'.
There has to be contact with the ground by a player or the ball for it to be ruled in touch or touch-in-goal. Parts of the body in the air above the lines and outside the field of play or in-goal are not touch, it is common to see players who are in the air over the lines still grounding the ball successfully; the in-goal area in which the ball must be grounded includes the goal line, but not the touch-in-goal and dead ball lines. Grounding the ball in both codes means either holding it and touching it to the ground in-goal, or placing hand, arm or front of body between waist and neck on top of the ball, on the ground in-goal. A player does not need to be holding the ball to ground it. If the ball is on the ground or just above it, it can be touched to the ground with a hand, arm or front torso. Match officials interpret dropping the ball in-goal as a knock-on, disallow a try. For a try to be awarded, they consider whether the player had the intention to ground the ball and was in control of the ball when he did.
Grounding of the ball can be instantaneous, it does not matter if the player lets go and the ball bounces forward. An attacking player who falls to the ground before reaching the goal line scores a try if momentum carries the player so that the ball touches the in-goal, including the goal line. A player may ground the ball in one of two ways: if the ball is held in the hand or arm touching the ball to the ground in-goal suffices and no downward pressure is required. For a try to be awarded, an attacking player must ground the ball. If there is doubt about which team first grounded the ball, the attacking team are awarded a 5-metre scrum. A player, in touch or touch-in-goal, but, not carrying the ball, may score a try by grounding the ball in-goal; the goal-posts and padding at ground level are part of the goal line and therefore of the in-goal, so a try may be scored by grounding the ball at the foot of the posts. A player may ground the ball in a scrum as soon as the ball crosses the goal line.
If an attacking player is tackled short of the goal-line but reaches out and places the ball on or over the goal-line, a try is scored. If a television match official has been appointed, the referee may ask for advice before deciding whether to award a try, but under current protocols the TMO may only advise on whether the ball was properly grounded, on whether the ball or ball-carrier went into touch or touch-in-goal in the act of scoring; the laws of rugby league still refer to the need for "downward pressure" to be exerted in grounding the ball with hand or arm. The laws of rugby league specify that a try is scored if an attacker grounds the ball with a defender. An attacking player whose momentum does not allow the ball to reach the try-line or in-goal after their ball-carrying arm touches the ground may not reach out to score if a defender is in contact with them. Players who are in touch-in-goal and not carrying the ball may not score a try by pressing a loose ball still in play to the ground.
A try may not be scored in a scrum which crosses the goal line, but when the ball comes out of scrum a player may pick it up and'bore through' their own scrum to score a try. Video referees in rugby league are given a wider scope to look at the validity of a try. If the onfield referee is unsure or needs clarification, they may refer to the video referee to award a possible try; this referral must be sent with the onfield referees opinion on whether the play is a'Try' or'No Try'. The video referee must find evidence to support the opinion, or conclusive evidence agai
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Kingston upon Hull, England. Hull Kingston Rovers are one of two professional rugby league teams in Hull. Hull F. C. play on the west side of the city, Hull KR on the east side, at KCOM Craven Park. The River Hull is the divide between the two. Hull KR's nickname, "The Robins", originates from their traditional playing colours of red and white. After a ten-year stay in the Super League, they were relegated from the Super League to the Championship in the 2016 season, due to the Million Pound Game. After winning the majority of their matches in the 2017 Championship season, Hull KR gained automatic promotion back to the Super League, at the first time of asking. Hull Kingston Rovers began in 1882 when a group of apprentice boilermakers in the Hessle Road area of Hull came together to start a team, Kingston Amateurs, their first ground was a piece of wasteland in Albert Street, the club started playing in the Hull and District League in the autumn of 1883.
By 1885 Kingston Amateurs had played at three grounds, Albert Street, Anlaby Road and Chalk Lane. The club name was changed to Kingston Rovers as they entered the Times Cup in the 1885–86 season. A number of clubs joined the league and the club entered the new Hull and District Rugby Union Cup, losing to Hull A in the final; the club won its first trophy in the 1887–88 season by winning the Times Cup, beating Selby A in the final. The Rovers moved down Hessle Road. In 1888–89, 6,000 fans turned up to the cup game against Hull A at the Holderness Road ground, which ended as a draw. Rovers went through the next season losing just two games, defeating Britannia in the Times Cup final. Rovers beat Hull A for the first time in 1889–90, moved to their fifth ground, again down Hessle Road; the Red and Whites won the Times Cup for the third year running in 1891–92 beating York A in the final. 1892 saw Rovers play at the Boulevard for the first time and they leased the ground for three years from the following season.
Only one away win was recorded this season and six home wins, but Rovers entered the Yorkshire Cup for the first time although they were knocked out by Dewsbury in the second round. In 1893 Rovers played out of the Boulevard, they lost to Bradford Northern that season in the first round of the Yorkshire Cup. Amos Law, a drop kicker joined the club from Cleckheaton and Huddersfield, while George William Lofthouse played at the age of 14. In 1895 the Northern Football Union was founded, when the leading rugby union sides in the North of England broke away to form a league of their own, comprising 22 clubs. Rovers nicknamed "the redbreasts" did not join the new organisation and were instead promoted to the second division of the RFU finishing joint second, they moved to their first ground in East Hull in Craven Street off Holderness Road. In 1896–97, they were denied a place in the first division when several sides resigned but when the West Riding club dropped out, Rovers moved up. Hull KR amalgamated with Albany Soccer Club.
After a successful amalgamation the clubs resources they went onto win the Yorkshire Cup for the first time beating Shipley 11–5 in the final. The club won the league competition and beat the rest of the league 26–8 in a challenge match. Rovers applied to join the Northern Union and played their first match under the new code in 1897–98. Rovers were elected into the inaugural Yorkshire Second competition in 1898–99 winning all 17 matches. A club record of 19 consecutive league play-off and cup wins was set in that season with the club subsequently defeating Heckmondwike in a promotion/relegation match to qualify for the Yorkshire Senior Competition. Hull Kingston Rovers were thus admitted into full membership of the Yorkshire Northern Union and finished 6th out of 16 beating Hull 8–2 in the first local derby on 16 September 1899, in front of a 14,000 crowd. In 1901–02, the top Yorkshire clubs formed their own'super league' and Rovers played in the Lancashire League finishing 5th out of 13. Hull Kingston Rovers were one of the new teams to join the second division and finished joint second.
In 1904–05, Rovers reached the Challenge Cup Final losing 0–6 to Warrington in front of a crowd of 19,638. In the first round on 4 March 1905, Rovers beat Brookland Rovers 73–5 with G. H.'Tich' West scoring 53 of the points with 11 tries and 10 goals, still a club and world rugby league record. In 1906/07 they reached the final of the Yorkshire Cup only to lose to Bradford F. C. 5–8. In 1908, Rovers gained a memorable 21–16 win over the first touring Australian side. In 1911/12 they finished 3rd out of 27 but lost 10–22 to Huddersfield in the final of the Yorkshire Cup. In 1912/13 Rovers finished 3rd again out of 26 clubs and lost to Wigan in the Championship semi final play-off and finished runners-up in the Yorkshire League Championship. Leagues were suspended in 1915 due to the First World War; when an official regional league resumed on 18 January 1919, Rovers finished 19th out of 25. In 1920/21, Rovers finished top of the Rugby League but lost 14–16 to Hull F. C. in the play-off final at Headingley.
They had their revenge in the Yorkshire Cup final beating Hull 2–0 to win their first cup as a professional side. Rovers moved to their second ground in East Hull, Old Craven Park, behind the tram and bus depot on the eastern end of Holderness Road in 1922; the land cost included 14 tennis courts. They lost their first match at the new ground 0-0-0 to 0–1–3 Wakefield Trinity on 2 September 1922, Albert Rosenfeld scoring Trinity's try; the club finished 4th out of 27 in the league and they won the League Championship Cup beating Huddersfield 15–5. In season 1923/4 Gilbert Austin voluntarily ended a run of
All Four Cups
Winning All Four Cups referred to winning all four competitions available to a British rugby league side in the top division between 1907 and 1970. The cups available to win were the Rugby Football League Championship, Challenge Cup, county league and county cup; the feat was achieved on three occasions. Between 1907 and 1970 there were four trophies available to any British rugby league side: Challenge Cup Rugby Football League Championship County league County cup The first club to win All Four Cups was Hunslet, which they did in the 1907–08 season, they were captained by Albert Goldthorpe. Hunslet's forward pack of that season was famous, going by the name of "The Terrible Six". Hunslet did not top the championship table at the end of the season, coming behind Oldham, whom they defeated, 10–12, in a championship replay after the first match was drawn 7 apiece, they ran out 14–0 winners in the Challenge Cup Final in front of 18,000 spectators at Fartown, Huddersfield. They took the Yorkshire Cup by virtue of a 17–0 victory over Halifax.
The feat was next repeated by Huddersfield in the 1914–15 season by the Fartowners famous "Team of all Talents". This was the culmination of a staggering period of dominance in the game, as they had picked up two championships, the challenge cup, three Yorkshire Cups and three Yorkshire league titles in the preceding five seasons, they were captained by Harold Wagstaff, immortalised as the "Prince of Centres", included several foreign internationals. They defeated Leeds, 35–2, in the Championship final, managed an greater margin of victory in the Challenge Cup, crushing St. Helens, 37–3, at Oldham; the season saw. However this figure paled into insignificance when it is remembered that Rosenfeld, a Jewish Australian who had come over to Britain with the 1908 Kangaroos, had scored 80 tries the previous season; this record has never yet been beaten. The team of all the Talents could well have gone on to greater exploits, however sadly the First World War intervened, the team broke up; the Huddersfield club was unable to field a team.
The final team to win All Four Cups was Swinton, who thus became the only side to achieve a Lancashire version of the feat. The 1927–28 Northern Rugby Football League season saw the Lions sweep aside all before them, under the captaincy of centre Hector Halsall, they topped both the League and the Lancashire League, having defeated Wigan in the Lancashire Cup. In a tense Challenge Cup final they squeezed past Warrington 5-3, three weeks the Holy Grail was achieved when they comfortably eased past Featherstone Rovers 11-0 to take the Championship; the county leagues were abolished in 1970, the county cups followed in 1993. New competitions replaced them, at times there were up to six competitions held in a single season; the only team to win all the silverware on offer between 1970 and 1996 were Wigan, who won four trophies in the 1994–95 season. They won the championship, beat Leeds 69–24 in the Premiership final, defeated Leeds again, 30–10, in the Challenge Cup Final and overcame Warrington 40-10 in the Regal Trophy final.
In the Super League era, there have been two teams that have won the modern equivalent of all four cups. Bradford Bulls were the first team to accomplish this in 2003–04, followed by St Helens in 2006–07; the Double The Treble
1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain
Not to be confused with the 1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of BritainThe 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the first such tour for the newly-formed Australia national rugby league team. The tour was to England and Wales and coincided with the first Wallabies Rugby Union tour of Great Britain, which in hindsight put the Kangaroos in a tough position; the game of rugby league was not yet twelve months old in Australia however a New Zealand side had toured to Britain, Australia had encountered New Zealand during the 1908 season and the pioneer Australian leaders of the game were keen to match up against the Northern Union founders of the code. The 1908–09 Kangaroos wore jumpers of sky blue and maroon representing the New South Wales Blues and Queensland Maroons players that comprised the team; the first Kangaroo tour was considered a financial failure, with poor weather and economic conditions contributing to smaller than expected gate takings. Tour promoter James Giltinan was bankrupted as result.
However for a century afterward, Kangaroo tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches. The 1908-09 tour was depicted in the 1988 Australian television movie The First Kangaroos; the Kangaroos sailed for Britain on RMS Macedonia prior to the close of the 1908 NSWRFL season, denying some of the selected players to appear in the inaugural grand final. They worked as stokers to keep their fitness levels up as well as doing daily sessions in the ship's gymnasium and boxing ring; the jerseys were coloured sky blue and maroon, combining the state colours of NSW and Queensland respectively. When tour captain, Lutge was injured early in the tour, Messenger became captain in the 1st and 2nd Test Matches. After he was injured, Alec Burdon assumed the captaincy for the 3rd Test. One of the players Pat Walsh sailed to Britain separately on the ship and brought the live Kangaroo mascot with him. Walsh arrived in England for the 5th match of the tour against Salford.
The team's live marsupial mascot died before the end of the tour due to the execrable weather. The Kangaroos scored some memorable victories, including wins against Yorkshire and Hunslet. Rugby league made its first appearance in Scotland in 1909 when Glasgow’s Celtic Park hosted a game between the Northern Rugby Football Union representative side and the touring Australians. Matches played: 45 Won: 17 Drew: 6 Lost: 22 The Ashes: Great Britain 2-0. Leading try scorers of the tour were Devereaux 17, Messenger 10, Frawley 10, Walsh 9, Courtney 8. Dally Messenger was the tourists' leading point-scorer with 160, a full 103 points clear of next highest-scorer; the seven-month tour proved to be a true test of survival and was a disaster due to small gate-takings. A crippling cotton mill strike in northern England made it difficult for many fans to afford their way through the turnstiles and there was criticism of the entry price the Australians wanted to charge. Australian morale ebbed during one of the meanest northern winters on record.
Giltinan as promoter of the tour took the full risk. He paid the players a weekly allowance of one pound early in the tour but before long it was cut to ten shillings. Things became so bad that the team would travel on overnight trains to save on accommodation; the players had sailed from Sydney on one-way fares and the Northern Union had to pay the players' fares home. Evidence emerged that Giltinan lost £418 on the campaign and was bankrupted on his return to Sydney. Peter Moir a seminal figure in the foundation of the Glebe club had an unhappy tour and played in only four games and no Tests. At tour's end he wrote a letter home, The team is run by a clique and you are picked by them. I am disappointed at not getting a game, it is hard as all my people live here and they keep asking me why I am not playing and I cannot tell them a lie. Deane, Frawley, Devereux, McCabe and Rosenfeld all stayed behind to play in the wintry Northern Union competition when the Australians boarded the RMS Seuvic for the journey home.
On the return journey Messenger fell in love with Annie Macauley whom he would marry. While en route back to Australia, secretary J. J. Giltinan, president Henry Hoyle and treasurer, Victor Trumper, the men who had done most to form the NSWRL, were being voted out of it. Tour manager: James Giltinan Giltinan had borrowed £2,000 to fund the entire tour as promoter, he was one of the founders of the breakaway code's Australian formation in Sydney a year earlier. Assistant manager: John Fihelly Fihelly was one of the code's founders in Queensland, he had represented for Queensland in rugby union and in the state's first representative league side in May 1908. He was a state selector that year, he did not play any matches on tour & performed the role of Assistant Manager. He would referee many matches of the 1909 Brisbane club competition & a 1910 Test match. Tour secretary: Bill Noble Selected as a player, Noble the 1908 Newtown club captain was injured early and made only three tour match appearances.
He performed the role of Secretary/Treasurer. Tour captain: Denis Lutge A rugged North Sydney forward North who worked as a stevedore, Lutge was elected Tour Captain by his team-mates shortly after the squad set sail from Sydney, he had captained Australia in the 3rd Test match against New Zealand in June 1908. Lutge appeared in only five tour matches and no Tests. Test captains: Dally Messenger & Alex Burdon Lutge's deputy as tour vice-captain, Messenge
1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand
The 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand was the second British national rugby league team or'Lions' tour of Australasia, where it was winter and matches were played against the Australian and New Zealand national sides, as well as several local teams. The tour repeated the promotional and financial success of the 1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia and became famous for the third and deciding Ashes test, known as the "Rorke's Drift Test" due to a backs-to-the wall British victory against all odds. At the 1913–14 Northern Rugby Football Union season's conclusion, the following Great Britain squad was assembled by the NRFU to represent it on the tour of Australasia; the Union's tour manager was John Clifford. The first leg of the tour was Australia, where the game of rugby league football was in its seventh year since splitting away from rugby union in 1908; the tourists ventured to Adelaide, Melbourne and Bathurst, as well as Sydney and Newcastle. The Australian team was captained in all three Ashes Tests by North Sydney skipper Sid Deane.
The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. All three tests took place in Sydney. South Australia: J. Lawson, R. Cooksley, O. Howard, E. Dutton, P. Knowles, W. Oldfield, M. Moran, C. Fincham, J. Sorensen, F. Stewart, J. Carr, A. Shuttleworth, P. Jackson. Res – L. Scott Northern Union: Alf Wood, Jack Robinson, William Davies, Bert Jenkins, Frank Williams, Fred Smith, Jack O'Garra, James Clampitt, Billy Jarman, Arthur Johnson, Dave Holland, Percy Coldrick, John Smales Metropolis: Howard Hallett, Harold Horder, Sid Deane, Bill Kelly, Wally Messenger, Ray Norman, Arthur Halloway, Jack Watkins, Sid Pearce, Con Sullivan, Paddy McCue, Ed Courtney, Frank Burge Northern Union: Alf Wood, Frank Williams, William Davies, Bert Jenkins, Jack Robinson, Stuart Prosser, Johnny Rogers, Joseph Guerin, James Clampitt, Walter Roman, Billy Jarman, Dave Holland, John Smales NSW: Howard Hallett, Harold Horder, Sid Deane, Bill Kelly, Wally Messenger, Ray Norman, Arthur Halloway, Jack Watkins, Sid Pearce, Con Sullivan, Paddy McCue, Ed Courtney, Frank Burge.
Res – Charles Fraser Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, William Davies, Harold Wagstaff, Bert Jenkins, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall, Johnny Rogers, Percy Coldrick, Douglas Clark, Arthur Johnson, Billy Jarman, Dave Holland, Jack Chilcott Queensland: Mick Bolewski, Herbert McCabe, Walter Bolewski, Henry Bolewski, William Beavis, Daniel Rowley, Evan Lewis, Jack Egan, Thomas Dean, Harold Bawden, Charles Scott, William Pritchard, James Adams Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Frank Williams, Harold Wagstaff, William Davies, Alfred Francis, Fred Smith, Jack O'Garra, Joseph Guerin, Douglas Clark, Fred Longstaff, Dick Ramsdale, John Smales, Jack Chilcott Northern Union: Billy Jarman, Stan Moorhouse, Harold Wagstaff, Billy Hall, Alfred Francis, Stuart Prosser, Fred Smith, Arthur Johnson, Joseph Guerin, James Clampitt, Walter Roman, Percy Coldrick, Fred Longstaff Queensland: Mick Bolewski, Herbert McCabe, John Birkett, Henry Bolewski, William Beavis, Thomas Hennessy, Evan Lewis, Jack Egan, Thomas Dean, Peter Olsen, Charles Scott, William Pritchard, Don Jeffrey Northern Union: Gwyn Thomas, Frank Williams, Harold Wagstaff, Bert Jenkins, Stan Moorhouse, Billy Hall, Johnny Rogers, Percy Coldrick, Douglas Clark, Fred Longstaff, Dick Ramsdale, Billy Jarman, Jack Chilcott Newcastle: J. Maloney, P. Scully, W. Coleman, E. Brien, G. Johns, J. Coleman, F. Bell, F. Grahame, H. Williams, Stan Carpenter, J. Quinn, Arthur Baber, C. Perkins Northern Union: Alf Wood, Alfred Francis, Harold Wagstaff, William Davies, Jack Robinson, Fred Smith, Jack O'Garra, Walter Roman, James Clampitt, Joseph Guerin, Dave Holland, John Smales, Arthur Johnson Future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee Harold Horder was selected to make his Test debut for this match.
On the other wing was the only Queenslander selected in the home side, Henry Bolewski. Selected to debut for his adopted country was New Zealander, Bill Kelly, after whom the trophy contested in the ANZAC Test would be named; the first test of the 1914 Ashes series was played in Sydney before a crowd of around 40,000. Leeds forward Billy Jarman, making his debut for Great Britain missed a conversion attempt from in front of the posts. Henry Bolewski was the only Queensland player selected in the Australian side. After being humiliated in the first Test, the Australians bounced back to narrowly win the second 12–7 at the Sydney Cricket Ground with Charles Fraser and Frank Burge scoring and Wally Messenger kicking 3 goals. Newcastle: E. Hawke, A. Bassett, A. Dawson, H. Gunn, E. Lockhard, R. Trefrey, Edward Coyne, D. Gander, Arch Moncreiff, D. Reece, P. Smith, R. Murphy, D. Haynes Northern Union: Alf Wood, Frank Williams, Billy Hall, William Davies, Jack O'Garra, Stuart Prosser, Johnny Rogers, Walter Roman, James Clampitt, Joseph Guerin, John Smales, Billy Jarman, Arthur Johnson The third and deciding Ashes test had been scheduled for Melbourne in August, but the New South Wales Rugby Football League unilaterally rescheduled it for Sydney on 4 July to maximise profits.
The British protested that it would be their third test match in seven days and several of their first team were out with injuries, but the NSWRFL got its way. The tourists were instructed by the Northern Union officials to do their duty for England. Within the first minutes of the match, Great Britain were down a man due to an injury to Frank Williams. Forward Arthur'Chick' Johnson, the Widnes club's first international representative, was shifted to the wing to take Williams' place. At half time the British were leading 9–3. Ten minutes into the second half, they had lost Douglas Clark and Billy Hall to injuries so were reduced to ten men.'Chick' Johnson, playing out of posi
