1924 Great Britain Lions tour

The 1924 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team of Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and August 1924. The tour involved a schedule of 27 games; 18 in Australia, including a three-test series against Australia for the Ashes and a further nine in New Zealand, including a three-test series against New Zealand.

1924 Great Britain Lions tour
ManagerJ. H. Dannatt and E. Osborne
Tour captain(s)Jonty Parkin
Top point scorer(s)Jim Sullivan (168)[1]
Top try scorer(s)Johnny Ring (23)[1]
Summary
P W D L
Total
27 21 00 06
Test match
06 03 00 03
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
3 2 0 1
 New Zealand
3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tour1920
Next tour1928

Captained by Jonty Parkin, the Lions returned home having won 21, and lost six games. They won the Ashes against Australia by two tests to one, but lost two out of three tests against New Zealand.

Squad

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An initial 20-man squad for the tour was named on 27 February 1924,[2] with six additional players being selected in the following weeks.[3] Wakefield Trinity scrum-half Jonty Parkin was appointed as captain.[4]

Name Position Nationality Club
Ernie Knapman Fullback   England Oldham
Jim Sullivan Fullback   Wales Wigan
Billy Bentham Wing   England Broughton Rangers
Frank Evans Wing   Wales Swinton
Johnny Ring Wing   Wales Wigan
Sid Rix Wing   England Oldham
Jim Bacon Centre   Wales Leeds
Charlie Carr Centre   England Barrow
Tommy Howley Centre   Wales Wigan
Charlie Pollard Centre   England Wakefield Trinity
Danny Hurcombe Stand-off   Wales Wigan
Stan Whitty Stand-off   England Hull
Walter Mooney Scrum-half   England Leigh
Jonty Parkin (c) Scrum-half   England Wakefield Trinity
Harold Bowman Prop forward   England Hull
Bill Burgess Prop forward   England Barrow
Billy Cunliffe Prop forward   England Warrington
Joe Thompson Prop forward   Wales Leeds
Jack Bennett Hooker   England Rochdale Hornets
Ben Gronow Hooker   Wales Huddersfield
Albert Brough Second-row   England Oldham
Joe Darwell Second-row   England Leigh
Dai Rees Second-row   Wales Halifax
Bob Sloman Second-row   England Oldham
Frank Gallagher Loose forward   England Batley
Jack Price Loose forward   England Wigan

The two team managers were J. H. Dannatt of Hull and E. Osborne of Warrington.[5]

Schedule and results

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The majority of the touring party departed from Tilbury on 11 April 1924. Due to their involvement in the 1924 Challenge Cup final, the nine players selected from Wigan and Oldham travelled overland and joined the ship at Marseille.[5] The team arrived in Melbourne on 20 May.[6]

Date Opponents Score (GB first) Venue Attendance Notes
24 May Victoria 45–13 Melbourne 15,000
26 May Southern Districts 31–4 Cootamundra
31 May Newcastle 43–18 Newcastle
4 June New England 34–17 Tamworth
7 June New South Wales 10–5 Sydney 41,657
9 June New South Wales 18–33 Sydney 37,000
12 June Ipswich 17–0 Ipswich
14 June Queensland 10–25 Brisbane 40,000
19 June Toowoomba 20–23 Toowoomba 10,000
21 June New South Wales 43–5 Sydney 26,042
23 June   Australia 22–3 Brisbane 50,005
25 June Orange 42–23 Orange
28 June   Australia 5–3 Sydney 33,842
2 July North Coast 28–19 Lismore 8,000
5 July Central Queensland 34–20 Rockhampton 8,000
8 July Maryborough 22–3 Maryborough
12 July   Australia 11–21 Brisbane 36,000
16 July Universities 31–23 Sydney
23 July South Auckland 28–16 Hamilton
26 July Auckland 24–11 Auckland 19,000
28 July Lower Waikato 30–12 Ngāruawāhia
30 July Auckland Province 28–13 Auckland
2 August   New Zealand 8–16 Auckland 22,000
6 August   New Zealand 11–13 Wellington 6,000
9 August   New Zealand 31–18 Dunedin 14,000
15 August West Coast 65–8 Greymouth
16 August Canterbury 47–10 Christchurch 9,000

The team departed New Zealand aboard the RMS Tahiti, returning home via America.

References

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  1. ^ a b Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.29 1923–1924. League Publications. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Rugby Men For The Tour". Leeds Mercury. 28 February 1924. p. 15 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "Rugby League: Touring Team Complete". Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian. 13 March 1924. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Parkin To Captain Tourists". Hull Daily Mail. 10 April 1924. p. 10 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ a b "Rugby League Tourists". Halifax Daily Courier & Guardian. 12 April 1924. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Rugby League: Players Reach Melbourne". The Sun. Sydney. 20 May 1924. p. 10 – via Trove.
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