1928 Great Britain Lions tour
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The 1928 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 1928. The tour involved a schedule of 24 games; 16 in Australia, including a three-test series against Australia for the Ashes and a further eight in New Zealand, including a three-test series against New Zealand.
| 1928 Great Britain Lions tour | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | G.F. Hutchins and E. Osborne | ||||
| Tour captain(s) | Jonty Parkin | ||||
| Top point scorer(s) | Jim Sullivan (113)[1] | ||||
| Top try scorer(s) | Alf Ellaby (20)[1] | ||||
| Summary |
| ||||
| Total |
| ||||
| Test match |
| ||||
| Opponent |
| ||||
 Australia |
| ||||
 New Zealand |
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| Tour chronology | |||||
| Previous tour | 1924 | ||||
| Next tour | 1932 | ||||
Captained by Jonty Parkin, the Lions returned home having won 18, lost five and drawn one of their games. They won the Ashes against Australia by two tests to one, and also two out of three tests against New Zealand.
Squad
An initial 23-man squad for the tour was named on 29 February 1928,[2] with three additional players being selected two weeks later and Jonty Parkin being appointed as captain.[3] In April, Frank Gallagher declined his tour invitation for business reasons,[4] and Joe Thompson was selected as a replacement.[5]
The two team managers were G.F. Hutchins of Oldham and E. Osborne of Warrington.[2]
Schedule and results
The touring party departed from Tilbury on 20 April 1928 on board the SS Cathay.[6] The team arrived in Melbourne on 28 May, with thirteen players travelling by train for the opening game of the tour in Cootamundra, while the rest of the team continued their journey via ship to Sydney.[7]
| Date | Opponents | Score (GB first) | Venue | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 May | South West District | 14â14 | Cootamundra | 8,000 | |
| 2 June | New South Wales | 15â20 | Sydney | 55,000 | |
| 4 June | New South Wales | 22â9 | Sydney | 48,000 | |
| 9 June | New South Wales | 7â22 | Sydney | 38,000 | |
| 13 June | Far Northern Coast | 20â9 | Lismore | 6,500 | |
| 16 June | Queensland | 7â21 | Brisbane | 25,000 | |
| 20 June | Ipswich | 23â13 | Ipswich | 2,000 | |
| 23 June | Australia | 15â12 | Brisbane | 39,200 | |
| 27 June | Central Queensland | 27â11 | Rockhampton | 10,000 | |
| 30 June | Northern Queensland | 30â16 | Townsville | 11,000 | |
| 4 July | Wide Bay | 61â13 | Bundaberg | 4,000 | |
| 7 July | Toowoomba | 17â12 | Toowoomba | 12,000 | |
| 11 July | Newcastle | 19â17 | Newcastle | 7,000 | |
| 14 July | Australia | 8â0 | Sydney | 44,548 | |
| 18 July | Western NSW | 22â9 | Parkes | 9,000 | |
| 21 July | Australia | 14â21 | Sydney | 37,000 | |
| 1 August | South Auckland | 31â5 | Hamilton | ||
| 4 August | New Zealand | 13â17 | Auckland | 28,000 | |
| 8 August | Auckland | 14â9 | Auckland | 15,000 | |
| 11 August | Auckland City | 26â15 | Auckland | 25,000 | |
| 14 August | Buller | 72â3 | Westport | ||
| 15 August | West Coast | 62â13 | Greymouth | ||
| 18 August | New Zealand | 13â5 | Dunedin | 12,000 | |
| 25 August | New Zealand | 6â5 | Christchurch | 21,000 |
Following the end of the third test against New Zealand, the team departed Auckland aboard the RMS Niagara, and played two exhibition games in Canada before returning home.[8]