1985 New Zealand rugby league tour
Series of rugby union matches
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The 1985 New Zealand rugby league tour was a series of matches played between October and December by the New Zealand national rugby league team in England and France. The team played a three-game series against Great Britain, named the Whitbread Trophy Bitter Tests for sponsorship reasons, and the tied the series 1–1. The team also defeated France 2–0.
Tom McKeown
| 1985 Kiwis tour | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 6 October 1985 – 12 December 1985 | ||||
| Manager | Jim Campbell Tom McKeown | ||||
| Coach | Graham Lowe | ||||
| Tour captain | Mark Graham | ||||
| Summary |
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| Total |
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| Test match |
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| Opponent |
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 Great Britain |
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 France |
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| Tour chronology | |||||
Background
New Zealand last toured Great Britain in 1980.
Despite tense relations between France and New Zealand over the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, the team went ahead with the French leg of the tour as planned.[1]
Touring party
A 24-man touring squad was selected in August 1985, with Mark Graham named as captain. The squad included six players who played in the Australian Winfield Cup competition. New Zealand players contracted to British clubs were not included in the squad, but could still be considered for selection in Test matches.[2]
Graham Lowe was the coach, and Jim Campbell was the team manager.[3]
Prior to the tour, Marty Crequer withdrew from the squad due to injury, and was replaced by Shane Horo.[4] Crequer was later called up as a replacement during the tour for the injured Joe Ropati.[5][6] Ross Taylor also suffered an injury on tour, and was replaced by Brent Todd.[7]
Schedule and results
| Date | Opponents | Score (NZ first) | Venue | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 October | Wigan | 8–14 | Wigan | 13,009 | |
| 9 October | Great Britain under-21 | 16–12 | Bradford | 2,285 | |
| 13 October | Hull Kingston Rovers | 20–10 | Hull | 6,585 | |
| 15 October | Cumbria | 32–6 | Whitehaven | 5,500 | |
| 19 October | Great Britain | 24–22 | Leeds | 12,591 | |
| 23 October | Yorkshire | 8–18 | Bradford | 3,745 | |
| 27 October | St Helens | 46–8 | St Helens | 7,897 | |
| 29 October | Leeds | 16–10 | Leeds | 4,713 | |
| 2 November | Great Britain | 8–25 | Wigan | 15,506 | |
| 4 November | Widnes | 32–12 | Widnes | 5,200 | |
| 9 November | Great Britain | 6–6 | Leeds | 22,209 | This match counted towards the 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup |
| 13 November | Lancashire | N/a | Oldham | Postponed due to a frozen pitch | |
| 17 November | Hull | 33–10 | Hull | 8,500 | |
| 20 November | Invitational XIII | 20–8 | Paris | 1,500 | |
| 24 November | France | 22–0 | Marseille | 1,492 | |
| 28 November | Midi-Pyrenees XIII | 18–12 | Toulouse | 3,000 | |
| 1 December | Languedoc/Roussillon XIII | 66–1 | Carcassonne | 5,000 | |
| 7 December | France | 22–0 | Perpignan | 5,000 | This match counted towards the 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup |
| 10 December | Rest of the World | 22–10 | Narbonne | 700 | |
| 12 December | Aquitane/Côte d'Azur | 22–10 | Bordeaux | 1,930 |
Aftermath
For the series against Great Britain, the Man of the Series was awarded to Great Britain's John Fieldhouse and Dane Sorensen for New Zealand.[8]