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Kangaroo
Tour: 1990
Sean Fagan of RL1908.com
Mal Meninga - captained the 1990 and 1994 Kangaroos |
The
1990 series produced the most thrilling and competitive Ashes contest
that many fans have ever seen.
In
the end Britain could have wrapped it up near the end of the 2nd
Test - they didn't, and Australia fought back from the floor.
The
tour started in drama when Wally Lewis was ruled out injured. Mal
Meninga was chosen as captain of a star studded team that included
Langer, Stuart, Roach, Elias, Daley, Sironen, Lyons, Alexander and
Ettingshausen.
The
British held Australia to 2-all at half-time in the opening Test
at Wembley before 50,000 fans. But, unlike the ‘82 and ‘86 tours,
it was the homeside that finished the stronger.
Three
tries engineered by Hanley, Gregory and Schofield in the mid-field
stunned the Kangaroos as they lost by 19-12. Britain celebrated
a first defeat of the Kangaroos in England in 37 games (1978).
For
the 2nd Test Australia brought in Stuart, Lyons, Daley, Lazarus
and Elias. In an epic encounter that may just be the greatest Test
ever played, Britain scored a try with ten minutes remaining from
a Ricky Stuart intercept to level the scores at 10-all.
From
a handy position the conversion was missed and the Aussies held
a flicker of hope.
In the dying seconds of play Australia conjured a miracle try to
Meninga from deep in their own quarter to escape with a remarkable
win by 14-10.
The
consensus of opinion was Britain had missed its opportunity to win
the Ashes in the final minutes of the 2nd Test. And so it proved
to be.
In
the 3rd Test Australia completely blotted out Hanley (thanks to
Sironen) and won by 14-0 in an anti-climax to a wonderful series.
The
French Rugby League proved to be an embarrassment as they were beaten
in both Tests by huge scores.
The
1990 Kangaroos failed by one game to match the deeds of ‘82 and
‘86, but they fought back remarkably well from an almost impossible
position - something that the "Invincibles" and "Unbeatables"
did not have to face.
Importantly too, Britian had restored faith in their performance
and the international game - the Ashes battle was well and truly
alive.
Tour
Details:
1990
v Great Britain & France
GREAT
BRITAIN
1st Test - 27 October : lost 12-19 / Wembley Stadium, London
(52,569)
2nd Test - 10 Nov : won 14-10 / Old Trafford, Manchester (46,615)
3rd Test - 24 November : won 14-0 / Elland Road, Leeds (32,500)
RECORD: P: 13
W: 12 L: 1 FOR: 347 AGST: 121
TEST SERIES: Won 2-1
AGGREGATE
ATTENDANCE: 259,938
v
St Helens W 34-4 15,260 St Helens
v Wakefield Trinity W 36-18 7,083 Wakefield
v Wigan W 34-6 25,101 Wigan
v Cumbria W 42-10 6,750 Workington
v Leeds W 22-10 16,037 Leeds
v GREAT BRITAIN L 12-19 52,569 Wembley Stadium, London
v Warrington W 26-6 10,200 Warrington
v Castleford W 28-8 9,033 Castleford
v Halifax W 36-18 8,730 Halifax
v GREAT BRITAIN W 14-10 46,615 Old Trafford, Manchester
v Hull W 34-4 13,000 Hull
v Widnes W 15-8 14,666 Widnes
v GREAT BRITAIN W 14-0 32,500 Elland Road, Leeds
FRANCE
1st Test : won 60-4 /
Avignon
(3,000)
2nd
Test :
won 34-10 / Perpignan (2,000)
RECORD:
P: 5 W: 5 L: 0 FOR: 256 AGST: 47
TEST SERIES: Won 2-0
AGGREGATE
ATTENDANCE: 10,600
v President's XIII W 46-18 3,000 Paris
v France-B W 78-6 2,000 Lyon
v FRANCE W 60-4 3,000 Avignon
v Languedoc Roussillon W 38-9 600 Carcassonne
v FRANCE W 34-10 2,000 Perpignan
EASTERN
SUBURBS 0
SOUTH SYDNEY 1 (Mark Carroll)
NORTH SYDNEY 0
BALMAIN 3 (Ben Elias, Steve Roach, Paul Sironen)
WESTERN SUBURBS 2 (David Gillespie, Bob Lindner)
ST GEORGE 1 (Brad Mackay)
CANTERBURY
0
MANLY (Martin Bella, Des Hasler, Cliff Lyons)
PARRAMATTA
0
PENRITH
(Greg Alexander, John Cartwright, Brad Fittler, Mark Geyer)
CRONULLA
(Andrew Ettingshausen, Mark McGaw)
ILLAWARRA
0
CANBERRA5
(Gary Belcher, Laurie Daley, Mal Meninga Capt, Ricky Stuart, Glenn
Lazarus)
GOLD
COAST 0
BRISBANE
6 (Michael Hancock, Chris Johns, Allan Langer, Dale Shearer,
Kerrod Walters, Kevin Walters)
NEWCASTLE
1 (Mark Sargent)
QUEENSLAND 0
Copyright
© 2006 - Sean Fagan. All rights reserved - the article above may
not be reproduced (in full or part) in any form without written
permission.
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