Lang
Park Bust-Ups (Aust v NZ)
Sean Fagan of RL1908.com
The
first Kangaroos-Kiwis meeting at Lang Park came
in 1963 – and it took just 25 minutes for fisticuffs
to erupt and players to be sent-off.
A
seemingly innocuous scrum flared up, with opposing
props Maunga Emery and Brisbane’s Peter Gallagher
going toe-to-toe. The referee shouted to stop,
but the fight went on. When it ended, both were
ordered off – not so much for fighting, but for
ignoring the referee.
Rival
props were the protagonists of 1985’s infamous
sideline brawl. Referee Julian Rascagneres sent
Kevin Tamati and Greg Dowling to the sin-bin for
fighting, the two then jostled their way towards
the players’ entrance. Dowling grabbed at Tamati’s
arm to get in front of him, but the big Kiwi took
offence, and a nasty and vicious brawl ensued.
At one point both players were hard up against
the grandstand’s fence, with fans barely inches
behind.
In
1972, Aussie captain Graeme Langlands appeared
to nudge Kiwi centre John O’Sullivan with a forearm
jolt in a tackle. Winger Mocky Brereton raced
in seeking retribution upon Langlands, and then
players flew in from all points, resulting in
an all-in-brawl that took referee Keith Holman
quite a time to restore order.
Retribution
was also the theme in 1967, when Aussie hardman
Noel Kelly saw big Kiwi prop Robert Orchard knock
Aussie 5/8th Johnny Gleeson senseless with a swinging
arm, less than a minute from the kick-off.
Kelly
“downed” Orchard with a left hook, and wandered
away from the scene thinking it was all settled
– it wasn’t – the Kiwis other prop, Oscar Danielson,
landed a punch so severe on Kelly’s jaw it ought
to have broken it.
Referee
Col Pearce sent Kelly and Orchard off, but astonishingly,
left Danielson. The Kiwis later revealed that
Pearce appeared to have mistaken Orchard for Danielson,
and got the wrong man.
In
an oft-told tale, Kelly still recounts how his
$80 match fee covered 80 seconds of work!
The original version
of this article was first published in the May
2009 Aust v NZ Test program.
|
