Kangaroo Tour

Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team (the Kangaroos) tours of Great Britain and France. The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches. The 1911/12 and 1921/22 tours were by the Australasian Kangaroos as both teams included New Zealand players. The last full Kangaroo Tour was in 1994, although shortened Kangaroo Tours took place in 2001 and again in 2003.

1908/09 Kangaroo Tour

England vs. Australia

England 22-22 Australia

England 15-5 Australia

England 6-5 Australia

Played: 45 Won: 17 Drew: 6 Lost: 22 Ashes: Great Britain 2-0 |

1911/12 Kangaroo Tour

England vs. Australasia

Played: 35 Won: 28 Drew: 2 Lost: 5 Ashes: Australasia 2-0

1921/22 Kangaroo Tour

England vs. Australasia

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain

The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest The Ashes. Coached by Arthur Hennessy and captained by Les Cubitt, the Kangaroos travelled on the RMS Tahiti to England for best-of-three series of Test matches against Great Britain for the Ashes. The tour took place during the 1921–22 Northern Rugby Football Union season and also featured matches against several of the clubs in that competition as well as other representative teams. The tour also involved some degree of player misbehaviour, with one young footballer almost sent home from San Francisco because of all the broken glasses following a drinking session on board the team′s ship.

Touring squad

During 1921 the New Zealand side toured Australia, playing matches against New South Wales and Queensland, which served as selection trials for the upcoming 'Australasian' team's tour, for which only one New Zealander, Bert Laing, selected. The team wore the sky blue jersey of New South Wales and the only non-New South Welsh player to appear in a test was Queenslander Billy Richards in the third.

1994 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The 1994 Kangaroo Tour was the 18th and last Kangaroo Tour played in the conventional format, where the Australian side plays a number of matches against British and French clubs or provincial outfits, in additions to the Test matches. The outbreak of the Super League war in early 1995 meant that the next Kangaroo tour, set for 1998, never eventuated; although shortened, test only tours were staged in 2001 and 2003.

Australia continued its dominance, winning both Test series against Great Britain and France, suffering only one loss (against Great Britain in the First Test at Wembley, just as they had done in 1990), and remained undefeated against British club outfits in a streak stretching back to the 1978 tour.

The team was coached by Bob Fulton who was making his fourth Kangaroo tour (1973 and 1978 as a player, the latter as captain, and 1990 as coach). Team captain Mal Meninga created history by becoming the first and so far only player to make four tours as a player. He also became the first player to captain consecutive tours. His four tours included being a member of two undefeated teams, first as a member of "The Invincibles" in 1982, and the second with "The Unbeatables" in 1986. Fulton and Meninga also became the first pair to be the Coach and Captain on consecutive Kangaroo tours. Laurie Daley, the New South Wales State of Origin captain who had captained the Australian team to a 14-all draw with New Zealand in Auckland in 1993 with Meninga missing due to suspension, was named as the tours vice-captain