In September and October 1996 the first ever Australian Aboriginal Tour to England took place. The tourists played seven games against amateur representative teams winning five of them.
The Australian Aboriginal Tour 1996
Category: Rugby League
The tour began on Sunday the 29th of September 1996 at the Ryedale Stadium in York against a York Presidents XIII. The tourists had brought an Aboriginal Cultural Dancer with them and he played a didgeridoo on the pitch before the games and also, on occasions, at the post-match reception.
Heworth, York Acorn and New Earswick were the three York amateur clubs that provided the majority of the players who took part in the game. Some of those players, after successful amateur careers, had gone on to play professional rugby league for York.
Although the Aboriginal team won their opening fixture by 32 points to 10, for much of the game the York Presidents XIII, with some tough defence, kept the Australians at bay, but in the end the greater pace of the visitors proved the difference.
The teams were:
York Presidents XIII
Simpson, Carr, Hopcutt, Langan, Embleton, J. Rodgers, Hammerton, Tichner, Pallister, Hamer, A. Rodgers, Daniels, Harrison.
Substitutes: Sturdy, Hebblethwaite, Plowman, Calam.
Australian Aboriginals
Anderson, Wellington, Hockey, Duncan, Mars, Heron, Trindall, Kelly, Keed, Toomey, Brown, Munns, Mason
Substitutes:
Mundine, Ryan, Thorne, Binge
The opening game of the seven match tour attracted 1,062 spectators to the Ryedale stadium.
Following the game in York the tourists had a four day break before facing a Humberside team at Hull FC’s Boulevard Ground where they suffered their first defeat
Tour Itinerary
Sunday 29th September York Presidents X111 Won 32-10
Thursday 3rd October Humberside Lost 30 - 26
Sunday 6th October Yorkshire County Won 30 - 14
Thursday 10th October Cumbria County Won 44 - 22
Sunday 13th October BARLA Great Britain Won 24 - 54
Wednesday 16th October Lancashire County Won 9 - 44
Sunday 20th October BARLA Great Britain Lost 28 - 16
During the three week tour the Aboriginals won many friends with their fast attacking rugby. Some of the players who impressed on the tour went on to play for NRL clubs. However, the youngest member of the Aboriginal squad was the undoubted star. Dean Widders who, in 1996 at the age of seventeen had signed for Sydney Roosters went on to play one hundred and fifty nine NRL games for three clubs - Sydney Roosters, Parramatta and South Sydney. He moved to Super League in 2009 where he made sixty appearances for Castleford Tigers.
I would like to thank Phil Hodgson for his contribution to this blog post.
Reference:
Hull Amateur Rugby League Handbook 1997/98 – Mark Chestney
Aboriginal Cultural Dancer
The tour began on Sunday the 29th of September 1996 at the Ryedale Stadium in York against a York Presidents XIII. The tourists had brought an Aboriginal Cultural Dancer with them and he played a didgeridoo on the pitch before the games and also, on occasions, at the post-match reception.
Heworth, York Acorn and New Earswick were the three York amateur clubs that provided the majority of the players who took part in the game. Some of those players, after successful amateur careers, had gone on to play professional rugby league for York.
Although the Aboriginal team won their opening fixture by 32 points to 10, for much of the game the York Presidents XIII, with some tough defence, kept the Australians at bay, but in the end the greater pace of the visitors proved the difference.
The teams were:
York Presidents XIII
Simpson, Carr, Hopcutt, Langan, Embleton, J. Rodgers, Hammerton, Tichner, Pallister, Hamer, A. Rodgers, Daniels, Harrison.
Substitutes: Sturdy, Hebblethwaite, Plowman, Calam.
Australian Aboriginals
Anderson, Wellington, Hockey, Duncan, Mars, Heron, Trindall, Kelly, Keed, Toomey, Brown, Munns, Mason
Substitutes:
Mundine, Ryan, Thorne, Binge
The opening game of the seven match tour attracted 1,062 spectators to the Ryedale stadium.
Following the game in York the tourists had a four day break before facing a Humberside team at Hull FC’s Boulevard Ground where they suffered their first defeat
Tour Itinerary
Sunday 29th September York Presidents X111 Won 32-10
Thursday 3rd October Humberside Lost 30 - 26
Sunday 6th October Yorkshire County Won 30 - 14
Thursday 10th October Cumbria County Won 44 - 22
Sunday 13th October BARLA Great Britain Won 24 - 54
Wednesday 16th October Lancashire County Won 9 - 44
Sunday 20th October BARLA Great Britain Lost 28 - 16
During the three week tour the Aboriginals won many friends with their fast attacking rugby. Some of the players who impressed on the tour went on to play for NRL clubs. However, the youngest member of the Aboriginal squad was the undoubted star. Dean Widders who, in 1996 at the age of seventeen had signed for Sydney Roosters went on to play one hundred and fifty nine NRL games for three clubs - Sydney Roosters, Parramatta and South Sydney. He moved to Super League in 2009 where he made sixty appearances for Castleford Tigers.
I would like to thank Phil Hodgson for his contribution to this blog post.
Reference:
Hull Amateur Rugby League Handbook 1997/98 – Mark Chestney
