# 1950 Great Britain Lions tour

The 1950 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team of Australia and New Zealand which took place between May and August 1950. The tour involved a schedule of 25 games: 19 in Australia including a three-test series against Australia for the Ashes, and a further 6 in New Zealand including two test matches against New Zealand. A scheduled fixture in Forbes, New South Wales, against a Western Districts team, was abandoned when the chartered plane could not land due to bad weather. Captained by Ernest Ward, the Lions returned home having won 19 and lost 6 of their games. The team won the first test match of the tour but lost the second and third to lose the Ashes Test series to Australia. The team also lost both Test Matches in and against New Zealand. Despite being a British team – five of the squad were Welsh – the team played, and were often referred to by both the press at home and away, as England.

## Squad

The touring party departed for Australia on 20 April aboard the SS Himalaya. Tom Spedding was the Team Manager, and George Oldroyd was the Business Manager, of the touring party.
* ↑ Age as given in the Rugby League News for the first match against New South Wales
* ↑ Other than the Test Matches, team lists for the tour matches in New Zealand not available to the author at the time of page creation.

## Australian leg
### 1st Test

* June 12 2pm
| Australia | 4–6 | Great Britain |
| Tries: nil Goals: 2 Noel Pidding (2) | Program Database Report | Tries: 2 Jack Hilton (2) Goals: nil |
* Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 47,275 Gate: AU£ 6,769 Referee: George Bishop

### 2nd Test

* July 1 2.30pm
| Australia | 15–3 | Great Britain |
| Tries: 3 Johnny Graves Les Cowie Keith Holman Goals: 3 Johnny Graves Jack Holland Clive Churchill | Database Teams Report | Tries: 1 Tom Danby Goals: nil |
* Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane Attendance: 35,000 Gate: AU£ 7,377 Referee: Frank Ballard

### 3rd Test

* July 22
| Australia | 5–2 | Great Britain |
| Tries: 1 Ron Roberts Goals: 1 Clive Churchill | Program Database Report | Tries: nil Goals: 1 Ernest Ward |
* Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 47,178 Gate: AU£ 6,117 Referee: T. McMahon Jnr
With Ron Roberts late try in the Brewongle Stand corner, Australia won The Ashes for the first time since 1920. Due to constant heavy rains in Sydney in early-mid 1950 and with the amount of use it was put through, the SCG was reduced to a bog for the game.

## New Zealand leg
### 1st Test

* July 29
| New Zealand | 16–10 | Great Britain |
| Tries: 2 Des Barchard Travers Hardwick Goals: 5 Des White (5) | Report Report Database | Tries: 2 Roy Pollard Dickie Williams Goals: 2 Ernest Ward (2) |
* Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Jim Griffin

### 2nd Test

* August 12
| New Zealand | 20–13 | Great Britain |
| Tries: 4 Jim Haig (2) Bevan Hough Maurie Robertson Goals: 4 Des White (2) George Davidson Jim Haig | Report Report Database | Tries: 3 Jim Featherstone Bob Ryan Ernest Ward Goals: 2 Ernest Ward (2) |
* Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Jim Griffin

## Sources

| Acronym | Item | Years | Database App | Notes |
| Direct Online Access |||||
| RLN | Rugby League News | 1920-1973 | Trove | Match Program in Sydney, Team Lists, Team Photos, Articles |
| RLP | Rugby League Project | 1907-present | RLP Website | Test Match teams & scorers. |
| Sun | The Sun (Sydney) | 1910-1954 | Trove | Match Reports, Articles. |
| DT | The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) | 1931-1954 | Trove | Match Reports, Articles. |
| CM | The Courier-Mail | 1933-1954 | Trove | Match Reports, Articles. |
| - | Various Australian Regional Newspapers | up to 1954 | Trove | Match Reports, Given Names of Players |
| - | New Zealand Newspapers | up to 1950 | Papers Past | Match Reports. |
| Offline Resources |||||
| EECYB | E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Year Book | 1946-1978 | Copies at State Library of NSW | Teams, Point Scorers, Report. 1951 Yearbook covers the 1950 tour. |
| QRLG | Queensland Rugby League Gazette | 1950-1955 | Copies at State Library of Qld | Program for matches in Brisbane. |
| - | Ipswich Versus International Teams | 1913-1975 | Copies at SLQ & NLA | Match Report, Given Names & Club of Ipswich Players |
| - | Ipswich Rugby League - The Bulimba Cup Era 1925 to 1972 | 1925-1972 | Copies at SLQ & NLA | Given Names & Club of Brisbane, Ipswich & Toowoomba Players |
| - | A History of Mackay Rugby League | 1919-2015 | Author's Website | Given Names & Club of Mackay Players |
| - | More Than The Foley Shield | 1908-2014 | Author's Website | Match report, team photos. Given Names & Club of North Queensland Players |